I literally came up with this recipe because I went to the grocery store, and saw 99-cent cartons of blackberries on sale! I knew it was a sign from whatever powers that be that I had to make something with these, so I bought about three 6oz containers of them! I had a couple of ideas of what I wanted to do with them, ranging from muffins to entremet, but I figured that baking them directly into a cake, then garnishing said cake with them would be a wonderful way to showcase the fresh berries instead. For the cake itself, I went with my semolina olive oil cake, since it has a robust crumb to it, which is a great contrast to the sweet and juicy blackberries. I paired the cake with a Meyer lemon and olive oil curd, to add more of that olive oil flavor, but also some sourness that will play off of the blackberries nicely. Meyer lemons, unlike normal lemons, are on the sweeter side, so that mildness helps to accent the olive oil notes in the cake and curd, as opposed to just overwhelming that with straight sourness. I personally love the pairing of lemon with olive oil and blackberries, so this cake is something I personally would eat for breakfast.

Makes one 6-inch cake:
For the cake:
1/3 cup semolina flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
3 oz fresh blackberries
2 eggs
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl, sift together the flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Toss the blackberries in the sifted dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix your eggs, olive oil, and vanilla extract. Fold the liquid ingredients into the dry to form your cake batter. Line the sides and bottom of a 6-inch ring mold with parchment. Pour the cake batter into the ring mold, and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Allow the cake to cool down completely at room temperature before unmolding and refrigerating. You need the cake to be cold to the touch so that it will not fall apart when glazing.

For the Meyer lemon curd:
1/4 teaspoon gelatin powder
1 tablespoon cold water
Juice and zest from 2 Meyer lemons
3 tablespoons sugar
a pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Mix the gelatin with cold water. In a pot, heat up the gelatin, Meyer lemon juice and zest, sugar, and salt. Once the gelatin is fully dissolved into the mixture, pour half of the warm liquid into the egg yolk while whisking to temper it. Whisk the egg and lemon mixtures together in a pot on low heat for about 3 minutes. Pass through a sieve to remove any lumps. Whisk in the vanilla and olive oil to finish. Keep the curd relatively liquid at this stage, so that you can spread it easier onto the cake.

For assembly:
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup warm water
6oz fresh blackberries

Spread the lemon curd all over the cake and then wrap the sides of the cake in acetate, using tape to hold it. This is important, as the lemon curd is still runny and needs to be held in place to set properly. In a bowl, mix the honey and water together. Cut the blackberries in half along the width. Brush the berries with the honey syrup, specifically on the cut sides. Place the berries on top of the cake, uncut sides facing the lemon curd. Refrigerate until the lemon curd is set, at least an hour and a half, before unmolding and serving. Alternatively, just serve the curd and berries on the side and slice into the cake now! Totally up to you!