The decoration is nice and splashy, but the real appeal of this cake is the cake itself. It is beyond rich, dense, and out of this world, and those dadgum berries actually fool you into believing you’re consuming a healthy dessert.
I got this recipe from my favorite Barefoot Contessa cookbook,
03In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cornstarch, kosher salt and baking soda. Turn mixer to low and gradually add flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture, one scoop at a time. Mix after every addition. Keep adding the flour mixture, mix until just combined. Do not overmix!
04Grease and flour a 17 x 12 1/2-inch sheet cake pan. (Note: this recipe may be halved for a smaller pan, as this recipe feeds an army.)
05Pour the thick cake batter into the pan. (It’s much thicker than regular cake batters.) With a knife or offset spatula, spread the cake batter evenly over the pan.
06Place the pan into a preheated 350-degree oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. I baked mine for exactly 20 minutes, so you probably want to start checking then.
07To make the cream cheese frosting, in a mixing bowl, add cream cheese and butter. Whip to combine. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix until thoroughly combined, scraping the sides once during mixing.
08Put about 1/2 the frosting on the cake. Mark off the area of the stars with a toothpick. (No need to be proportionately accurate; just guesstimate.) Prepare a pastry bag with a large star tip and fill up to 2/3 with icing. Fold down both corners to keep icing from splurging out the top.
09Gripping the folded-down end tightly under fingertips and start squeezing two lines of frosting at the bottom of the cake. Make two rows of raspberries on the cake, then add another two lines of frosting.
10Keep repeating: two lines of frosting, two lines of raspberries, two lines of frosting, etc.
11Fill the square in the corner with a nice layer of blueberries. With the star tip, squeeze little dollops of frosting all over the blueberries.
12Variation: Simply frost the cake with all the icing and sprinkle raspberries and blueberries randomly and generously all over the cake.