BLACKBERRY VANILLA BEAN CAKE
Recipe by My Stained Apron (www.mystainedapron.com)
6 egg whites
1 cup milk
1 T vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
1 cup mashed and strained blackberries*or raspberries
3 1/4 cups cake flour
1 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
Beat egg whites to stiff peaks.
In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a small bowl, combine vanilla bean paste, mashed berries, and milk.
Beat butter and sugar together in a large bowl on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Add flour mixture and berry mixture to butter and sugar in alternating batches.
Fold in about 1/3 of the egg whites, the fold in the rest all at once.
Spray two 8 or 9 inch cake pans with nonstick spray and bake at 350 degrees for about 24-28 minutes.
*I used frozen blackberries, and microwaved them for just a couple of minutes and mashed them. I didn't strain them, but if you don't like the seeds, you should. You could also use raspberries here- that would be quite delicious as well.