I trust everyone survived the holidays – maybe even thrived?

We have officially entered the dead of winter, the stretch that can feel especially bleak. For at least the next two months, it will be cold, rainy and dull outside. Soon, the Christmas decorations will come down, and there won’t even be twinkling lights around town to add a bit of color and cheer.

Normally, January brings a little sadness with it. This year, though, I rang in 2026 with such a delightful and joy-filled New Year’s Eve party that I suspect I’ll stay on cloud nine until spring.

My friend Ashlynd is an extraordinary hostess, and this year she threw an astrology-themed New Year’s Eve party. We dressed up in our own interpretations of the cosmos, enjoyed an abundance of charcuterie, and Ashlynd tasked me with making a cake that, in her words, “tasted as bright as the stars.”

I am not a fancy cake maker by any means. I would describe myself as a rustic baker, more interested in fresh fruit, herbs and spices than food coloring, sprinkles or glitter. For my own wedding, I made a plum galette instead of a traditional cake. When brainstorming what to make for this galactic bash, I briefly considered stepping outside my comfort zone with smooth fondant and carefully piped royal icing – something picture-perfect and professional. The longer I thought about it, though, the less excited and more stressed I became.

I was saved from an anxiety spiral when I stumbled across a recipe for a lemon blackberry cake with lemon curd mascarpone whipped cream by Audrey Leonard of Red Currant Bakery (redcurrantbakery.com). I knew immediately this was the one. After all, what could taste brighter than a cake infused with lemon in every bite?

I am a planner and a list-maker. With a solid plan, I bake better – and actually enjoy the process – so I broke the preparation into four small stages over four days. Sunday was for planning and grocery shopping. Monday, I made the “extras”: macerated blackberries, lemon curd, lemon curd mascarpone and lemon simple syrup. Tuesday, I baked the cake layers. Finally, Wednesday morning, I turned the lemon curd mascarpone into whipped cream and took everything to Ashlynd’s house for assembly and decoration, sparing myself the trauma of transporting a fully assembled cake across town.

Breaking the process up transformed it from stressful to genuinely fun.

While I followed Leonard’s recipe mostly as written, I added a few extra touches to make the cake as over-the-top as the party itself. I swirled blackberry jam into the batter before baking to add moisture and extra fruit flavor to balance all that lemon. After baking, I drizzled the layers with homemade lemon simple syrup to keep them moist overnight and deepen the citrus flavor.

The recipe below is scaled down to make one 9-inch cake, but I tripled it for a crowd. It scales easily if you’re baking for a party.

I’m always a bit nervous baking for a large gathering – especially since I don’t get to taste the finished cake until everyone else does – but this one turned out to be an absolute shooting star. Bright, tangy, sweet and moist, it was the perfect follow-up to a spread of fancy cheeses and cured meats. And once it was decorated with fresh blackberries, dried edible flowers and rosemary sprigs strung with the phases of the moon, I briefly felt like a fancy cake maker after all.

Cheers to the new year. May it be filled with good food and even better friends.

LEMON BLACKBERRY CAKE

Ingredients:
Cake
150 grams granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
150 grams all-purpose flour, plus 15 grams for coating blackberries
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs, room temperature
125 grams unsalted butter, softened
100 grams full-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150 grams blackberries, fresh or frozen
3 tablespoons blackberry jam
Lemon Simple Syrup
120 grams lemon juice
120 grams granulated sugar

Macerated Blackberries
250 grams blackberries, fresh or frozen
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Lemon Curd Mascarpone Whipped Cream
3 egg yolks
90 grams granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
60 grams lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
225 grams mascarpone (8 ounces)
200 grams cold heavy cream

Instructions:
■ Heat the oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center.

Cake
■ In a medium bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest. Rub together with your fingers until fragrant.
■ Whisk in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
■ Add butter, sour cream, eggs and vanilla.
■ Mix on medium-low speed until just combined, then increase to high and beat for 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl.
■ Toss blackberries with the remaining flour, then gently fold into the batter.
■ Grease a 9-inch springform pan and pour in the batter. Smooth the top, dollop the jam over the batter and swirl gently with a knife.
■ Bake for 30 minutes, rotate the pan, then bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing the pan sides. Cool completely before assembling.

Lemon Simple Syrup
■ Combine lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until sugar dissolves.
■ Cool completely.

Macerated Blackberries
■ Combine blackberries, sugar and lemon juice in a bowl.
■ Stir and let stand at room temperature or refrigerate overnight.

Lemon Curd Mascarpone
■ Whisk egg yolks, sugar, salt, lemon zest and lemon juice in a heatproof bowl.
■ Set over gently simmering water and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened to a mayonnaise-like consistency.
■ Remove from heat and whisk in mascarpone a spoonful at a time until smooth.
■ Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface and chill until set.

Whipped Cream
■ Reserve about 75 grams of the lemon curd mixture.
■ Whip cream to soft peaks.
■ Fold half into the remaining curd mixture, then fold in the rest.

Assembly
■ Level the cake if desired and slice into two layers. Place the bottom layer on a serving plate, drizzle lightly with simple syrup, spread half the whipped cream over the top and scatter half the blackberries on top.
■ Add the second layer, drizzle with syrup if needed, then top with remaining whipped cream, reserved curd and blackberries.
■ Refrigerate for an hour if possible before slicing, or serve immediately.

Kristin is a Columbus local and a graduate of MUW’s Culinary Arts Program. She lives downtown with her husband, Jon, her naughty cat Sokka and her retired sled dog, Megan. In her free time she enjoys baking, making stained glass art and hanging out with her friends. If you see her in town, say hi!

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