Fresh Tayberry Cake Recipe {Moist & Buttery!}

This moist, buttery snack cake is just the right size to share with friends or family, but it’s the tayberries that make it extra special! These Scottish hybrid berries are sweet and tart, and turn into little bombs of flavor in this easy tayberry cake recipe. Berry heaven!

sliced piece of tayberry cake on a white plate and a fresh tayberry on top.

I love living in berry country! A week ago, I stumbled upon tayberries at my local grocery store and instantly knew I wanted to share some tayberry recipes on the blog. Although they aren’t common, they’re absolutely delicious, and I’d love to help people find the perfect recipe to use their harvest. 

This snack cake is so incredibly moist and flavorful, and the vanilla notes really complement the fresh tayberries. We made several versions of this recipe and every single one was absolutely delicious, but this one was the winner! 

small white milk glass dish with fresh tayberries.

What are tayberries?

These uncommon berries are a hybrid of blackberry and red raspberry plants. They look and taste more like blackberries, but they’re a little tart and have a beautiful wine color.

They’re similar to loganberries, which are also a cross between blackberries and red raspberries, but they’re much larger.

Tayberries were developed in the late 70s in Scotland, which is how they got their unusual name. The “tay” refers to the River Tay. 

They can be used just like raspberries or blackberries, so you can make tayberry jam, tarts, muffins, cupcakes, and more. Since they’re a little hard to find, it might take me some time to flesh out my tayberry recipes, but I promise I’ll keep working on ways to use these special berries!

tray of tayberry cake sliced and on plates.

Why you’ll love this vanilla tayberry cake recipe


  • Moist and tender – This cake has so much moisture and flavor, thanks to butter, sour cream, and lots of eggs. It’s absolutely irresistible!
  • Great way to use tayberries – You only need 1.5 cups of tayberries for this easy cake recipe, so you don’t need a huge harvest. Plus, you can use all tayberries or mix them with other berries depending on what you have on hand.
  • Lovely flavor combination – The tartness of tayberries works really well with the buttery vanilla flavor in this cake. I can’t get enough of it!

Equipment

To make this tayberry cake, you’ll need:

  • Stand mixer or large bowl with hand mixer
  • 9×13 baking dish
  • Rubber spatula

Note about pan size: You’ll notice the height of the slices in my photos. This is because I used a 10.5 x 7.5 pan. In a 9×13 pan, the cake is a little shorter.

This means you may also be able to make 2 8-inch cake rounds for a layered cake.

If you split the recipes into different cake pan, start checking for doneness around 20-25 minutes and continue baking until fully done.

ingredients to make tayberry cake on a wooden surface.

Ingredients

  • Eggs – Room temperature eggs are best. 
  • White sugar – For just enough sweetness.
  • Pure vanilla extract – I wanted this cake to be really vanilla-y, so I used my homemade Bourbon vanilla extract. You can also use vanilla bean paste or add a little vanilla bean powder for an extra kick of flavor.
  • Unsalted butter – Make sure this is room temperature, as it needs to be whipped into the egg mixture.
  • Sour cream – For lots of moisture and a subtle tanginess.
  • All purpose flour – Scoop and level the flour to avoid adding too much.
  • Baking powder – For leavening. The original recipe I adapted uses just the eggs for leavening, but I like it with a little extra height. Make your own DIY baking powder here.
  • Kosher salt 
  • Tayberries – Feel free to use fresh or frozen tayberries. You can also replace them with other summer berries. I used a frozen mixed berry combination from Costco once, and it was wonderful!

Whipped Vanilla Cream (Optional)

  • Cream cheese – This will give the whipped cream a little more body and a nice tanginess.
  • Heavy cream – This recipe is basically a fancy whipped cream, which means you need heavy whipping cream. Half and half or whole milk will not work the same.
  • Vanilla extract – Or try vanilla bean paste. 
  • Powdered sugar – For sweetness. I used vanilla sugar that I blended in a spice grinder, but that’s completely optional.

How to Make Tayberry Cake

Prepare the Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9×13 inch baking dish.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 3 eggs and sugar. Using the whisk attachment, whip over medium high for 5-7 minutes or until light, thick, and fluffy.
  • Add the vanilla extract then whisk the softened butter into the mixture. Whip thoroughly. You may notice some small clumps.
  • Whip in the sour cream until fully incorporated. Then, reduce the speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredients in small increments. Mix until incorporated.
  • Remove the whisk attachment and fold in the berries.
  • Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick placed into the middle comes out clean.
  • Place the pan on a wire rack and allow it to cool completely before frosting.

Make the Frosting

  • In a small bowl, combine the room-temperature cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
  • Whip the cream cheese mixture until fluffy, then drizzle in the heavy cream.
  • Whisk until the mixture becomes thick and creamy. Stop when the mixture has stiff peaks that do not collapse when you lift the mixer.
  • Pipe or spoon over the cake and top with fresh berries.
tray of tayberry cake in a green baking dish with fresh tayberries sprinkled on top.

Storing Suggestions

Once cooled, store the cake in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. It can also be frozen for several months.

Tips & Variations

  • Use other berries. The tayberries are just one option here. You can also use raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, marionberries, and more.
  • Add extra vanilla flavor. For a really strong vanilla flavor, use 2 tsp of vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder.
  • Add lemon zest. A little lemon zest would be a great addition to this cake! Add the zest of 1-2 lemons to the cake batter.
  • Fold in tayberry jam. Whisk 1-2 tablespoons of tayberry jam into the frosting for extra berry flavor.
  • Make a sandwich cake. Remove the cake from the pan, slice it in half horizontally, pipe a ring of whipped cream topping along the outside rim of the bottom layer, then fill with tayberry jam. Add the second layer and frost like normal. You would need to 2-3x the topping recipe, but it would be heavenly for tea!

How to Serve Tayberry Cake

The whipped topping is totally optional, but I do like to serve this cake with something sweet and creamy. Pair it with a little whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or a vanilla glaze (like the one from my vanilla muffins).

It’s also lovely with a spoonful of tayberry jam on top for a pop of berry flavor. So good!

close up view of a pan of tayberry cake.

FAQs

 What can you do with tayberries?

Anything you can do with blackberries or raspberries! You can make tayberry jam, tayberry cobbler, puddings, muffins, scones, sponge cakes, pies, and more. 

Where can you buy tayberries?

Since these berries are much less common than red raspberries or blackberries, you’ll likely need to go out of your way to find them. Check local farmers markets and farm stands. I’ve found them in grocery stores near me, but I live in western Washington in berry country. I’m not sure how common they are in other areas.

Related Recipes

slicing into a piece of cake with tayberries.
slice of tayberry cake on a white plate.

Tayberry Snack Cake

Serve up a slice of your favorite summer berries with this super moist tayberry cake. The butter, sour cream, and eggs make it lusciously moist, almost like a pound cake or coffee cake. The frosting is really a vanilla whipped cream with a bit of cream cheese, and it's only slightly sweet. It's a refreshing, snackable cake you'll want to nibble on all day long!
No ratings yet
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Cooling Time 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes
Course brunch, Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 servings
Calories 384 kcal

Equipment

  • Stand mixer or a large bowl and hand mixer
  • 9×9 baking dish see notes below regarding pan dimensions
  • hand mixer (for the frosting)
  • small bowl
  • offset spatula

Ingredients
  

Cake Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature; one stick of butter
  • 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
  • 2 cups all purpose flour, scooped and leveled
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 – 2 cups tayberries, fresh or frozen; or other seasonal berries

Whipped Topping Ingredients

  • 3 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tbsp powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
 

Make the cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9×9 inch baking dish.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 3 eggs and add sugar. Using the whisk attachment, whip over medium high for 5-7 minutes or until light, thick, and fluffy.
  • Add the vanilla extract then whisk the softened butter into the mixture. Whip thoroughly. You may notice some small clumps and that's okay.
  • Whip in the sour cream until fully incorporated. Then, reduce the speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredients in small increments. Mix until incorporated.
  • Remove the whisk attachment and fold in the berries.
  • Transfer to the baking dish and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick placed into the middle comes out clean.

Prepare frosting

  • In a small bowl, combine the room-temperature cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
  • Whip the cream cheese mixture until fluffy, then drizzle in the heavy cream.
  • Whisk until the mixture becomes thick and creamy. Stop when the mixture has stiff peaks that do not collapse when you lift the mixer.
  • Pipe or spoon over the cake and top with fresh berries.

Notes

Baking Pan Sizing
I baked this cake in a 10.5 x 7.5 baking dish, which is very similar in volume to a 9×9 square pan. If using a regular 9×9, I recommend using one that is 2 inches deep to accommodate the rise.
Since the cake is quite tall, you could likely divide it into two 8-inch cake rounds or even bake it in a 9×13. However, you would need to reduce the baking time and start checking for doneness around 25 minutes. 
I have not tested these dimensions, but when I do, I’ll update this post with different pan sizing.

Nutrition

Calories: 384kcalCarbohydrates: 46gProtein: 5gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 96mgSodium: 216mgPotassium: 112mgFiber: 2gSugar: 29gVitamin A: 781IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 86mgIron: 1mg
Keyword tayberry cake, tayberry recipes
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tall pin that reads tayberry vanilla cake with two views of the cake.

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