I was never a wine drinker until a spur of the moment trip down to the Okanagan with my mom and little sister a decade ago. I was living in Fort St. John and got a call from my momma. We chatted and got caught up with one another and she mentioned that she and my little sister, Laura, were going to head down south to Summerland to visit some family for a quick trip the next day.
Me, being 22 and without children at the time, thought that was a marvelous idea and jumped into my yellow Pontiac Sunfire and made the 4 hour trip to Prince George that very evening to join in impromptu girls trip.
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On The Road
The next day we three jumped into my mom’s car and started our trek to the Okanagan. 8 hours later and 1 stop at Horstings Farm Market (because they have the best homemade sandwiches in the entire world) and we were in Summerland.
My dad grew up on a farm in Summerland and, at the time, my Granny D was still living there along with some other family members. We visited. Played cards. Ate all the fresh fruit possible. And went to the beach. If you’ve never been to the Okanagan, I highly encourage you to explore it someday. It’s a marvel of mother nature’s beauty.
Wine Country
But I digress, the point of this little story was that one day of our trip my sister, a girlfriend from the area, and I explored a little town called Naramata. Tucked away on the southeast shore of the Okanagan Lake, Naramata is a hidden gem. Hills upon hills or gorgeous blooming orchards and the most captivating wineries I’ve ever been to.
We spent the day going from winery to winery. Exploring each location and having a little sip here, a little taste there. The day was spent laughing, learning, and enjoying wine that I had never realized was so incredibly good. It was there that I purchased my first bottle of wine myself. And every time since, as I open up a fresh bottle of wine and take the initial sip, I think of that impromptu girl’s trip with fond memories of my mother, my sister, and wine.
Local Wine Inspiration
This Blueberry Wine Marmalade cake was inspired by a local Prince George winery that is truly a hidden treasure in my city. Northern Lights Estate Winery is located on 2 acres at the bottom of the Nechako River cutbanks and features a variety of fruit wines and blends that are mostly produced right on site.
As any good baker would, I had to sample a bit of each wine to figure out which one I wanted to base a cake around and Mirtillo, a sweet blueberry wine, was the winner. Seeing as it’s on the sweeter side of wine, I knew I had to pair it with something with a bit of zing to balance…enter the marmalade.
Bright citrus notes with a little bit of pucker paired smoothly with the bursting blueberry wine cake. And the best part about this cake is that there will still be half a bottle of wine when you’re done baking so…you know…cheers! 🍷
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Blueberry Wine Marmalade Cake
- Total Time: 2 Hrs 30 Mins
- Yield: 10 Slices 1x
Description
Soft wild blueberry cake layers baked with a glass of sweet Mirtillo blueberry wine and frosted with a bright citrus marmalade buttercream.
Ingredients
BLUEBERRY WINE CAKE
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⅓ cup dairy-free salted butter, room temperature
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1 ½ cups granulated sugar
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½ cup egg whites (approx 4 egg whites), room temperature
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¼ cup dairy-free yogurt, room temperature
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1 tbsp. vanilla extract
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2 ½ cups cake flour, sifted
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1 ½ tsp. baking powder
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½ tsp. baking soda
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1 tsp. fine sea salt
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⅔ cup Northern Lights Mirtillo blueberry wine *could substitute pure blueberry juice
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1 cup wild blueberries
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1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
MARMALADE BUTTERCREAM
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1 cup dairy-free salted butter, room temperature
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1 cup vegetable shortening
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8 cups icing sugar
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1 tsp. fine sea salt
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1 tbsp. vanilla extract
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1 tsp. orange emulsion
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½ cup marmalade
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¼ cup dairy-free milk, room temperature
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optional: blue gel food colour
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optional: fresh naval oranges for decor
Instructions
EQUIPMENT:
BLUEBERRY WINE CAKE:
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare three 6-inch round cake pans.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter and sugar on high for 1 minute with the whisk attachment.
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Add egg whites and mix on high for 2 minutes.
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Add greek yogurt and vanilla extract and mix on high for 2 minutes.
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Combine all the dry ingredients into the mixer and mix on low
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While the mixer is on low slowly pour in the Mirtillo blueberry wine and mix until combined. Be careful to not overmix the batter.
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In a small mixing bowl, add the wild blueberries and flour and gently toss to coat.
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Add the blueberries to the batter and fold gently with a spatula until just combined.
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Divide batter between pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
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Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then invert on a cooling rack to fully cool.
MARMALADE BUTTERCREAM:
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In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter and shortening on high speed with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Approximately 10 minutes.
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Add the icing sugar, salt, vanilla extract, orange emulsion, marmalade, and milk and mix on low until combined.
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Turn the mixer up to medium and let mix for 5 minutes until smooth and creamy. Scrape the sides of the bowl when necessary.
CAKE ASSEMBLY:
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Place one leveled layer of blueberry wine cake on a cake board or plate. *Feel free to brush on a bit of extra wine on each cake layer if so desired. Top with approximately 1 ½ cup of buttercream.
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Repeat with the remaining layers and apply a thin coat of buttercream all over the cake. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
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Cover the cake with another layer of buttercream and smooth sides.
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Decorate as you please. I coloured my buttercream with ChefMaster blue gel food colouring and smoothed the sides with my metal Wilton smoother. Using a pastry brush I very gently brushed it around the sides of the cake. Using a Wilton 1M piping tip, I piped simple swirls around the top to create a border and placed a sliced naval orange wedge between each swirl. Enjoy.
- Prep Time: 2 Hrs
- Cook Time: 30 Mins
- Category: Cakes
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: baking, cake, blueberry cake recipe, blueberry wine cake recipe, blueberry marmalade cake, blueberry wine marmalade cake recipe, dairy-free blueberry cake recipe, dairy-free blueberry wine cake recipe