With spring here, our organic blackberry bushes are finally back in bloom. Soon enough we’ll have buckets full of blackberries and not enough recipes to use them all! My favorite way to use my organic berries is in desserts. Blackberries make the perfect garnish on top of a cake. You can even use them to color your favorite icing recipe. Here’s my recipe how I achieved a sweet lavender color for this delicious icing:

Blackberry Icing

1/2 cup fresh (not frozen) blackberries
8 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

First puree blackberries then take contents through a mesh strainer with a bowl underneath to catch your puree. This will separate the seeds – which there are tons so do not skip this step 😀. Set the seedless puree to the side.

Caution: blackberries will stain everything! Try keeping an old towel on hand to wipe up any mishaps quickly!

Next mix your icing together. I use a KitchenAid mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until it’s smooth. Then add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat again but on low speed for approximately 15 seconds. At this point you’ll need the blackberry puree. Add the entire bowl or little by little to achieve your desired color! Then switch to high speed and beat for an additional 2 minutes.

Use your favorite piping bags and tip to ice your cake. Garnish with blackberries if you like, and enjoy!