- Cake:
- 2 cups white sugar
- 3/4 cup solid vegetable shortening (such as Crisco®)
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups blackberries, drained
- Icing:
- 3 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Beat white sugar and shortening together in a bowl using an electric mixer until creamy; add eggs and mix well. Mix cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla extract into creamed butter mixture.
- Whisk buttermilk and baking soda together in a separate bowl; stir into creamed butter mixture until thoroughly mixed. Slowly stir flour into butter-buttermilk mixture until batter is smooth; fold in blackberries. Pour batter into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a serving plate.
- Combine brown sugar, evaporated milk, and butter in a saucepan; cook and stir mixture over medium heat until a small amount of brown sugar mixture dropped into cold water forms a soft ball. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Beat by hand until icing is thick. Spread icing quickly over top and sides of cake.