Since shutting down my gluten-free baking business I haven’t done a whole lot of baking. Part of it is because I’m swamped and part of it is because I feel a little sad about it. When something turns out great, I instantly think about how I could sell it at the farmers market; until I remember that I’m not doing the farmers’ market anymore.
I felt that way with the cake I made last week. One glance at our pantry told me I need to do a lot of baking before my leftover flour goes bad so I decided to make a cake a week until it’s gone. For the first one, I googled blueberries and cake and saw a recipe from one of my favorite recipe sites, “Simply Recipes.”
It wasn’t gluten-free so I changed the ingredients and came up with this. It was delightful. So delightful that my husband, who has sampled enough gluten-free baked goods to fill a Whole Foods, had 3 pieces. I made it again when friends came over and the three of us nearly finished it off. My husband thought it would be best served as a breakfast cake, but I thought it was nice after dinner. The baking soda and the flour-sugar ratio make it an airy, sweet cake.
If you’re serving this for guests you can use a springform pan, which is what Simply Recipe’s did, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Easy Gluten-Free Blueberry Cake
1 1/4 cup gluten-free flour plus 1 teaspoon (King Arthur Gluten Free Multipurpose flour or TJ’s GF Flour
¾ teaspoon xantham gum
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter, softened (or Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups blueberries, rinsed and drained or thawed frozen
1 teaspoon lime juice (or lemon juice)
Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9-inch cake pan with canola oil spray.
Combine the flours, xantham gum, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine blueberries, 1 tsp. gluten-free flour, and lime juice.
Beat butter in a mixing bowl for 2 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until well blended. Add flour and mix until blended.
The batter will be a little thick, but don’t worry. Spread it evenly in the pan. Pour blueberry mixture evenly over the batter.
Bake on the middle over rack for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes. Enjoy!