Fresh cherries and blueberries have been abundant at the market lately, sure signs that summer and its celebrations are upon us. Recently, we have fallen for a summery cake that is golden yellow and brimming with fresh fruit. Featuring a batter rich in notes of almond and cornmeal, this fresh cherry and blueberry cake is satisfying but not too sweet.
I found the cake recipe, developed by Jacqueline Mallorca, on the web site Gluten Free Living last summer. Looking for a gluten-free dessert that used fresh fruit, I was pleased when I happened upon this one. The cake was easy to make, traveled well to the picnic we had, and was a great finish for our meal. When cherries began appearing in our produce section recently, I knew it was time to make it again.
The wet ingredients for the cake are regular kitchen staples: butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. But the flours used are more special.
Almond, corn, and tapioca flours make up the bulk of the dry ingredients, with leavening provided by baking powder. I bought small bags of each of the flours, but these days it’s easy to find markets that sell specialty flours in bulk containers, allowing you to purchase only as much as you need for your baking plans.
The true stars of this cake, though, are the cherries and blueberries.
Once the wet and dry ingredients have been mixed together, the cherries and blueberries, lightly coated with corn flour to help suspend them in the batter, go into the pan.
As the cake bakes, the batter rises above the cherries and blueberries, encasing them in a golden shell. The smell of toasted almonds and cornbread and vanilla fills the house.
A dessert that highlights fresh, seasonal fruit seems like a gift from the orchards. As I pitted and halved the fresh cherries, I remembered our neighbors Glenn and Jeanie who shared the bounty of their three cherry trees with us each summer years ago. My children loved climbing the ladder up into the boughs of their trees and reaching for the ruby-hued jewels suspended on their thin stems. Once we had gathered a container full of fruit, we would head back home and make fresh cherry pies to share with our generous neighbors. Glenn’s motto about cherry picking remains with me: “Take what you like, but leave a few for the birds. We love their happy songs in our yard.”
You might end up singing when you taste this light summer cake filled with summer jewels.
Summer Cherry and Blueberry Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (8 ounces) fresh Bing cherries, pitted
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces) fresh blueberries
- 1 1/3 cups (4 ounces) almond meal or almond flour
- 1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) plus 1 tablespoon corn flour (not cornmeal)
- 1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces) tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (5 3/4 ounces) sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Extra butter for greasing the pan
- Extra corn flour for dusting the pan
- Confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides of a 9-inch springform pan and dust with corn flour. Line the base with parchment paper.
- After pitting the cherries, cut them in half. Add blueberries to cherries and set aside.
- Mix the almond flour, 1/2 cup of corn flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
- Cream the butter and sugar with a mixer in a large bowl until the mixture is pale in color. Add the eggs, one at time, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla.
- Stir in half of the almond flour mixture into the wet ingredients until combined. Repeat with remaining almond flour mixture. Transfer the batter into the prepared springform pan. Smooth the top to make it even.
- Toss the cherries and blueberries with one tablespoon of corn flour. Place the cherry-berry mixture on the outer two thirds of top, leaving the center portion uncovered. (Fruit in the middle of the cake might keep the center too wet.)
- Bake for around 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow cake to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Place on a wire rack and release the sides of the pan. Remove springform ring.
- Let cake cool completely.
- When ready to serve, dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
Notes
What a pretty dessert! The colors brought together by the batter and fruit are lovely to look at. I have no doubt, this gluten-free cake is delicious to eat, as well! This time of year with all of the fresh fruit and herb selections available to us, is the best!! Pinning this one to try, thanks for sharing!