This lightly sweet, fruit-infused gluten-free raspberry buckle cake is perfect with any in season fruit you like.
This is a lovely breakfast cake -- not too sweet, loaded with berries (I did raspberries plus a handful of blueberries though you could use any berries you like in this recipe), never dry because of the moisture the almond flour brings. It's one of those cakes that looks quite unassuming yet is difficult to stop eating because it's so good.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Doubles as a breakfast. This cake is not too sweet, full of whole grain and nut flours, and loaded with berries. It could definitely work as an on-the-go breakfast.
- Raspberries. The raspberries in this buckle cake bring tartness and juicy fruit flavor.
- Simple ingredients. Like most of my recipes, this is an unfussy, uncomplicated cake with easily recognizable ingredients.
What is a Buckle Cake?
Working through the list of summer fruit recipes, I've come to the "buckle", a dense cake described in the Farmer's Almanac as "fruit and cake baked together, with a streusel topping". Alas, I omitted the topping so this cake may not be a true "buckle" but between you and me I don't always love a topping, finding it too gummy, greasy, sweet, or buttery. So streusel topping is absent from my version of a buckle though the general premise remains the same: berries baked into a simple cake batter that floofs up to create a perfect summer cake.
What Gluten-Free Flours Do I Need?
You'll need just two gluten-free flours for this cake, which keeps the preparation even simpler. The protein in the almond flour is a great bolster to the whole grain sorghum flour; they balance each other to make a cake with a crumb sturdy enough to support the fruit and keep it from sinking to the bottom. I used coconut sugar and maple sugar here but you could also use an equivalent amount of granulated sugar, though the overall flavor will be less complex. This gluten-free raspberry buckle cake is one for the recipe files.
Ingredients for a Gluten-Free Buckle Cake
- Unsalted butter
- Raw sugar: Or regular sugar
- Coconut sugar: Coconut sugar brings a caramelized note to this cake
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Sorghum flour: A wonderful whole grain gluten-free flour
- Almond flour: Use almond flour rather than almond meal
- Baking powder
- Fine sea salt
- Raspberries
Substitutions
- Almond flour - try tiger nut flour or another nut flour.
- Sorghum flour - swap oat or buckwheat flour.
- Coconut sugar - use brown sugar or granulated sugar.
Happy baking! If you make this, I'd love to know. Please leave a comment below, reach out with any questions, and tag me on Instagram @Cucina Nicolina ❤️
Recipe
Gluten-Free Raspberry Buckle
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup maple sugar or raw sugar
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup/100 g sorghum flour
- ½ cup/70 g almond flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2-3 cups raspberries or berries. I used 2 cups frozen raspberries + about ¼ cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 F. Butter or grease with coconut oil an 8-inch round cake pan and line with a circle of parchent paper.
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer beat together the butter and sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla and mix until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until just combined.
- With a rubber spatula, gently fold berries into the batter, then spread batter in the prepared pan. Let batter rest while oven heats, then place in the oven and bake 45-55 minutes, or until top is golden and slightly firm to the touch, the edges are starting to come away from the sides of the pan, and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and place pan on a wire rack to cool 20 minutes, then turn out onto the rack to cool completely (or leave it in the pan, like I did!). Cake will keep, well wrapped, on the counter for up to three days or up to five days in the fridge.
Helen says
You always give good alternatives in your recipes… must take a lot of research. Thank you for the delicious recipes!