Blueberry Coriander Cake (GF & DF)

I have a confession to make. I worked in a bakery for 11 years, and while I love baking and I can make glutinous goodies with regular all-purpose flour fairly well, gluten-free baking is not my strong suit.

This is unfortunate because while I can occasionally get away with eating long-fermented breads, like sourdough, most wheat/gluten-containing products leave me with stomach issues and fatigue. I'm left with no option but to bake gluten-free food if I'm going to be eating it. I know I'm not the only one who struggles with this.

For years I've been trying to get better at GF baking, but I'm just not stellar at it and I end up with more recipe tests down the garbage disposal than I do finalized and ready to share with others.

But, I REALLY wanted to make this cake with these flavors because it sounded interesting and I've never seen a recipe like this before. I love pairing fruit with herbs or spices to create flavor blends that work well together. This was actually one of my favorite things to do when I did work in a bakery. While many of our products had consistent flavors, we were able to be creative with items like scones and switch up the flavors often.

So, after many failed attempts and pushing sub-par cake on my husband and friends, who were kind enough to tell me the slices of grainy cardboard smothered in seedy blueberry sludge were edible, I FINALLY have a winner! This cake is light, moist, and NOT grainy!

There are two ways I have decorated this cake and both are described in the recipe. Feel free to decorate as you prefer!

RECIPE

Serves: 8

Prep time: 8 hrs and 20 min

Bake time for 6": 25-30 min

Bake time for 8": 30-40 min

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 1/4 cup gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp coriander powder

• 1/2 + 2 Tbs cup cane sugar

• 1/4 cup avocado oil

• 1 large egg

• 1 tsp vanilla

• Pinch of salt

• 1/4 cup almond milk, unsweetened

• 1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

For the topping (optional):

• 1 can coconut cream

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

For the jam (optional):

• 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

• 1/2 cup water

• 2 Tbs chia seeds

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• Optional: 1 Tbs maple syrup

Instructions

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Whisk together avocado oil and sugar in a large mixing bowl.

3. Whisk in egg, vanilla, and salt until well combined.

4. In a separate bowl, combined flour and baking powder.

5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until well-combined.

6. Add milk and mix until combined.

7. Coat a 8" cake pan (or two 6" cake pans if making 2 layers) with oil (I used olive)

8. Pour batter into pan and bake for 30-40 min. It is done when a toothpick comes out clean and the top of the cake bounces back when lightly pressing on it.

9. Remove from oven and let cool.

10. Once cooled, turn it out of the pan to serve.

For the whipped topping:

1. Place the can of coconut cream upside down in the fridge and leave overnight, or at least 8 hrs.

2. When ready to prepare, scoop just the cream into a large mixing bowl and discard the liquid.

3. Add vanilla to the cream.

4. Using a hand mixer or kitchen aid, whip the cream and vanilla until combined.

5. Add powdered sugar and continue whipping until combined and air is incorporated.

6. Use to decorate cake as desired.

For the jam:

1. Add all ingredients to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.

2. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer to help it thicken, about 5-10 min.

3. Remove from heat to let thicken and cool.

4. Once cooled, use to decorate cake as desired. Optional: Pour jam over entire top of cake, or simply use a small amount on top to help keep blueberries in place after decorating with whipped topping.

5. Serve!