Blueberry Coconut Almond Cake

It’s been a few weeks and the procrastination bug seem to have hit me ever since I came down with a cold. But fret not,  I have been baking, I’ve just not been writing up any recipes *hides*.

Perhaps I am the only one, but I tend to hit my favourite cafes like some crazy person buying up and tasting every pastry that they have on shelf before heading home and deciding, “Hey, I should probably whip it up myself to satisfy the craving”

And as usual, that was what I did.

There is this little cute pastry shop just around the corner from me (okay, maybe corner would be a stretch) but for 3 days straight, I would head there to try one of their daily cakes off their shelf. And with the cake of the month being a blueberry, coconut and almond cake, is it any surprise that I wanted to whip up my own take on it?

Whilst theirs is gluten free, mine isn’t.

It’s made from equal parts of almond meal and flour for that balance of soft cake with some fluffiness to it yet retaining the tenderness and moist crumb that could only come from almond meal. I tend to find most almond meal cakes to be rather dense and heavy and I didn’t want to walk away from this cake feeling like I’ve just had a bag of fruit and nuts (although that does sound delicious) but rather as this being a lovely afternoon tea cake.

As per usual, there are a few things to note with this recipe and I have listed them below:

• I have used coconut sugar in this recipe to amplify the coconut flavour in this, but if you do not have coconut sugar at home or prefer the flavour of molasses, light brown sugar would be a great substitute.
• Due to how long the cake takes to bake, it tends to take on colour rather quickly and so I would cover it with aluminium foil after 40 mins, but just keep an eye on it at the 30mins mark and cover it with foil when you feel its coloured to your liking.
• In a pinch, buttermilk is a good substitute for coconut milk. Regular milk is a little too thin so please avoid it, but if you need to, light cream (or half and half) would be better than regular milk.
• I use frozen blueberries in these out of convenience but fresh ones work well too, just be gentle when mixing the dough.
• I use frozen not fresh blueberries in this recipe because of how soft and jammy they become when they cook adding to the overall texture of the cake.
• Take care to add the eggs one at a time and ensure your eggs are at room temperature or you will notice the mixture might look curdled. It’s not a huge issue, you will just have to beat it until it starts to come together again but if the eggs are cold it might be a nightmare to do so.
• Lastly, brew yourself a cup of tea or coffee and take the time to enjoy a slice of cake and nature.

Makes 1 x 8” cake

What you’ll need

• 180g frozen blueberries (preferable, but you can use fresh in a pinch)
• 120g AP flour
• 120g Almond meal/flour
• 3/4tsp baking powder
• 3/4tsp baking soda
• 1/2tsp salt
• 100g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 120g coconut sugar (or light brown sugar)
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 80g honey
• 1/2tsp vanilla extract
• 60g coconut milk

Top decorate (optional)

• Almond flakes
• Coconut flakes
• 1tbsp white sugar
• Icing sugar

Making it!

Line the base and sides of a spring form 8″ pan with baking paper.

Weigh out blueberries and place back in the freezer until needed (if berries are frozen).

In a medium bowl, mix almond meal, flour, baking powder and baking soda together and set aside.

In a larger bowl, beat sugar, salt and butter together until light and fluffy. Add one egg beating to ensure it is homogenous before adding the next egg and beating until it’s homogenous again.

Add honey and vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Add half the flour mixture and beat until incorporated before adding half the coconut milk and beating until incorporated. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until incorporated once again before adding the rest of the coconut milk and beating until incorporated.

Fold the blueberries to the mixture reserving a handful of the blueberries to top the cake with.

Scatter the remaining blueberries on the cake and gently pressing them in just to ensure they are not just floating on top of the cake.

Sprinkle a handful of almond flakes along the edges of the cake followed by coconut flakes. Finally sprinkle white sugar over the cake to create a crisp top crust.

Bake at 180C for 60mins, if the cake starts to get too dark after 35-40mins, cover it with aluminium foil and let it bake until the cake is baked through and no crumbs cling to the toothpick when you test the cake.

Let cake cool fully in the tin before serving.

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