When I first met Kathryne, I didn’t really know what a food blog was.
We both moved to Kansas City at the same time—me, back to my hometown, her, making a change—and were brought together by mutual friends.
Since that time, those mutual friends and Kathryne have become our extended family here. From weekly girls nights to holiday celebrations to Sunday suppers, she’s been a true friend.
And she wrote a cookbook.
A beautiful, poured-her-heart-and-soul-into-it cookbook that will leave you trying to figure out which recipe you want to make first.
At our girls night gatherings, there is often wine (ok, always), snacks, and something sweet. Gluten-free, of course.
Kathryne’s lemony almond-blueberry cake is just one of those types of treats that the five of us would gladly devour while discussing work, family, and important things like touching your tongue to your nose.
This cake is extremely easy to make and uses a simple refined sugar-free lemon-maple glaze that soaks into the cake as it cools. Like all the recipes in Love Real Food, the ingredients are accessible and wholesome, and the final product…delicious!
So grab a copy and get cooking. There’s just so much to love.
Lemony Almond-Blueberry Cake (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
A note from Kathryne: This cake is very simple to make, but requires about 1 hour 45 minutes combined baking and cooling time.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (8 ounces) plus 1 tablespoon packed almond meal.
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 eggs
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest from 2 medium lemons, preferably organic
- 1 cup blueberries 6 ounces, fresh or frozen
Lemon-Maple Glaze
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Generously grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and dust it with almond meal to prevent sticking. (Alternatively, grease and line pan with parchment paper.)
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In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of the almond meal, the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk to blend.
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Crack the eggs into a medium bowl and beat with a whisk until the yolks and egg whites have blended together. Add the maple syrup, olive oil, and lemon zest and whisk to blend. Pour the wet ingredients into the almond meal mixture and stir until there are just a few clumps remaining.
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In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining 1 tablespoon almond meal (this helps prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the cake). Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
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Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the cake is deeply golden brown, the center is firm to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes.
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Meanwhile, to make the lemon-maple glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and maple syrup until blended. (If you're using honey and having a hard time blending it into the lemon juice, place the bowl on top of your stove to warm it up while the cake bakes, or warm it briefly in the microwave until you can whisk them together.)
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Once the cake is out of the oven, place the cake, pan and all, on a cooling rack. While the cake is warm, use a pastry brush to brush the glaze over the top of the cake. It should soak right in. Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes before carefully inverting it onto a serving plate or cutting board. Carefully flip it back over, then use a bread knife to cut it into 1-inch-thick slices.
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Store any remaining cake in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 4 days.
Always looking for amazing GF recipes and this cake looks so perfectly moist and delicious! Will definitely have to try it out ! CK
It is just that! :) Thanks, Christiann!
I will not only enjoy this cake, but a good friend who has a daughter who eats gluten-free is going to love it too. Can’t wait to forward her the recipe. Thanks for sharing Kathryne’s cookbook with us Tessa. Happy Memorial Day weekend!
Oh, that’s awesome! She will love it. Happy Memorial Day weekend, my friend!
How great is Cookie and Kate? Another one of my favourite food blogs I am endlessly sifting through for inspiration – along with Salted Plains of course! This cake sounds great, and super easy, so if a vegan version with flax eggs turns out nicely, I will add that to the comments :)
She’s pretty awesome! :) Yes, please let me know if you do a vegan version. Thanks, Rosie!!
Hey Rosie! Jumping in here to let you know that I tried to make this cake vegan with flax eggs and it was an epic fail. The eggs are really necessary for structure. This was one of few recipes that I couldn’t offer a vegan alternative for. Hope this response gets to you before you attempt it. :)
It’s fun to hear that two of my favorite food bloggers are such good friends! I just made Kate’s raspberry lemon muffins yesterday and they were delicious. I’m sure this is, too. I’ve been meaning to buy the cookbook. Thanks for posting!
Aw, thanks, Lisa! Yes, you must buy the cookbook – it is a wonderful resource. Happy weekend!
I really love that you two were friends before your food blog. And I really love her new book. I’m so excited to cook from it. This lemony blueberry cake is divine.
She’s definitely been an inspiration. :) I love her new book too. xo
Thank you so much for your support, Tessa. I’m lucky to have you as a friend. Let’s happy hour soon. :)
Kate, I love your recipes! Would like to make this but need to change out the almond flour to coconut. Any ideas?!
Louise
(ex Texan)
I loved reading this.. how you two came to be friends. Such a cherished relationship and where would we be without our best girlfriends? I’ve been settling into Kathryne’s gorgeous, page turner of a book. I love it and have so many recipes flagged! I can’t wait to give this one a go! Beautiful work, Tessa!
Hi Tessa, Just made this recipe using the 2 cups 8 oz of almond flour. Is that a typo?
Hi Mignon, thanks for your note. The original recipe card version had the 8 ounces in italics/parethesis and I see that the new version I updated to made it all one string. I apologize for that! It should read 2 cups (8 ounces) plus 1 tablespoon packed almond meal.
LoL should have followed my instincts 😉
Thanks for writing back. Look forward to making again, the right way.