Summer fruits are divine, no? Fragrant reds and oranges with a sumptuous juiciness that keeps you coming back for more.
Nectarines, cherries and apricots. These beauties have been within hands reach for me at all times this summer. They make a beautiful afternoon snack, and are wonderful in golden summer evenings baked with gooey honey and served with a quickly melting scoop of vanilla ice cream.
The heat has been one to get used to this year in Vancouver. The fan is always travelling from room to room when I’m at home. It’s been a struggle to stay sweat-free and despite my love for sunny days, my mind can’t help but ironically wander into an autumn escape. Sweaters and hearty meals. Cozy lighting surrounding me as I stir away in the kitchen. Hygge at it’s most extreme. Oh, October, where are you?
But as always in the kitchen, there’s opportunity to make do with what you have. Looking at the fruits I’ve enjoyed diving into I noticed many of them have some sort of stone. This inspired my mind to again look to something whole and earthy, which then inspired the idea of making a cake with cornmeal. I’d never done that before, but the idea really appealed to me as the modesty of it transported my imagination decades back somewhere with southern charm.
To make the thought of this potential cake even cozier I really liked the idea of adding almond flour, as well. This recipe for Stone Fruit Gluten-Free Cake was a tad daunting because I’d never tried anything like this, let alone attempted developing such a recipe on my own. I’ve definitely adapted other recipes to replace flour completely but the idea of using cornmeal and homemade almond flour (both of which are more textured than all-purpose flour) was what scared me…would it even taste right?
Well, turns out it did! I’m pretty proud of this little cake. Not only is it gluten-free and refined sugar-free, but it’s a no-fuss recipe. I made my own almond flour by adding almonds to a food processor and grinding until they reached the desired texture. If you try this, just make sure not to over-pulse so as not to end up with almond butter!
This Stone Fruit Gluten-Free Cake is a perfect way to enjoy the fruits of the summer season; use whichever you have on hand. Alternatively this is super cozy and embodies the rustic charm and warmth of anything homemade — perfect for fall and winter too!
STONE FRUIT GLUTEN-FREE CAKE
Ingredients:
Your preference of stone fruit, pitted and cut accordingly (I used about 10 halved cherries, 1 sliced apricot, and 1 small sliced nectarine’s worth of fruit)
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup almond flour (finely ground almonds)
1 cup coconut sugar (plus 1/4 cup more if the fruit isn’t very sweet)
1 TSP baking soda
3/4 TSP baking powder
1/4 TSP Himalayan pink salt
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup olive oil
2 eggs
1 TSP vanilla
Zest of 1 lemon or orange
A couple handfuls of sliced almonds, for garnish
Directions:
- Grease and line the bottom of a 9″ spring form cake pan, and preheat oven to 350°F.
- Pit and cut stone fruits accordingly. I halved the cherries, and created medium slices of both the apricot and nectarine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients (cornmeal, almond flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt).
- In a medium bowl mix the wet ingredients, including the lemon/orange zest. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, and whisk well to combine.
- Pour into prepared spring form pan, and arrange fruits gently on top (don’t push down as they will sink a bit while cooking anyways). Use only as much fruit as is needed to place on top of the cake in a single layer; overcrowding will alter the baking time and create too much moisture.
- Bake at 350°F for about 35 minutes. Then, turn the temperature down to 325°F to finish baking for another 25 or so minutes, until the centre is no longer doughy and a toothpick comes out clean. The finished cake will be dark in colour.
- Once out of the oven, sprinkle the top with sliced almonds and let cool until it can be released from the spring form pan. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Slice, and enjoy!
Notes:
- My finished cake was dark in colour, likely due to the fact I used whole almonds for my almond flour and the colour of the coconut sugar was naturally dark. If yours is the same don’t worry if it seems “burnt”! This cake requires some time to bake fully, especially with the extra moisture from the fruit. It’ll taste great in the end, promise!