I almost missed blackberry season!  Our raspberry and blackberry bushes got moved and moved again during the spring and summer, so weren’t very productive. Others by which I usually chart late “summer” are on a walking route I take much less often. So, blackberries fell off the radar screen until last week when a hiking partner spotted a decent crop (errr, handful), ripe for picking.  They were warm, sweet, the last of the season, and put me in the mood for blackberry something:

Blackberry Buttermilk Cake with Streusel Topping – Makes one 9 x 13 cake, or one 8 x 8 cake plus 6 individual mini-cakes.

Click Here For Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/4 (13.5 oz.) cups GF flour mix (yours, ours, or Trader Joe’s)

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (in 1/2 and 1 teaspoon portions)

1 teaspoon xantham gum

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup oil or melted unsalted butter, but the cake crumb will be more tender with oil

3/4 cup (3 oz.) chopped pecans

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries, washed and dried

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350F, and lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking pan or an 8 x 8 baking pan and 6-piece large muffin tin.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the flour, sugars, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, salt, and xantham gum.  Mix on low to blend.

3.  Add the oil and nuts, and mix again to blend.  Remove about 1/3 (11 oz.) of this mixture, and set aside to be the streusel topping.

4.  Add the rest of the cinnamon (1 tsp.), cloves, baking soda, and baking powder to the remaining 2/3 of the mix. Stir to blend.

5.  Combine the buttermilk and egg in a glass measure; whisk to blend. Add to the larger portion of (dry) ingredients, and stir to blend, scraping down as needed.

6.  Spoon the batter into the prepared pan(s).  Scatter the blackberries over the top, and evenly sprinkle with the streusel.

7.  Bake at 350F, 35 – 40 minutes for a 9 x 12 pan, and 25-30 minutes for an 8 x 8 pan. 20-25 minutes for individual cakes baked in a large 6-piece muffin tin.

8.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or cinnamon spiced whipped cream. We put a little Burnt Honey Sauce on ours!

Cracking the egg in to the buttermilk, so both come to room temp

Dry ingredients minus the leavening and extra spice

Weighing the sugars

Mixing the dry ingredients to blend

Adding the oil

Chopping the pecans

Nuts into the mix

Adding the extra cinnamon to the leavening

Whisking the egg and buttermilk

Adding the wet ingredients to 2/3 of the dry

Scraping down to fully incorporate

Washed berries

Berries scattered on the batter in the 8 x 8

Mini individual cakes in the works

Scattering on the reserved 1/3 of the streusel

Into the oven

Minis before they’re baked

Just out of the oven

Top of the cake

Yum!