When I think of summer and food, berries are one of the first things that come to my mind! And the king of all summer berries, in my opinion, is the blueberry!
Blueberries love to be paired with other flavors, especially lemon. So naturally, when I decided to do a cake that featured the king of all summer berries, my gut reaction was to do a lemon blueberry cake. Then one day however, I opened my fridge and a little bottle caught my attention. It was a bottle of ginger juice and it had been sitting in there unopened for… well, I don’t know how long but a very long time and yes, it was still good. That little bottle was just begging to be loved, but ginger and blueberries? Was that a thing?? A good thing??? I wasn’t sure so I took to the internet and, sure enough, I discovered that it indeed was a thing and apparently a pretty good thing at that! The ginger provides a punchy, spicy tang which balances the sweet, tart blueberries nicely.
Curious about the actual cake part of this whole thing? Well, I took my apple cake recipe and tweaked it to create this recipe. If you’ve had my apple cake then you know that this is pretty much the most perfect, un-frosted cake that you can have. And now, with the new flavor combo, it just keeps getting better! I see a whole bunch of different versions of this cake in my future…
It all gets started with a little prep. A 9-inch round cake pan needs to be prepared to receive the cake batter, the blueberries need to be washed, pat dry, and tossed around with just a bit of flour to help keep them in place in our cake, and the Ener-G needs to be prepared as well. (Normally the Ener-G is prepared with just warm water but in this recipe we will be preparing it with a little water and a decent amount of ginger juice!) Once all of your prep work is done, the batter can be made. The wet ingredients get combined first and then the dry ingredients get added. With a good whisking the batter will be creamy but still kind of thick and that’s just the way we want it!
Into the pan you prepared a moment ago goes about half of the cake batter. Scoop it on in there and then use a spatula or spoon back to smooth it out into a nice even layer. Next, pop in about half of the flour-dusted blueberries. The next layer is the remaining cake batter which will also get scooped on and smoothed out just like the first layer. And finally, the last of the blueberries goes on and gets pressed in ever so slightly to secure them for baking.
This lovely little cake gets baked in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
When the cake is done, transfer it out of the pan and allow it to cool completely. Once fully cooled, dust the top with a layer of powdered sugar and enjoy!
Vegan Ginger Blueberry Cake
Ingredients
- 1 pint of blueberries, washed and pat dry + 1 tablespoon of flour
- 1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer + 3 tablespoons ginger juice + 1 tablespoon warm water
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 stick of vegan “butter,” softened + more for pan
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 1/4 cups flour + more for pan
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Powdered sugar for dusting over finished cake
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9-inch round cake pan by greasing it, dusting the edges with flour, and then lining the bottom with parchment paper. Set pan aside until we’re ready for it. In a small bowl, combine the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of flour and stir to lightly coat each blueberry. Set these aside for a moment. In another small bowl, combine the Ener-G with the ginger juice and warm water and stir well to combine. Set this mixture aside for a moment.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar, “butter,” almond milk, Ener-G mixture you made a moment ago, and lemon juice together. When combined, add 1 1/4 cups flour, baking powder, ground ginger, and salt. Stir to incorporate dry ingredients -batter should be thick and smooth.
- Into the pan you prepared earlier goes about half of the cake batter. Scoop it in then use a spatula or spoon back to smooth it out into a nice even layer. Pop in about half of the flour-dusted blueberries then scoop on and smooth out the remaining cake batter. On top of the final layer of cake batter, gently press in ever so slightly the remaining blueberries. Bake for 50 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- To remove the cake from the pan, first run a knife around the edge of the pan. Place a large plate or upside-down small sheet pan onto the cake pan and then, while firmly holding the plate or sheet pan to the cake pan using oven mitts, invert everything to flip the cake out of its pan and onto the large plate or sheet pan. Carefully remove the now empty cake pan to reveal your cake. Peel off the parchment paper and discard. To get the cake right side up, place onto it the stand or plate which it will be served on then, while holding everything together, flip the whole set up over again. Allow the cake to cool completely then dust it with powdered sugar and serve. Cake will keep on counter in an airtight container, or covered well, for 2-3 days or in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Compassion is the Secret Ingredient 