It’s funny how some events and times of the year provoke a certain feeling or vibe. Even living in Australia I sometimes think Christmas should include hot chocolate and roaring fires (I suppose marketing does work huh!). So I think that’s why whenever I think of Easter, I imagine a bright and colourful Spring full of bunnies and flowers. Even though Easter in Oz is Autumn and we don’t have any of those damn things here. But alas, come Easter I don’t just crave chocolate, I crave lightness and sweetness. Something simple but delicious, something like my Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Cake .

Lemons and Blueberries, a winning combo

Hello, my name is Stacey and I am a Chocoholic. In fact I have such an issue with it that I try and hide it from myself in my pantry…. well that is I did. Then I became a professional baker and now I store approx 25kgs of the stuff in there. Can’t really hide that! But it’s no surprise to folks when I write a delicious and decadent chocolate dessert. I mean, it’s my jam right? But here’s the shocking truth, when I make desserts to take to a family event I almost never include chocolate!

*insert gasps here*

Yeah, I know right? I mean who am I and what have I done with myself? But when it comes to taking a delicious dessert or plate of something to a family event I love to stick to classic and light flavours. My favourite of course being lemon and coming a very close second, blueberry.

They’re like cookies and cream. Bacon and eggs. Wine and cheese. Sonny and Cher (bet the millennials reading this are like WHO? anyway). My point is the combination is a winner, ALWAYS, so naturally I had to make something delicious out of them. A family lunch was the perfect test run.

Lunch with the Nans

I don’t know but there’s something about having lunch with my Nanna’s. Yes two, my Nanna and my Nanna Joan (technically my great grandmother, but we shant remind her of that). I know they’re not hugely into sweet things and I know lemon is always a winner.

I needed to whip up a dessert that was quick, (hello working Mum here), but one that was sure to wow and travel well! They do live an hour and a half away, so I had to be able to chuck it in the car and go. With all these things in mind I decided to make a loaf cake. Not only was it easy and fast to prep but I knew the oldies would love it.

Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Cake

After a little brainstorming and thinking I turned to my favourite cook book, the CWA. Ahhh yes, when in doubt turn to the CWA ladies, you’ll always find the perfect recipe there, or maybe just a quick run down on how to make brunch for 100 people. Either way.

I turned to their Lemon Feather Cake recipe for inspo and after a little tweaking, tuning and messing about I came up with my Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Cake. A stunning little loaf cake that has a beautiful crumb, moister than a scone, but not as cakey as a, well, cake.

Throw in some blueberries and of course an even zestier lemon/blueberry drizzle and dessert was done. Served with vanilla ice cream it went down a treat. The silence whilst everyone dug in and that lovely sucking of the teeth that shows a truly lemony experience was all I needed.

The Key to a Great Cake

The key to this Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Cake is not only the lemon and blueberries of course. It’s the crumb. A loaf is a touch more bread like and touch less cake like. In fact it falls somewhere in the middle. So your gluten free flour choice really matters here! I’m normally a firm believer in recipes being able to use any basic gluten free flour blend, but in this case I definitely recommend a specific brand. The Bobs Red Mill 1:1 flour is made of predominately rice flours so gives you a beautiful light crumb. It’s the key to achieving that light and fluffy texture.

The other key is extra Xanthan gum. Just like in my Classic Gluten Free Pumpkin Scone recipe I recommend adding extra xanthan gum (the flour blend already has some in it!). But here you need just a touch more, otherwise it crumbles like nobodies business. Honestly, I tried, it’s so much better with Xanthan gum.

A note on blueberries. Yes I recommend tinned blueberries in this recipe. Why? Because they’ve been soaking in juice and add extra moisture to the loaf. You then also get to use the extra juice to make a stunning zesty glaze to finish your gluten free loaf off beautifully. But also because they’re year round, you’re not limited to the blueberry season or using frozen blueberries. However I have included a tip to working with fresh/frozen blubes in the notes below the recipe should you absolutely wish to.

Now let’s stop yammering and get baking!
Try my Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Cake today and be sure to share your pics with me over on Instagram for your chance to be featured on my page @champagneandgumboots #champagneandgumbootsbakes

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