The Best Gluten Free Blueberry Lemon Poppyseed Cake

Nothing beats coming into a home where there’s a lemon poppyseed cake baking in the oven. And it’s also gluten free? You found the ultimate lottery with this delicious cake! This is a perfect Mother’s Day cake or a cake to bring over to someone’s home for dessert!

Why you’ll love this recipe!

It’s:

• gluten free
• vegan
• moist
• delicious flavour!
• bursting blueberry flavour

Why Poppyseeds?

I have to admit I’m late to the poppyseed game. I never really enjoyed citrus cakes but thought I’d try to make a recipe to see what the craze was about! Making it gluten free was a personal goal of mine this year to see if I can cater towards those that can’t tolerate white flour.

Poppyseeds add some texture, crunch and a nutty flavour to the cake. Believe it or not, they’re a source of magnesium, calcium, and a source of healthy fats.

If you’re not a fan, you can just omit them!

What else is in this recipe?

There’s a few things in this recipe you should have on hand:

• Sugar: I used granulated sugar to make the cake as light as possible. You could sub in coconut sugar
• Wild blueberries: In the summer time, these beauties are bursting with flavour. They also have the most beautiful purple hue. You can also use blueberries as well if you don’t wild blueberries.
• Lemon zest and juice: Get a delicious infusion of the citrus flavour with the zest and juice.
• Coconut oil: This allows the cake to remain crispy but soft.
• Almond flour: Almond flour is a great gluten free alternative to baking. It gives off a nutty flavour
• Oat flour: This is such a great pair with almond flour as it gives a light and airy feel to your baking!

How do you make this recipe?

When making any cake or loaf batter, I generally cream my butter/oil with sugar first. I then add in any other wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, I mix together my dry powders and flours which I mix lightly. I then fold it into my batter slowly mixing it to combine. It couldn’t be easier!

Keep in mind that gluten free flours won’t mix the same as white flour. The consistency and texture may be different. Try not to over mix. Add in your wild blueberries, while frozen, last so it won’t streak your batter.

Troubleshooting:

• baking soda and baking powder: I like to add these to my dry ingredients rather than my wet. There’s a risk of both reacting with the liquids and clumping. I don’t think you or your guests would want a mouthful of baking soda!
• make sure your oven is preheated to the appropriate temperature or it may not rise properly or not rise at all.
• cream your vegan butter or coconut oil with sugar: Creaming my coconut oil or butter allows the sugar to dissolve and disperse through the batter. It makes for more air and light finished product!
• make sure your wild blueberries are frozen so they don’t leak into the batter when you’re folding them in.
• I used granulated sugar to keep this cake looking bright and light but you can substitute it with coconut sugar!

Can you turn your cake into muffins?

You could spoon your batter into muffin trays for sure! I haven’t done it but it should cook like regular muffins no problem for 20 minutes in a regular sized muffin tray.

Flour substitution?

I made this cake specifically gluten free and have not tried making it with regular flour! I haven’t made it with 1:1 flour substitution either.

Fruit Substitution?

If you don’t have any blueberries or don’t particularly enjoy them, you could pair this recipe with:

• raspberries
• strawberries
• blackberries
• apricots/peaches

Size of cake pan

The size of the cake pans vary but I like to use 7 inch cake pan. Here’s an example of one that I have at home.

Decorating your masterpiece

I think one of the best parts of making a cake is decorating it. Thinking outside the box when it comes to garnishing and adding your own flair and style. Things you can consider when it comes to decorating:

• Fruits: use what’s in season and try to study different colour palettes that go well together like blue and orange or purple and red. I love using blueberries because they’re small and will fit into the little crevices that you create on top of your cake. I also dehydrated lemon slices to make for a beautiful decorative piece on the cake.
• Edible flowers: I use edible flowers to decorate almost everything sweet! Sometimes if I’m being careful I’ll use some flowers to place carefully on the side or on top to remove them quickly after a it’s presented. Be sure to know what’s edible or not!
• Nuts: nuts like pistachios add a beautiful green to your finished product. You can crush them up and add like a border or sprinkle them on top.
• Icing this really enhances your cake and balances the lemon-blueberry flavor. I went for something different for this recipe and did a wild blueberry jam and icing/glaze.
• Compote/jam: Adding a layer of compote between the layers of cake really enhances the flavour to another layer! Imagine lush sweet and tangy blueberries in between mouthfuls with icing and cake all in one bite!

Storing your lemon poppy seed cake

This cake stores well in the fridge if you wrap it up really well with plastic wrap or an air tight container. I’ve had to wrap it up for 5 days and it was moist and delicious even after a few days. I haven’t frozen it as I don’t know what it would taste like after it thaws.

Did you enjoy this recipe?

Try these cake recipes:

• Best Chocolate-chip Pumpkin Cake
• Easy and Moist Chocolate Bundt Cake with Blueberry Icing

Lastly, if you make this recipe be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!