Dairy, Egg and Nut Free Blueberry Cake

It’s summer and I have an overabundance of blueberries. I love to mix them into yogurt, cereal, pancakes and muffins. But I especially love it in a cake form. This recipe is a variation of the Blueberry Buckle recipe in my book, where the blueberries are sprinkled on top with a sugary crust. The cake is outstanding; loaded with blueberries in every bite and a delicious brown sugar crumble on top. It is the perfect dessert in the summer topped with soy ice cream, or even for breakfast as a yummy coffee cake.

If you have other berries in the house, use them. Raspberries, blackberries will do well; just be really careful about folding them into the batter with a rubber spatula so the berries don’t break up.  Finally, many of you have written asking how my recipes can be soy free too. It’s super easy, just exchange soy free margarine and shortening (like Spectrum or Earth Balance) for my Unsalted Fleischman’s Margarine and Crisco. Happy Baking!!

DAIRY, EGG AND NUT FREE BLUEBERRY CAKE

• 1/2 stick dairy free margarine (or 4 T.)
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1 T. water
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 c. dairy free “buttermilk” (mix 1/2 c. soy or rice milk with 1/2 T. white vinegar, let sit 5-10 minutes)
• 1 1/2 c. unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

CRUMB TOPPING

• 1 1/4 c. unbleached all purpose flour
• 3/4 c. light brown sugar, packed
• 1 stick cold dairy free margarine, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and generously spray a 9 inch glass Pyrex baking dish with dairy free baking spray, set aside.

In the bowl of mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the dairy free margarine and sugar until fluffy. Add the water, lemon zest and lemon juice. In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Alternate adding the flour mixture and soy “buttermilk” to the margarine mixture, combining thoroughly. Gently fold in the blueberries (or other berries) with a rubber spatula. Spread batter into prepared baking dish.

To make the crumb topping, combine the flour and light brown sugar with a wire whisk. Cut in the cold dairy free margarine with your fingers until crumbly and there’s still large chunks of margarine in the mixture. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over batter and bake 45-55 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean and crumb topping is lightly browned.

Cool to room temperature and serve.