Easy Gluten free fruity cake recipe

Discover how to make these stunningly simple fruity cakes

I’d like to share this quick and easy recipe for Blackcurrant & Elderflower Cakelets for you to try at home.

Easy glutenand nut free fruity cakes recipe

I think the name ‘cakelet’ fits well as these little cakes are something of a hybrid. Not quite a muffin and not quite a cupcake either. They are flat topped with a moist sponge. Perfect for a light, safe distanced afternoon tea.

As well as this being a ridiculously simple recipe to follow, it’s also really adaptable. You can swap ingredients around according to what you already have at home. We aim to demystify gluten free baking and encourage you to adapt the recipe to use your own preferred ingredients.

Honeybuns All Day Cook Book filled with gluten and nut free and vegan friendly recipes

This is another gluten free recipe we’ve used from our Honeybuns All Day Cook Book and it’s another one of our ‘one bowl’ wonders. You need just one mixing bowl, minimal time and kit.

Please check out Em’s Home Baking video to see exactly how we made and decorated the cakes.

You’ll see I’ve used melted butter. This is as much about habit as anything else to be honest. In the cakes you can buy from our gluten free bakery, we tend to use melted butter because it’s easier to mix it into large cake mixes quicker than if using solid butter. Working with liquid, we find there is less chance of finding dry unmixed ingredients at the bottom of our (very large) mixer bowls. We can avoid over mixing (which can result in tougher cakes and other issues) more easily with melted butter. Just ensure your butter is slightly cooled so you don’t scramble your eggs. By using melted butter the resulting cake texture is slightly denser – more of a muffin than a fairy cake I’d say.

If you prefer a fluffier bake then you can cream your sugar and room temperature softened butter to aerate the butter, then add the rest of your ingredients.This would be the more conventional and slightly longer method.

Gluten free and nut free afternoon tea cupcakes filled with fruit

If you’d like an introduction to some of our preferred gluten free flours then do check our blog and video on store cupboard ingredients we did earlier. Please don’t worry if you don’t have the sorghum flour. Again, we use it a lot in the bakery but there are plenty of excellent alternatives.

In the following recipe and in the video we used shelled milled hemp from Linwoods. They do a fabulous range of super healthy gluten free and vegan milled seeds. We love adding their seed blends to our chosen gluten free flours to maximise flavour, texture and the nutritional profile of the recipe.

What I specifically like about the milled hemp is:

– It’s got a lovely nutty flavour and texture, similar to coarsely ground almond. It’s therefore ideal when baking for those who cannot eat nuts.

– Nutritionally speaking, milled hemp is a powerhouse and is packed with magnesium, protein and iron-..the list goes on.

– It contains natural oils which results in moister bakes. Just by rubbing a little bit in your fingers you can feel the natural oils come out.

How many cakelets will this mix make?

This recipe makes 12 mini cakelets.

What ingredients will you need?

I’ve bracketed (swapsies and suggestions) ingredients to help make this recipe as adaptable as possible.

For the Cakelets

70g butter, melted (or oil: corn/sunflower/refined coconut/rapeseed all fine)

2 tbs blackcurrant jam (or any fruity jam you already have)

115g crystallised sugar of choice (caster/granulated/light brown/Demerara are all fine)

100g Sorghum flour (or Doves Farm gluten free plain flour/tapioca flour/polenta)

50g ground almonds (or Linwoods milled hemp/ground hazelnuts/other milled seed blend)

1tsp gluten free baking powder

2 eggs

70g crème fraiche (or thick plain yoghurt, or fromage frais)

½ tsp vanilla paste (or extract or powder)

½ tsp elderflower cordial (or undiluted elderflower squash)

140g fresh blackcurrants (or any other fresh or frozen berries you have)

Gluten free afternoon tea recipe for fruity cake

For the Drench

2 tbsp elderflower cordial

Juice of 1 lemon (or lime)

Topping

Icing sugar for dusting

Berries of choice

If available, edible flowers. For example, cornflowers, borage flowers or elderflowers

What Kit will you need?

12 hole muffin pan

12 paper cases

Mixing bowl

Hand held electric mixer

Cocktail stick or cake skewer

Here’s how to make it!

Gluten free afternoon tea recipe for fruity cake muffins

Preheat your oven to 170°C / Gas 3.

Pop the paper cases in your muffin pan.

Melt the butter and allow to cool.

Excepting your berries and melted butter, add all the other ingredients into your mixing bowl.

Add the melted, slightly cooled butter and whizz up with your electric mixer until all the ingredients are combined.

Scrape down the sides of your bowl and mix briefly again.

Add your berries and fold in gently using a spatula

Spoon mixture into cases which will be approx ¾ full.

Pop in the oven and set the oven timer for 18 mins. They might need another 2 mins. They’ll be mid-dark golden when done.

Gluten free afternoon tea recipe for fruity cake

Whilst the cakes are still warm, prick all over using a cocktail stick. Pour your drench over each cakelet.

Leave to cool completely before decorating with berries/flowers of your choice.

Eat more than one, ideally three with a lovely pot of tea

How long are my cakelets good for?

They will last up to 3 days wrapped in beeswrap in an airtight tin.

They freeze beautifully minus decorations. You can then bring them out defrost and decorate as you need.

I hope this was helpful and thanks for reading. 

Please share any baking pics with us on facebook, twitter and instagram and remember to tag us – that would be fab.

Please use #honeybunsbakealong so we can see and share your pics !

Thanks again, let us know if you’ve got any questions or suggestions.

With love,

Emx