Blueberry Lemon Tea Cake – gluten free with oats and a bit of crunchy cornmeal

What are you going to do with all those gorgeous blueberries you found at the farmer’s market today… why not bake up a loaf of this Blueberry Tea Cake?  It’s as gorgeous as it is delicious and just the perfect treat for an afternoon tea or served up with a side of yogurt or fresh whipped cream and even more berries for a lightly sweet breakfast or brunch treat.  

I have been experimenting a lot with gluten free baking lately and not because I’m allergic to wheat, but more because I think I have a sensitivity to it, and also because I think it’s simply better for my own body at least, to just eat less processed grains.  My problem with a lot of gluten free baking recipes and packaged gluten free flour mixes is the addition of starches like potato or tapioca.  I simply don’t like the slightly paste like texture that these starches seem to add to muffins, scones, etc, plus they are pretty low on fiber content and other nutrients.  So, to that I’ve been using a lot of oatmeal and oats ground into a flour right in my bullet blender, just before using. 

oat flour, corn flour and corn meal, plus whole oats

I do love oats, add oats to a recipe and I’m a happy girl.  Not only do I love the taste, texture and nutritional value oats bring, I find they work well in my system and that is always a good thing!  

lemon zest, natural cane sugar and coconut oil

I actually adapted this recipe for blueberry tea cake from my own (not gluten free), lemon chia tea cake.  In this case, I made it gluten free and dressed it up with some beautiful juicy blueberries, when you flip the cake out of the loaf pan the bottom looks as if it’s been tie dyed by the sweet berries, so gorgeous!

Blueberry (Tie Dyed) Tea Cake – gluten free

With the addition of buttermilk, this cake bakes up perfectly moist and tender.  I also soak some rolled oats into the buttermilk (a trick I use in my oatmeal pancakes too), which adds to the lovely texture of the cake.  If you want to make this dairy free, use your plant milk of choice, such as soy or almond and add the lemon juice right in with the oats, works perfectly. 

Blueberry Tea Cake (gluten free)

Author: Sweet Green Kitchen’s Jen Jones

Ingredients:

½ cup oats

1 cup oat flour (from 1 cup oatmeal – blended)

½ cup corn flour

2 Tablespoons corn meal (adds a nice little crunch)

2/3 cup natural cane sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 extra large eggs – room temperature

¼ cup coconut oil – either softened or liquid

1 cup buttermilk – room temperature

Juice & zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl – mix together ½ cup rolled oats with buttermilk. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Oil a 9”x5” loaf pan.

In a medium-large bowl, mix together the remaining dry ingredients (oat flour through salt), plus the lemon zest.

Add to the oats and buttermilk, eggs, coconut oil, lemon juice and vanilla. Whisk it all together. *Note, it’s important that your eggs and buttermilk be at room temperature or the coconut oil may lump up as it hits the cold liquids

Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined.  Lastly stir in about 3/4 cup of the blueberries, saving the last bit to sprinkle on top.  Pour it all into your oiled loaf pan and sprinkle the top with your remaining blueberries.

Bake at 350 F for about 40-45 minutes.  When a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, remove from the oven. Let the tea cake fully cool in the pan before slicing into it, be patient, it’s worth it! Enjoy!

Blueberry Tea Cake with fresh berries and cream

Tagged: blueberries, Buttermilk, cake, cornmeal, Gluten Free, Oats, quick bread