It’s hard to resist simply eating all the berries you pick in the wild at the moment you pull them off the bush.  Sometimes I don’t resist, and just revel in finger-staining, tongue-dying berry feasting, while at other times I delight in the pile accumulating in my carefully-balanced container.  There’s a primal tug-of-war at work.  On one side, my evolutionary gatherer instincts are telling me to collect and preserve berries for future needs (and in my own personal evolutionary template “future needs” typically means “pie tonight”).   On the other side, my animalistic instincts want berries now.

The prospect of creating delicious baked goods or sauces for savory dinners often helps keep the desire to eat all the berries now at bay, especially if there’s a chance to share the tasty items with people I care about.  I do less baking now than I used to, because I avoid gluten and limit my sugar intake.  But I’ve experimented more and more lately with gluten-free baking, also limiting the amount of sweetener I use, and have come up with some delicious items.

This recipe is a pretty good example.  It’s a simple vanilla cake with berries baked into it.  If you only have a handful of berries, as I did, the berries are nice surprises in a simple cake.  If you have several cups of berries, they form a delicious fruity layer within the cake.

I used saskatoon berries, but you can also make this recipe with huckleberries, blueberries, raspberries, salal, black raspberries or thimbleberries.  You can combine berries as well.  I don’t think it would taste quite as good baked with strawberries or blackberries (milder flavor, higher water content) but you can try.  A few tiny wild strawberries would be nice mixed with other berries.

By the way, the saskatoon berries sank to the bottom when I made this.  Other berries, like raspberries or thimbleberries, are less prone to sinking, or sinking fully. 

Saskatoon Berry Vanilla Cake (Gluten-Free)

This makes one 8-inch square pan.  Recipe can be doubled for a large baking pan.

1. •1 1/3 cup gluten-free flour (I used the Bob’s Red Mill general baking flour)
   

2. •1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
   

3. •1 pinch salt
   

4. •1/2 cup cream
   

5. •1/4 cup milk
   

6. •1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
   

7. •1/3 cup sweetener (If you’re using sugar, you may want to add a little more milk if the batter is too thick.  I combined sugar and honey, because the crystal structure of sugar is useful for cakes, but I don’t like to use a lot of it.)
   

8. •2 teaspoons vanilla extract
   

9. •zest of 1 lemon or orange
   

10. •2 eggs, separated
    

11. •Berries - saskatoon, blueberry, raspberry, thimbleberry or black raspberry; minimum  1/2 cup, or up to 1.5 or 2 cups.
    

12. •Cinnamon
    

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Butter an 8x8 baking pan, or a larger one if you’re doubling the recipe.  Consider using parchment paper on the bottom, since fruit may sink and cause stickiness even if you’ve buttered.

1. 1.Beat butter.  When soft, add sweetener and continue to beat until creamed.  If you’re combining sugar and honey or sugar and maple syrup, start with the sugar and let that become fully mixed with the butter before adding the other sweeteners. 
   

2. 2.Add vanilla, zest, and egg yolks (one at a time) while beating.
   

3. 3.In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Add to butter mixture and stir by hand until just barely incorporated.
   

4. 4.Add cream and milk and stir gently.
   

5. 5.Beat egg whites until they form peaks.  Gently fold the whites into the rest of the batter.
   

6. 6.Pour batter into pan and sprinkle berries on top (they will sink a little bit or to the bottom).  Sprinkle on some cinnamon.
   

7. 7.Bake at 350 F for about 40 minutes or until golden
   

Here are a few more pictures...