Dewberry Jam Cake (AIP, Paleo, Vegan)
I love dessert, No doubt about it. I’ve always had a soft spot for sweets, and making an AIP cake with actual cake like consistency is like being on the hunt for the holy grail. AIP Cake recipes either come out chewy hot gelatin, or crumble so badly you’re not even sure it’s still cake. Y’all. This cake is everything you could hope for in cake form. This Dewberry Jam Cake has that rich and tender (can you call cake that?) pound cake consistency and pairs perfectly with the berries. And the best thing is, its 100% AIP, Paleo, and Vegan. Trust me, you’ll be in love with this delicious healthy dessert.
While I made this recipe with dewberries, which many of you may not have, don’t worry! Blackberries make a wonderful alternative.
So, let me give you a background on dewberries…
WHAT ARE DEWBERRIES?
When we first moved to South Texas we were told about the all amazing dewberry– a wild species of blackberries that grew on the coastal plains. They also happened to grow in our backyard.
I remember the springs when the sun had finally turned the bright red berries into a deep purply black. My mom, siblings, and I would gear up in our rain boots and garden gloves, plastic buckets in tow, to pick the wild berries that grew along the fence line. We did our best to avoid the small sharp thorns that pulled on gloves and pricked fingers as we reached into the brambly bushes to get the ripest berries.
We hadn’t done anything with dewberries for years, and I had all but forgotten they existed. This spring I was visiting my family, and in traditional fashion my mom wrangled the whole family to pick dewberries with me and my adult siblings complaining, just like the good old days.
We picked buckets and buckets of the berries, my siblings and I all competing to see who could pick the most, and I had forgotten just how much I liked the sweet berries. That night I practically dreamed of dewberries and then, it was born. Before anybody could tell me no, I was up the next morning making dewberry jam cake for brunch.
This dessert is fresh, lightly sweet, and easy to make. Say hello to your new favorite AIP dessert cake.
MAKING THIS AIP CAKE
Mixing the cake
The cake is fairly simple to assemble. First, start with the dry ingredients in a large bowl and slowly add in the wet ingredients. When you start, make sure that everything is room temperature so the ingredients easily incorporate and the coconut oil does not solidify. Also, do not fear, your batter will probably be a little on the thicker side. Don’t add too much liquid or this might make the cake chewy– ew.
In this recipe I used an 8 inch springform pan. To get the “layered cake” effect, let the cake cool for 15-20 min, you can put it in the refrigerator to help speed up the process, then use a large serrated knife to cut through the cake. If you use a 9 inch pan, it may be too thin to layer with only one cake.
Making the berry compote
While the cake is baking you can work on the berry compote. It’s simply berries, honey, and cassava flour. Like I said, blackberries are a great alternative to dewberries. For this recipe of compote, there is enough to layer the cake so if you are not going to do the layers I would recommend reducing the recipe by half. You can use fresh or frozen berries, either tastes great! This time I made the cake my berries were frozen.
When you make the compote, start to cook the berries on low. If you use fresh berries you may want to add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water, but once the berries start cooking they will begin to break down and let the juices out. Next, add the cassava flour and honey once the berries have released most of their juice. The compote may appear slightly runny, but in general it will get thicker as it cools down.
Assembling the cake
When the cake is finished baking allow it to cool completely before topping with the berry compote. If you want to create the layer effect, cut the cake in half and layer with berry compote in the middle and on top. Garnish with a few fresh berries to get the full effect.
Dewberry Jam Cake (AIP, Paleo, Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 2/3 Cup Cassava Flour
- 1/3 Cup Coconut Flour
- 1/3 Cup Tapioca Flour (may substitute arrowroot starch)
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/3 Cup Maple Syrup
- 1/4 Cup Coconut Oil
- 1 1/4 Cup Coconut Milk
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
Dewberry Compote
- 2 Cups Dewberries (may substitute blackberries)
- 3 tbsp Honey
- 1 tbsp Cassava Flour
Instructions
For The Cake Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350
- Add Lemon to coconut milk and allow to sit for 5 minutes to curdle the milk. Make sure the coconut milk is room temperature so that when you add it to the cake batter it doesn't harden the coconut oil.
- In a large mixing bowl mix together flours and baking soda and salt.
- In a smaller bowl mix the curdled coconut milk, maple syrup, and coconut oil.
- Slowly add wet ingredients to dry and stir continually to avoid clumping, batter will be thick.
- Bake in an 8 inch pan for 25-30 min or a 9 inch pan for 20-25 min. Use 8 inch pan if you want the cake to be “double layered”
Dewberry Compote
- While cake is baking add 2 cups of frozen or fresh berries to a sauce pan along with the 3 tablespoons of honey on medium low heat.
- Cook for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally or until the mixture gets juicy and starts to simmer.
- Add the tablespoon of Cassava and cook for another 5 min. Stir consistently at this point as the mixture will start to thicken.
- Once thick, take off of burner immediately and allow to cool.
Assembly Notes
- When the cake is finished allow it to cool completely before topping with the berry compote. If you want to create the layer effect, cut the cake in half layer with berry compote in the middle and on top. Garnish with a few fresh berries.
