Gluten-Free Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

This weekend it snowed in Philly. A lot. It was a good excuse for a little baking. I'd planned to make this scrumptious-looking poppy seed lemon cake from smitten kitchen. But the ONE thing I'd forgotten to stock up on before the snow storm (well actually, I only stocked up on one thing: ice cream, naturally) was lemons. But I always have a lemon or two withering away in my refrigerator fruit drawer, so I expected to find one there as usual.

But no. Not a one. I guess they had withered to the point of no return and I'd thrown them away some time ago. Well, no lemons = no lemon zest. And no lemon zest = no poppy seed lemon cake. 

Since life clearly wasn't giving me lemons, I had to find another cake to make. I was in the mood for raspberries so I looked for a recipe with those, and happened upon this Raspberry Buttermilk Cake, also from Smitten Kitchen.

And I made it. Twice. It is that good. 

Both cakes are now completely gone (and no, I didn't eat them all myself). 

* both photos are of the first cake. the 2nd one looked even better*

It was really easy to make this cake "gluten-free." I just substituted the original flour with one of my favorite all-purpose gluten free flour mixes. And also made sure all the other ingredients were gluten free, which most of them naturally are anyway (eggs, milk, butter, etc). 

This is a wonderful cake because it's not a super fancy special occasion cake that takes a lot of time, layers and frosting. The every day kinds of cakes are yummier in my book. It's VERY quick to make, but incredibly delicious and addicting. It's a snacky, munchable coffee-y type cake. In my version I added some lemon extract (I love lemon and raspberry), and the second time I made a glaze and drizzled it across the top. 

Here is my adaptation of the recipe:

Raspberry-Lemon Buttermilk Cake

serves 4-8

1 cup all purpose gluten free flour (+ 1-2 tsp xanthan gum or equivalent if not included in your flour mix)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, softened

2/3 cup + 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar, divided

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 tsp lemon extract

1 large egg

1/2 c well shaken buttermilk**

1 - 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan. 

Whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt).  Set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer (or whisk) at medium - high speed until pale and fluffy about 2 minutes. Add in vanilla, lemon & egg. Beat well. 

Mix in flour mixture at low speed in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk and ending with the last bit of flour. Mix just until combined (I mixed a bit more than that and it did no harm).

Spoon batter into cake pan, smooth on top, and sprinkle with the raspberries. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Once the cake is golden brown on top and looks solid in the middle (you can stick in a toothpick at the center, and if it comes out clean, it's ready), turn off the oven and leave the cake in with the door closed for 10 minutes while the cake begins to cool. After the 10 minutes, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for another 15 minutes. It will look as though it has fallen a bit, but evenly throughout (not in the center only). It's really a pretty short cake so don't worry. It's supposed to be that way. Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack, and then invert again (so it has the same side up as it did when it was baking) onto a plate. 

If you want to make a glaze drizzle for the top: mix 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1T lemon juice. Drizzle with a spoon back and forth across the top of the cake. 

And now it's time to eat! Serve to yourself or to guests with tea or coffee. Warning: it won't last long! 


Cover the leftovers, if you are annoyingly self-disciplined enough that you leave any, with foil or plastic wrap. 

I'm guessing you can also make this pop it in the freezer for a future occasion  - I intend to try that since I'm sure I'll be making it again soon.

A few notes:

1) The first time I made the cake with an electric mixer, the 2nd time by hand. It works equally well both ways. None of the mixing is very difficult and I like the simplicity of using a whisk and doing it by hand. 

2) Buttermilk: it's easy to make yourself. Add 1/2 - 1T of lemon juice or vinegar to your milk. Let the milk sit until it begins to curdle (get lumps throughout). Should take 5-10 minutes and you're good to go!


3) The raspberries will sink toward the bottom of the cakes as it bakes. This is ok!

VERDICT: Every bit as good as, and indistinguishable from a gluten-filled version!