5 from 8 reviews

Huckleberry Lemon Verbena Tea Cake (Gluten-Free)

By Alanna Taylor-Tobin on Oct 17, 2014 (updated Jan 20, 2024) / 69 Comments Jump to Recipe

A moist and tender gluten-free pound cake recipe that bursts with tiny huckleberries and fresh lemon verbena, all drizzled with a vanilla bean glaze. This cake gets its pillowy texture and sturdy crumb from cream cheese and a happy blend of gluten-free flours.

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delicious Huckleberry Lemon Verbena Tea Cake {Gluten-Free}

Note from Alanna: I first shared this cake recipe back in 2014. I adapted it from a favorite non-GF loaf cake and I liked it so much that I doubled the recipe, baked it in a bundt pan, and put it in my cookbook. Don't worry if you don't have the less-common ingredients called for here; the cake is equally good made with blueberries and a little extra lemon zest in place of the verbena.

It seems like fall is finally hitting San Francisco. Nights are chilly enough to cover up with a light comforter (but not enough to close the window or deter the mosquitos that like to sneak in and probe us at odd hours of the night). The stack of heirloom tomatoes at the co-op grows smaller every week (though not enough to stop us from buying them up and eating thick slabs on dark mountain rye bread spread with goat cheese, avocado, and red onion every morning for breakfast.) The chill in the air makes me want to drop everything and run to the oven (though I still eschew heavy spices in favor of lighter, brighter flavorings). Hence, this cake, which is packed with the last vestiges of summer: earthy huckleberries, a scrape of lemon zest, and a handful of flowery lemon verbena leaves.

Were you to take a fat blueberry, squish it up with a wild blackberry, and condense the resulting mash into a fruit the size of a peppercorn, you would have the essence of a huckleberry. Their tiny size belies their big berry flavor. They like to grow under redwoods and tan oaks, a habitat that their woodsy flavor embodies, whispering of damp earth and dew-kissed leaves.

Huckleberries come into season in September and last through November. When we don't have time to forage for them, we sometimes find them for sale at our fabulous co-op, double bagged and dripping with indigo juice.

With strong flavor and a low water content, huckleberries are perfectly suited to baking. They pair equally well with fall spices like ginger and cardamom as they do with bright lemon. I especially like them in this teacake which gets an extra, herbaceous dimension from chopped lemon verbena.

Lemon verbena has been an obsession of mine since I tried it in an ice cream in France when I was in college. The fragrance is incredibly floral, with fresh citrus notes, and the leaves are commonly used to perfume soaps. In the kitchen, I like to capture its unique flavor in creamy desserts and butter-based pastries. In spite of my brown thumb, the small lemon verbena that I planted in our window box has flourished, and I managed to part with some of it in a couple of loaves of this cake.

I adapted the recipe from my favorite berry pound cake and my favorite gluten-free butter cake to make a thick batter that supports the berries. Cream cheese is the magic ingredient that keeps the cake moist, giving it a dense, pound cake-like crumb. The milk proteins work with sweet rice flour to lend a sturdy, smooth texture that no one will ever believe is devoid of gluten. The cake itself is sweet enough to feel like a treat, though you could leave the glaze off for a pastry more appropriate to breakfast than afternoon tea.

Once you develop a taste for lemon verbena, you may begin to spot it growing in backyards. Its leaves are long and slim, like those of a nectarine or peach tree, and they also make a delectable tisane steeped with hot water and a touch of honey. This makes an ideal accompaniment to a slice of this cake.

side shot of Huckleberry Lemon Verbena Tea Cake {Gluten-Free}

Huckleberry Lemon Verbena Tea Cake {Gluten-Free} with icing

If you can't find lemon verbena or huckleberries, try this cake with another summer berry or with frozen wild blueberries, and trade the verbena for basil, mint, or lemon balm, or a smaller amount of thyme or lavender.

row of Huckleberry Lemon Verbena Tea Cake {Gluten-Free} slices

top down shot of Huckleberry Lemon Verbena Tea Cake {Gluten-Free}

sliced Huckleberry Lemon Verbena Tea Cake {Gluten-Free}

*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this huckleberry tea cake recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*

5 from 8 reviews

Huckleberry Lemon Verbena Tea Cake with Vanilla Bean Glaze {Gluten-Free}

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A moist and tender gluten-free pound cake recipe that bursts with tiny huckleberries and fresh lemon verbena, all drizzled with a vanilla bean glaze.

Alanna Taylor-Tobin

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 45

Total: 1 5

Servings: 8 to 12 servings (makes one 8x4, 9x5, or 10x5" loaf)

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter, softened (4 ounces / 115 grams)
3 ounces cream cheese, softened (85 grams)
½ cup organic granulated sugar (3.5 ounces / 100 grams)
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Dry Ingredients

¾ cup sweet rice flour (4 ounces / 115 grams)
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons GF oat flour (1.5 ounces / 45 grams)
¼ cup millet flour (1.25 ounces / 35 grams)
2 tablespoons tapioca flour (.5 ounces / 15 grams)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup fresh or frozen huckleberries or blueberries, plus ¼ cup for topping the cake (7.75 ounces total / 220 grams)
3-4 tablespoons chopped fresh lemon verbena leaves

Glaze:

½ cup powdered sugar (2 ounces / 60 grams)
seeds from ½ a small vanilla bean (or a splash of vanilla extract)
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (enough to make a drizzle-able glaze)
tiny lemon verbena leaves for garnish, optional

Instructions

Make the cake:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºLine a loaf pan (I used a 10x5" pan but a 9x5 or 8x4 will work, toon the bottom and sides with parchment paper (or grease with softened butter, dust with flour, and tap out the excess).
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl fitted with your arms and a wooden spoon), cream together the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and lemon zest on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing to combine after each, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. The mixture may look broken; this is ok, it will come together in the next step.
Meanwhile, sift together the sweet rice, oat, millet, and tapioca flours with the baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. With the mixer on low, stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Remove the bowl from the mixer, add the 1 cup of huckleberries and all of the chopped lemon verbena, and fold gently to combine, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure the batter is homogeneous.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup huckleberries and press them gently into the batter.
Bake the cake until the top is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, 45-55 minutes in a 10x5" pan (longer for smaller pans). Lift out of the pan and let cool until barely warm, an hour or so.

Make the glaze:

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla bean, and enough lemon juice to make a drizzle-able glaze. Whisk well to eradicate lumps. Peel the parchment away from the sides of the cake. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake and let cool completely.
Serve the cake at room temperature, scattered with tiny lemon verbena leaves, if you like. Extras keep well, airtight at room temperature, for a day or two, or refrigerated for up to a few days (let come to room temperature for best results).

Notes

Don't fret if you don't have huckleberries; this cake should work equally well with fresh or frozen blueberries (especially wild ones), raspberries, or blackberries.

If you don't have fresh lemon verbena on hand, try using an equal amount of basil, mint, or lemon balm, or 1 tablespoon fresh lemon thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon lavender buds, ground finely, in its place.

If you or your cake-eaters are highly sensitive to gluten, make this with flours that are certified gluten-free, particularly the oat flour. If gluten isn't an issue for you or your cake-eaters, feel free to try this with 1 3/4 cups all-purpose wheat flour instead of the rice, oat, millet, and tapioca flours. (Or use this recipe and add lemon verbena to it.)

Nutritional values are based on one of eight servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 338kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 4gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 83mgSodium: 202mgPotassium: 139mgFiber: 1gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 625IUVitamin C: 2.9mgCalcium: 63mgIron: 0.8mg

Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!

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Comments

5 from 8 votes (4 ratings without comment)