Blackberry Almond Loaf Cake + a Book

Summer has indeed sprung and its generosity has left our prickly invasive blackberries heavy with fruit, thus turning a foe into a temporary friend. It’s left me flush with berries up the wazoo, hence this very tasty and simple blackberry and almond loaf cake. It’s the kind you can just make in one bowl and have it in the oven within 15 minutes, which is the best for cake cravings when you don’t want to wait for the butter to soften or the eggs to come to room temperature. Olive oil for the win!

I am also celebrating with this little cake—I am writing a new book! Yes, 7 years after First We Eat was released into the world, I am diving back in to the joy of creating a text of my own. Modern Homestead: A 21st Century Guide to Finding Your Wild will be out in 2027, and a huge thanks to my editor Dervla Kelly at Rodale and my agent Stacey Glick for believing in me + helping bring this work to light. The book will be filled with recipes, crafts, and seasonal activities to help you slow down, be present, create more, consume less, and reconnect with the profound joy & satisfaction that comes from making things with your own two hands. I’ll also share about the process of finding land and building our home, for anyone who dreams of doing something similar someday.

I’ve been feeling pulled to write this book for quite some time. There is something so earth-shatteringly satisfying about making something yourself, whether it’s growing a pot of mint on your balcony or fermenting your own funky hot sauce. And I feel that in the increasing pace of the digital world, humanity is losing touch with the simple joys of working with your hands to forge something of your very own. Cooking, gardening, crafting—these are all things humans have done for thousands of years. They’re written into our DNA to soothe and inspire us. So I hope that the book brings joy to many people and helps folks reconnect with themselves and the natural world around them.

As for this cake, its a simple one that I adapted from Aran Goyaga’s Bakes Simple cookbook, and it really lets the seasonal blackberries shine. (There are two kinds of blackberries at the homestead, the native Oregon Blackberry, which creeps along the ground had has small supremely sweet berries in June, and the Himalayan Blackberry, which vines up trees aggressively, choking them out, and bears large fruit in late July into August. We have been at war these past months trying to cut back the Himalayan blackberry before it takes over and shades out the native plant life, but at least our nemesis is giving us some very tasty seasonal treats to nurse our wounds with in the meantime.) Because the cake has olive oil and yogurt in it, it tends to brown rather quickly, so I recommend tenting it with foil at around the 25 minute mark to keep it from getting too brown around the edges. It’s incredibly moist, easy to make, and absolutely delicious. I hope you enjoy it and all the fruits of this sweet season, dear reader!

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Blackberry Almond Loaf Cake

This simple cake whips up in no time, and is full of ripe blackberries, tasty almonds, and vanilla for a classic loaf cake with a twist.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword loaf cake

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 10 people

Calories 425 kcal

Ingredients

Blackberry Almond Loaf Cake

• 1 ¼ cups brown rice flour or all purpose flour
• 1 cup almond flour sifted if clumpy
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup finely chopped pistachios optional, can substitute your favorite nut
• Finely grated zest from 1 large lemon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ⅓ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup full fat Greek yogurt
• ½ cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• ¾ cup fresh blackberries

Lemon Glaze + Topping

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons milk
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons chopped toasted almonds

Instructions

Blackberry Almond Loaf Cake

1. Grease a loaf pan with butter, line the bottom with a rectangle of parchment paper, and set it aside. Toss blackberries in 2 tablespoons of the rice or all purple flour to coat, and set them aside for later. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the rice flour/all-purpose flour, almond flour, sugar, pistachios, lemon zest, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt until combined. Make a well in the middle and add the eggs, yogurt, olive oil, vanilla, and lemon juice, and whisk until combined, incorporating it into the dry ingredients around it until a smooth batter forms. Use a wooden spoon to gently fold in the blackberries.
3. Empty the batter into the loaf pan and bake on the lower third rack of the oven until deeply golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (aside from blackberry goo). This will take about 35 to 45 minutes, take care to tent with tin foil at the 25-minute mark if it’s browning too quickly (this tends to happen with yogurt + olive oil-based cakes). Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes before inverting the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon Glaze + Topping

1. Whisk together all of the ingredients except the chopped almonds. Drizzle the glaze onto the cooled cake, sprinkle with the chopped almonds, and serve. The cake will keep very well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Nutrition Facts

Blackberry Almond Loaf Cake

Amount Per Serving (1 slice)

Calories 425 Calories from Fat 189

% Daily Value*

Fat 21g32%

Saturated Fat 3g19%

Trans Fat 0.01g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g

Monounsaturated Fat 10g

Cholesterol 50mg17%

Sodium 170mg7%

Potassium 247mg7%

Carbohydrates 54g18%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 34g38%

Protein 8g16%

Vitamin A 110IU2%

Vitamin C 3mg4%

Calcium 96mg10%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.