Sunday, September 17, 2006

Fresh Nectarine Cake with Fresh Blueberry Sauce


I needed a dessert for Sunday night dinner and had intended to bake an apricot cake. I thought fresh apricots were still a bargain, but they were $4.50 a pound. Nectarines, however, were 99 cents a pound. They were big and beautiful and taste great with blueberries. This recipe is based on the gluten free cinnamon banana bread recipe from Babycakes bakery featured in this month's Food & Wine magazine. The cake is moist and accented nicely by the fresh nutmeg. It's terrific on its own, and even better with the sauce.

Nectarine Cake
1 c. gluten free flour mix
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. xanthan gum
1/2 t. allspice
1/2 t. fresh nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 overripe mashed banana
1/4 c. canola oil
1/3 c. agave nectar
1/3 c. vanilla soy milk
1 T. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil or spray an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum, allspice, nutmeg, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the banana, oile, agave nectar, soy milk, and vanilla. Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour into pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes before removing from pan. Let cool completely before slicing.

Fresh Blueberry Sauce
1 pint fresh blueberries, rinsed and stems removed
scant 1/4 c. organic sugar
1/2 t. cornstarch

Combine berries, sugar, and cornstarch in medium pan. Mash lightly so some berries remain whole. Set over moderate low heat and stir gently until sugar dissolves. Raise heat to medium high and boil, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Serve warm blueberry sauce over cake.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where is the Nectarine in this cake I must be overlooking it?

aTxVegn said...

How totally embarrassing that I left the nectarines out! Stir in 2 cups chopped nectarines to the batter, then pour into the pan.