Sunflower Berry Skillet Cake (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
I've been hanging on to this sunflower berry skillet cake recipe for a LONG time. I developed it last Summer as a dense blueberry cake. The perfect late Summer dessert topped with honey swirled yogurt. It was lightly sweet, rich and strikingly nutty. I remember quickly scrawling the recipe in one of my unlined drawing notebooks. Logan and I shared it with friends over heart-full conversation one balmy Summer evening. Sitting outside, listening to the crickets singing, digging into mellow slices of berry laden cake. Bite by bite. Word by word. I swear the bedrock of my friendships at this point is treats shared on the porch. After that evening, it seems the Summer became tangled with plans and adventures. Days crept up on me like vines over siding. Autumn whipped me into a traveling frenzy. My feet barely touched the ground as I winged from one state to the next. Amidst the dervish of change this recipe got lost in the shuffle.
Until... on a mini tidying spree I decided it was time to go through some papers. Very occasionally, I like to harvest my notebooks for the really important info and then recycle the inked up pages. Lo and behold: the base recipe for this cake!
I've tweaked it since that original version. Now this cake is sweeter and lighter. The sunflower seed meal gives the cake a pronounced nuttiness and toothsome texture. Each serving holds within it a spangle of colorful berries. It's sweet enough for dessert and wholesome enough for breakfast. Nothing so makes me feel like a queen than devouring cake and cream for breakfast. Especially when I'm wearing my favorite purple shibori headscarf by Nellie Rose, clogs and my new favorite lip color (lovespell). Nordic queen of the unicorns vibes at ?.
This sunflower berry skillet cake recipe calls for teff flour, a high protein ethiopian pseudo-cereal. Bob's Red Mill Brand now carries teff and teff flour, and you can get it at most specialty & gourmet groceries. If you don't want to spring for teff flour (although you know you've been wanting to try my sweet and savory teff porridge recipes!) -- you could sub buckwheat flour. All of the other ingredients in the recipe are now widely available at most groceries.
If you make this recipe, leave a comment or tag my on instagram! I love hearing your thoughts. xo
- 1/2 cup (50 g) teff flour (buckwheat flour also works)
- 3/4 cups (60 g) almond meal
- 1 1/2 cups (125 g) sunflower seed meal*
- 1/3 cup (30 g) arrowroot starch / flour
- 2/3 cup (80 g) chickpea flour
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 farm fresh eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup nut milk (almond, cashew etc. all work fine)
- juice of 1 whole lemon
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 cup fresh mixed berries (I used 1/2 cup blueberries 1/2 cup raspberries)
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 10" skillet lightly with coconut oil and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the the dry ingredients: teff flour, almond meal, sunflower seed meal, arrowroot, chickpea flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, baking powder and cardamom.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients: 2 eggs, vanilla, nut milk, lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the berries.
- Pour the batter into your greased skillet. Bake for 28-30 minutes, rotating the cake halfway through. The cake is done when the top is wonderfully golden and fragrant and the center is set.
- Carefully remove the cake from the oven and let cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve with coconut cream or ice cream as you like. Dig in!