The Best Fresh Milled Flour Blueberry Lemon Cake
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This fresh milled flour blueberry lemon cake has got to be THE BEST thing I have baked since making the switch to fresh milled flour about 2 years ago. IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!
I made it for Easter dinner after celebrating our Lord and Savior defeated death! The tomb was empty, he has risen, Christ has risen INDEED!
I used this recipe from Just So Tasty as inspiration and did my own little conversions and changes and it turned out delicious. So props to them for getting me started.
Tips for Baking a Fresh Milled Flour Blueberry Lemon Cake
If you’re anything like me, blueberry and lemon are a match made in culinary heaven. Really any berry and lemon. Make it a fresh milled flour blueberry lemon cake? It’s my favorite! And, while, using fresh lemons and zest in this recipe would be supreme, I live in Ohio and lemons aren’t handy and I’m a recluse who doesn’t want to leave my house. So I use lemon extract I made with lemon peels and some good ole bottled lemon juice. Still delish!
The best tip I can give you is to sift your flour. Leaving all the germ and bran in is good for you, but creates a much more dense, crumbly, and crusty cake. I prefer to sift it out. I do save the bran and such for later, to add to oatmeal or a smoothie or even give to the chickens. Just pop it into a container or jar and freeze it til you need it!
Be careful not to overbake. Fresh milled flour is NOT forgiving if you overbake. It will dry right out and become a cake crouton in an instant. Keep an eye on it and err toward being slightly under as it will finish off as it cools.
Be sure to grease and flour your baking pan well. Nobody wants to try and dig baked on cake out of the pan. I grease mine liberally with tallow or butter and then add a little un-sifted fresh milled flour and move the pan to coat it completely! Parchment also helps, but is not necessary.
After milling the flour for the cake, put it in the freezer to cool it down. This recipe uses softened, not melted, butter so you don’t want to warm flour to melt your butter when its added. We whip the butter with the sugar and add the eggs in to get it nice and fluffy. Warm flour would potentially melt it, at least partially. It’s not hard to mill the flour first and pop it into the freezer while you work on the cake batter.
Do rest your batter to allow the fresh milled grains to rehydrate. Store bought dead flour rehydrates instantly, fresh milled does not. For this reason, I don’t preheat my oven until AFTER the batter is made. That way my batter rests after making and I have a built in timer, also known as my oven coming to temperature!
Blueberry Compote
I top this cake with a blueberry compote after baking and slight cooling. I find that this just adds to the flavor and also adds a bit of moisture back in. BUT it’s not like make or break. You can omit it.
I make and can this every year, but since I don’t have a recipe on my site yet, I will give you the ingredients and a quick how-to in the recipe card. It comes together very quickly and is easy to do while the cake bakes as you have plenty of time.
You can use canned, fresh, or frozen blueberries for this and it will turn out perfectly!
If you don’t have blueberries, but you have blueberry jam, you could absolutely blend your jam with a little water to thin it out and then pour that over the cake. Works perfectly!
Fresh Milled Flour Cake Recipe Conversion
Making a cake fresh milled, you will normally use a soft white wheat. I know there are recipes out there using the more low gluten ancient grains like spelt or einkorn, but I don’t prefer it. I stick to soft white wheat.
When baking cakes, you don’t need to form gluten for it to rise (like bread) which is why we’re going to use the more tender and delicate and lower gluten variety called soft white wheat.
When a recipe calls for all-purpose flour, you should plan on using 1/4 cup more fresh milled flour for every 1 cup of all-purpose flour a recipe calls for. Example: 1 cup of all purpose flour would be 1 1/4 cups fresh milled soft white wheat. This is because of two things: the flour rehydrates differently and is also way fluffy after milling it fresh. There’s probably other reasons but I’m so unconcerned on the why, that I’ve never cared to ask.
It just is because it is!
Let’s bake a freshly milled lemon blueberry cake, shall we?
Equipment You Might Want
- Stand Mixer
- Grain Mill
- Large Mixing Bowl
- 9×13 cake baking pan
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 3 1/3 cup fresh milled soft white wheat (mill about 2 1/2 cups of wheat berries on a fine setting and measure it out from there)
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1 cup salted butter (softened)
- 1 3/4 cup raw unrefined cane sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 4 eggs
- 2 pints dry packed canned blueberries (drained, or 2 cups fresh blueberries)
- 2 tsp fresh milled flour
Blueberry Compote (optional)
- 2 cups blueberries
- 2 Tbs honey
- 2 Tbs water
- 2 Tbs lemon juice
- Pinch Salt
Frosting
- 1 pint blueberry syrup
- 1/2 cup salted butter (softened)
- 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 1 Tbs lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
Step 1: Mill the Flour
Start by milling the soft white wheat berries on a very fine setting. Sift them through a flour sifter twice and remove the bran and flakes.
To the flour, add cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sift together and then whisk well to combine. Place this mixture into the freezer to chill while you work.
Step 2: Make the Batter
Combine the milk and the lemon juice, stir, and set aside.
Into the bowl of your stand mixer, add the butter and sugar. Beat together for several minutes, stopping to scrape sides and bottom, until light and fluffy.
Working one egg at a time, add them to the mixture with the mixer running, being sure to whip and scrape down in between each addition. Once all eggs are added, turn off mixer and scrape the bowl sides and bottom really good one last time.
Turn the mixer on the lowest speed and slowly add about 1/3 of the chilled flour mixture followed by about half of the buttermilk and lemon mixture. Once mixed, scrape the bowl, and then repeat the process until all the buttermilk and flour is mixed in. Be careful not to overmix the batter!
Toss the drained blueberries with the 2 tsp of fresh milled flour. Then fold gently into the cake batter.
Turn the oven on to preheat to 350F. I do this after making the batter just to give the fresh milled flour ample time to rehydrate, as it does much slower than store bought dead flour. A 15-20 minutes rest is always good for anything fresh milled flour!
Step 3: Bake
Pour the cake batter into your prepared 9×13 cake pan. Gently smooth and level out the batter.
Bake for about 30-45 minutes, depending on your oven. Mine took about 45 minutes, but all ovens are different so go with your gut and what you know about yours! The cake is done when the top appears set and when a toothpick is inserted, it comes out clean. The top should feel firm and springy, not gooey!
After baking, remove the pan and place on a wire rack to cool.
Step 4: Make the Blueberry Compote
While the cake is baking, you can make the blueberry compote. Add all ingredients to a small sauce pan and simmer over low heat just until slightly thickened. You don’t want it to be jam, but more of a thickened syrup.
Set aside to cool until the cake is done baking.
Once the cake is finished baking, allow it to cool 15 minutes. Then poke holes in the top with a knife or wooden spoon. Pour the warm compote and spread it over top. Allow everything to cool completely.
Step 5: Make the Frosting
To the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar. Mix on low just until the sugar is combined and then increase speed and whip it for several minutes until light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom.
Add the lemon juice and lemon extract and whip to combine.
Frost the cooled cake in an even layer.
Serve & enjoy!
Equipment
- stand mixer
- 9×13 cake baking pan
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 3 1/3 cup fresh milled soft white wheat mill about 2 1/2 cups of wheat berries and measure it out from there
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- 1 3/4 cup raw unrefined cane sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 4 eggs
- 2 pints dry packed canned blueberries drained, or 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 2 tsp fresh milled flour
Blueberry Compote (optional)
- 2 cups blueberries
- 2 Tbs honey
- 2 Tbs water
- 2 Tbs lemon juice
- Pinch Salt
Frosting
- 1 pint blueberry syrup
- 1/2 cup salted butter softened
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 Tbs lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Step 1:Â Mill the Flour
- Start by milling the soft white wheat berries. Sift them through a flour sifter twice and remove the bran and flakes.
- To the flour, add cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sift together and then whisk well to combine. Place this mixture into the freezer to chill while you work.
Step 2:Â Make the Batter
- Combine the milk and the lemon juice, stir, and set aside.
- Into the bowl of your stand mixer, add the butter and sugar. Beat together for several minutes, stopping to scrape sides and bottom, until light and fluffy.
- Working one egg at a time, add them to the mixture with the mixer running, being sure to whip and scrape down in between each addition. Once all eggs are added, turn off mixer and scrape the bowl sides and bottom really good one last time.
- Turn the mixer on the lowest speed and slowly add about 1/3 of the chilled flour mixture followed by about half of the buttermilk and lemon mixture. Once mixed, scrape the bowl, and then repeat the process until all the buttermilk and flour is mixed in. Be careful not to overmix the batter!
- Toss the drained blueberries with the 2 tsp of fresh milled flour. Then fold gently into the cake batter.
- Turn the oven on to preheat to 350F. I do this after making the batter just to give the fresh milled flour ample time to rehydrate, as it does much slower than store bought dead flour. A 15-20 minutes rest is always good for anything fresh milled flour!
Step 3:Â Bake
- Pour the cake batter into your prepared 9×13 cake pan. Gently smooth and level out the batter.
- Bake for about 30-45 minutes, depending on your oven. Mine took about 45 minutes, but all ovens are different so go with your gut and what you know about yours! The cake is done when the top appears set and when a toothpick is inserted, it comes out clean. The top should feel firm and springy, not gooey!
- After baking, remove the pan and place on a wire rack to cool.
Step 4:Â Make the Blueberry Compote
- While the cake is baking, you can make the blueberry compote. Add all ingredients to a small sauce pan and simmer over low heat just until slightly thickened. You don’t want it to be jam, but more of a thickened syrup.
- Set aside to cool until the cake is done baking.
- Once the cake is finished baking, allow it to cool 15 minutes. Then poke holes in the top with a knife or wooden spoon. Pour the compote and spread it over top. Allow everything to cool completely.
Step 5:Â Make the Frosting
- To the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar. Mix on low just until the sugar is combined and then increase speed and whip it for several minutes until light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom.
- Add the lemon juice and lemon extract and whip to combine.
- Frost the cooled cake in an even layer.
