Wondering what to do with all those huckleberries you picked over the weekend? Make Huckleberry Cake! This easy, one-bowl cake recipe takes just 15 minutes of hands-on time before baking in the oven. Vegan-adaptable. Blueberries work too!
Outside is the joy of the drop. Inside is the joy of the ocean.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
This quick and easy recipe for Huckleberry Cake is a delicious way to highlight fresh seasonal huckleberries. And yes, you can use frozen huckleberries or blueberries if you can’t find huckleberries in your area. Huckleberries grow wild in Pacific Northwest and must be foraged-they are kind of a big deal where I live, and this year, in particular, they are prolific!
Why you’ll love this recipe!
- One bowl- everything is combined in one bowl for the fastest of preparations. This recipe can also be a base for other fresh fruit or berries.
- Lighter & Healthier – we use Greek yogurt and olive oil for the “fat” instead of butter. A little bit lighter for summer.
- Flavor and Texture – We add lemon zest and vanilla to elevate the huckleberries, and the cake has a lovely moist and tender crumb.
- Vegan adaptable! Leave out the eggs; use plant-based yogurt! See notes.
Huckleberry Cake Ingredients
- Huckleberries of course! Fresh or frozen huckleberries work here, as well as blueberries or blackberries.
- Whole milk Yogurt – Greek yogurt, plain whole milk yogurt or swap out sour cream or buttermilk.
- Olive oil– Extra virgin olive oil is lovely here for added polyphenols, or swap it out for melted butter or coconut oil.
- Eggs- give the cake structure.
- All-purpose flour works well here, I try to use organic flour -but feel free to experiment with other flours.
- Seasonings – vanilla extract and lemon zest elevate the huckleberry flavor.
- Sugar- organic cane sugar is best.
- Salt and Baking Powder
- Lemon Glaze– optional but tasty!
How to make Huckleberry Cake (Instructions)
Step one: (Preheat oven to 350F) In a large bowl, whisk eggs, vanilla, yogurt and olive oil until smooth and creamy. Whisk in the sugar until well combined.
Step two: Whisk in the baking powder, flour, and salt. ( Yes, you can mix these together first separately if you prefer.)
Step three: Gently fold in the lemon zest and huckleberries. Don’t over-mix here unless you want your cake purple. 😉
Step four: Pour the cake batter into an oiled-loaf pan (see recipe notes). Bake on the lower rack or center rack until a skewer comes out clean- 50-60 minutes or internal temp reaches 200F. I always check halfway through to see if it is getting too dark; you can create a foil tent to place on top. Let the cake rest for 15 minutes on a wire rack before inverting.
Step Five: While the cake is baking, make the Lemon Glaze. Drizzle the lemon glaze over the cake over the wire rack placed over a sheet pan to catch the drippings. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if you like.
The Huckleberry Cake will keep up to 3 days on the kitchen counter at room temp, lightly covered.
How to serve Huckleberry Cake
Slice the cake into 1-inch pieces and serve on its own, or with more lemon glaze, whipped cream, or ice cream. Serve this as dessert, an afternoon snack with tea, or as a sweet brunch addition.
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Huckleberry Cake Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 50
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 9 1x
- Category: dessert, baked, morning bread
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This quick and easy recipe for Huckleberry Cake is a delicious way to highlight fresh seasonal huckleberries. And yes, you can use frozen huckleberries or even blueberries if you can’t find huckleberries in your area. Vegan-adaptable; see notes.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup whole milk yogurt (or sour cream)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 extra-large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4– 1 cup sugar (see notes)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1–2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 cup huckleberries (fresh or frozen, or use blueberries)
Lemon Glaze Recipe
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F
- Grease a 9-inch loaf pan with olive oil or butter (or use an 8-9 inch cake pan)
- In a large bowl, whisk yogurt, eggs, olive oil and vanilla until smooth. Add the sugar & mix really well, for 2 minutes. Mix in the salt & sprinkle in baking powder ( I do this over a strainer to catch any clumps), then stir in the flour and whisk until the batter is well combined and smooth. (Alternatively, you can mix the flour and baking powder separately- adding it together.) If the batter feels overly thick, you can loosen it with a little more yogurt, milk, etc, but a thicker batter will help keep the huckleberries in place and not sink.
- Gently fold in the lemon zest and huckleberries, being careful not to overmix.
- Pour the into the greased loaf pan and place on the lower to middle rack of the oven. Check at 35 minutes, and tent with foil if it is getting too dark, and continue baking until internal temp reaches 200F, or a toothpick comes out clean, 50-60 minutes.
- While the cake is baking, make the lemon glaze.
- Let the cake cool on a wire rack 15 minutes, before inverting.
- Run a knife along the edges of the loaf pan and invert. Place the cake on a wire rack over a sheet pan, and drizzle with the lemony glaze. Sprinkle with powdered sugar you like.
- Serve as is or with whipped cream or ice cream.
Notes
To make this vegan: leave out the eggs. Use a higher-fat, plant-based yogurt and increase to 1 cup (instead of 3/4 cup) of yogurt. If the batter feels overly thick, add 2-4 tablespoons of plant-based milk.
The cake will keep up to 3-4 days at room temp, lightly covered
This can be made in a 8-inch cake pan, or spring form pan, lined with parchment.
Sugar: Huckleberries are quite tart so if you prefer a sweeter cake use the full cup of sugar. I enjoyed this with 3/4 cups of sugar- keep in mind the lemony glaze is sweet as well. If using blueberries (much sweeter than huckleberries) reduce sugar to 1/2 cup- 3/4 cup.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 inch slice, without the glaze
- Calories: 291
- Sugar: 19.2 g
- Sodium: 405.8 mg
- Fat: 14.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 35.9 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5.3 g
- Cholesterol: 43.6 mg
Good morning. I want to make this cake and it sounds delish. If I make it in 8×8 pan can I still put the glaze on?
Yes, that should work fine. You will probably need to decrease the baking time.
I was looking for a dessert to modify and make low carb using almond flour and monk fruit sweetener. This recipe worked beautifully for the modifications and turned out delicious. I used fresh blueberries instead of huckleberries and didn’t add the glaze on top. Still flavorful and satisfying. My whole family loved it!
Oh nice Trace- Good to know!
This is delicious and beautiful! It comes together quickly and makes a lovely gift—huckleberries and lemon are perfect together! Thank you for creating this wonderful bread!
Thanks so much Mary!
This cake is easy to make and so delicious. I used frozen blueberries because it is what I had at home. Next time, I will add 2 table spoon of lemon zest because I loved the lemony taste.
Glad you liked it!
This time of year the huckleberries are pop’n in northern Idaho! Night two of making this delicious bread! Great recipe, and super simple for this novice baker! 😉
glad you enjoyed this Steve!
Please forward me the recipe
Jump to the recipe card Margaret!
Turned out beautifully. It was easy and fast to make. I had to make a few adjustments because I could not find huckleberries near me, and I am gluten/dairy intolerant. With that said, I made some adjusments… I used dried cherries, replaced the flour with 1 c gluten free flour (Better Batter) and 1/2 c almond flour… everything else the same. As per usual, your recipes inspire me. Thank you.
Sounds lovely Terry!
Went huckleberry picking last week and picked 2 gallons worth! I was looking for something special to make with them…and was just perfect. Enjoyed it with morning coffee and as dessert.
Yay for all the huckleberry! It’s a good year for them. Glad you enjoyed this Shelley!
Excellent!
This was sooooo easy and fun.
Yuuuuummie!! Thank u
Thanks so much and happy you enjoyed this!
This was sooooo easy and fun. I made some changes one good the otherI will follow but it was ok. I will put baking powder with flour. I had three different floors ( what I had and 3 eggs regular
I made a cream cheese softened with Greek yogurt and maple syrup
Yuuuuummie!! Thank u
Glad you enjoyed this and were able to make this work with what you had!
I made this cake yesterday and it was delicious! Light and fluffy and moist, with a lovely hint of lemon. I’ve passed it on to all the cooks in my family. X
thanks so much Jill!
Unfortunately my cake did not resemble your gorgeous cake!
My cake was dense and oily!!
I need to try it again!
Hi Lorna- Sorry- I am wondering if you used baking soda or baking powder? I had it listed incorrectly but it is fixed now. It should be baking powder.
Wat een heerlijke cake!Niet te zoet, met een frisse vleugje citroen.Ik heb de blueberries gebruikt. Dankjewel ❤️
What a great cake! Not too sweet with a fresh touch of lemon. I use blueberries! thanks.
Thanks Maria- I’m glad you enjoyed this and tired it with blueberries!
This is so good very delicious! I used blueberries. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Awesome to hear!
So you think almond flour would work in this recipe? I’ve never baked with it so not sure. Looks delicious!
Hey Trace, great question. I actually am not sure about almond flour here. I think a GF flour blend may work better? If using the almond flour, I would add another egg…but I am totally guessing here.
Am a chef and I like your Recipe.Good work!
thanks Mike 🙂
I forgot to rate your cake, it deserves 5, stars just the way it looks.
Awww… thanks Jose!
It looks great. I am vegan. Can I use plant-based milk as a sub?
Yes, use plant based milk and plant based yogurt- but there are eggs in the recipe too. Haven’t tied making this vegan yet…Let me know if you try it.
Can I use other flour, if yrs add which ones , wheat or almond or? What’s your favorite olive oil. I want to make this cake tomorrow yuuumie
I have only made this with All-purpose, but I don’t see why it would work with GF flour blends, einkorn or spelt, or whole wheat? Not sure about using straight almond flour though?
Looks delicious!!
Thanks Jane!
Does this recipe work with a non-dairy yogurt? If so what would you recommend?
Hey Carole- I haven’t tried this with non dairy yogurt- but my guess is it should be fine. I would get something with a higher fat content- coconut yogurt?
This looks SO good! Do you think there’s any way to make it vegan?
Yes, please read the recipe notes! It is pretty strait forward!