Bilberry Time!: Bilberry Almond Cake with Bilberry Sauce

Bilberry Almond Cake with Bilberry Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream

It’s that time of year again:  the bilberries are ripe, at least in southern Finland.  On a mushroom picking trip earlier this week, Rio and I found very few mushrooms and a whole lot of bilberries.

And enough of these beautiful wild strawberries to make a batch of jam:

Wild Strawberries – the last of the season.

Bilberries, as you may recall from an earlier post, are often mistranslated as “blueberries”.  They are not blueberries, but rather their own little flavor-packed wild berry.  And while I love eating blueberries fresh & straight from the bush or basket, I have to say that bilberries (or at least very tiny wild blueberries) are my berry of choice when it comes to baking.  Since I didn’t have a blueberry picker (essentially a very large comb with a basket attached to catch the berries) with me when I saw the mother lode of bilberries (remember: I was equipped with a mushroom knife and basket!), I decided to satisfy my bilberry craving and made a sweet celebration cake yesterday using frozen bilberries.  After all, I need to clear all available freezer space for the incoming crop!

Happy Summer moments.  Or fill your freezer with bilberries and have this anytime.

This cake is good by itself for a simple snack; mouthwatering when you pour on the bilberry sauce, and seriously over the top delicious when you add a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  That’s all I’m going to say about that.  I’m going to cut myself another slice and then grab my berry pails and head for the woods again.

Bilberry Almond Cake with Bilberry Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream

Bilberry Almond Cake with Bilberry Sauce


Heat oven to 180°C / 375°F

In a large bowl combine:
1 cup / 2 dl almond flour
3/4 cup / 1 1/2 dl farro (emmer) flour
1/2 cup / 1 dl wheat flour
3/4 cup s/ 1 1/2 dl sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon / ruokalusikka fresh lemon zest

Separate 3 eggs, placing the whites in a large bowl and the yolks into a medium size bowl.

Whip the egg whites with an electric beater or mixer until soft peaks form.  Add:
1/3 cup / 3/4 dl sugar

Beat again until stiff peaks form.  Set aside.

Beat the egg yolks.  Add:
1/2 cup / 150g creme fraiche
1/4 cup oil / 1/2 dl (olive or canola both work well)
1 cup 2% milk /  2 dl kevyt maito
1 teaspoon vanilla

The bilberries will sink as the cake bakes

Pour the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a spatula to combine well.  Add the egg whites and fold them in to the batter carefully so that the finished product is nice and fluffy.  Pour the batter into a greased springform pan with a removable bottom.  Spread the mixture so the top is even, then drop onto the surface:

1 cup / 2 dl fresh or frozen bilberries

Bake for about one hour or until the top is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, make the sauce.

Bilberry Sauce

In a small saucepan, combine:
1 cup / 2 dl bilberries
enough water to completely cover bilberries


1/2 tablespoon / ruokalusikka fresh lemon zest

Bring the mixture to a full boil.  Remove from heat.

Combine in a small bowl:
1/4 cup / 1/2 dl water
1/2 tablespoon potato flour or cornstarch

Return blueberry mixture to heat.  When the mixture begins to bubble, immediately add the potato flour mixture.  When the mixture begins to bubble and thicken, remove from heat.  If it is too thick, add a little water and bring to a boil again.  If it is too thin, add a little more potato flour.  You want it to be slightly runny so that it will pour.

To the cooked blueberry mixture, add:
1/2 cup / 1 dl fresh or frozen bilberries

Stir well to combine, transfer to a pitcher with a spout, and set aside to cool.

To serve:
Top one slice of bilberry pie with a generous pouring of bilberry sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Serves 12-14, unless you are really hungry!  You may want to make a double batch of the bilberry sauce if you are serving a crowd.

You may feel a strong need to go back for seconds.  Pour another cup of coffee while you are up!