Gooseberry Bundt Cake

German gooseberry cakes are often streusel cakes baked in springform pans. Most of the time they have a pudding or cheesecake layer. Although that sounds very tempting, I opted for an easier cake, that does not require as many steps and ingredients. It’s a simple gooseberry bundt cake. It is very moist and juicy. It is also very quick to prepare. You’ll need about ten minutes and then you can sit back and relax for the next 60 minutes, while your cake is baking away in the oven.

To make this a gooseberry bundt cake bit more special, I went for an interesting glaze. I blended powdered sugar with freeze dried strawberries and mixed the powder with lemon juice. This way it tasted like strawberry lemonade. If you don’t have access to freeze-dried strawberries, you can leave them out. Also leave out the lemon juice and use strawberry juice instead. Or make an even simpler glaze with just powdered sugar and lemon juice.

Gooseberries are one of my favourite berries. Their tart flavour goes so well with any kind of sweet treat. I am kind of sad that I live in a city and a flat with no garden attached to it. Because that means that I do not have that much access to gooseberries. Supermarkets don’t stock them that often and even health food stores aren’t the hugest fans. These berries are garden berries and if you have a garden you don’t have to buy these. And if nobody buys them, there’s no need to stock them. I really wish gooseberries were more popular!

Tip: If you cannot find fresh gooseberries maybe you can find them canned or frozen.

I opted for a bundt cake recipe, because it is easy to make. I think bundt pans are perfect when a lot of moist ingredients go into your cake. Because a bundt pan has a hole in the middle a lot of the cake batter is in contact with the edges of the pan. Therefore the cake is much easier to cook and won’t come out all mushy and undercooked. Also these days there are many beautiful bundt pans available, which means even the simplest cake will look stunning.

For this gooseberry bundt cake recipe, I used small, red gooseberries. I did not cut them in half. But if your berries are on the larger side, you can do that. If you do not have access to gooseberries, try any berry you like here. German berry season is very short and it’s not a problem to use whatever you have available instead. Even frozen berries will work.

By the way, if you ever worry about removing a cake from a bundt pan, here’s what I do: I grease my pan and then I dust it with flour. After baking I let the cake cool for about 10 – 15 minutes. Then I use a plastic knife to carefully loosen the cake from the pan. After that I place a baking rack on top of the pan and turn it around.

To test if the cake is done, insert a toothpick into the centre. Take it out again and check the crumbs sticking to it. If they look very moist or if there are still bits of raw batter sticking to it, your cake is not done. Keep baking and check again after 10 minutes. Because there are so many berries in this cake, it will be moister than a regular bundt cake. But the crumb should still come out fine.

Gooseberry Bundt Cake

This gooseberry bundt cake is easy to make and loaded with fresh gooseberries. It is topped with a delicious strawberry lemon glaze.

• 180 ml vegetable oil (¾ cup)
• 200 g sugar (1 cup)
• 120 g plain soy yoghurt (½ cup)
• 240 ml plain soy milk (1 cup)
• seeds from one vanilla bean
• 400 g all-purpose flour (3 ⅓ cups)
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 200 g gooseberries

For the strawberry glaze

• 100 g powdered sugar
• 30 g freeze-dried strawberries
• 2-3 tbsp lemon juice

1. Grease a 23-cm (9-inch) bundt pan with coconut oil and dust it with all-purpose flour. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).

3. Add oil, sugar, and vanilla to a large bowl and, with a hand-held mixer, beat well for 1 minute.

4. Add soy yoghurt and beat again until everything is combined.

5. Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

6. Pour milk on top and beat until the batter is smooth.

7. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes until the cake is done. Stick a toothpick into the centre and if it comes out clean the cake is done.

8. Let cool for 15 minutes.

9. Use a small knife (preferably a very flexible plastic knife) to loosen the edges, especially around the tube in the centre.

10. Turn the pan around and let the cake slide on a cookie rack to cool completely.

To make the strawberry glaze

1. To make the glaze, place powdered sugar and strawberries in a high speed blender.

2. Blend together until the strawberries have completely mixed with the sugar.

3. Transfer to a bowl and add lemon juice by the teaspoon until it has reached a smooth and pourable consistency.

4. Pour over the completely cooled cake.

Dessert

German, vegan

VeganDiet

berries, easy, summer dessert

More delicious gooseberry recipes:

Beesting Cake with Gooseberries

Semolina Pudding with Gooseberries