Sweet and lemony with little bursts of juicy berries, these little tea cakes are moist and have some texture from the almond flour. According to my family, they are one of the best I've ever made, and I tend to agree! They can easily be made GF and still be amazing. Blackberries and lemon are frequently requested around here, but you can vary the fruit and citrus combination.
Afternoon tea cakes
These cute, small, individual cakes are my way of bringing some summer vibes into my kitchen because fresh blackberries have such a short season!
These are simple and beautiful, the type of sweet bite served at tea time and cucumber sandwiches. Or at least that's what I think when I look at them.
- Powdered sugar makes the crumb softer.
- The almonds add great flavor and texture.
- If you use frozen berries, you can enjoy them year-round.
So keep this wonderful recipe close. It is truly amazing!
Check the archives for more blackberry recipes before the season is over!
The lemon-berry duo is a very delicious combination of flavors. No surprises there.
Yet these cakes, made with almond flour, egg whites only and melted butter, turned out to be in another league.
They were so tender and balanced, with the right amount of sweet, acid, citrus and texture to make them a regular visitor in my kitchen. I guess they're some second or third cousin to the sensational financier, a masterpiece of French baking.
Add a dusting of powdered sugar, and you're set. This is my kind of cake—rustic and incredibly tasty!
Ingredient Notes
- Blackberries: use fresh or frozen; both work well.
- Almonds: you can use almond flour or finely grind whole ones.
- Powdered sugar: also known as icing sugar or confectioners' sugar in some places.
- Egg whites.
- Flour: all purpose or cake flour both work very well.
- Baking powder: make sure it's not expired.
Quantities are listed on the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
Steps to make blackberry almond cakes
Making these little cakes is very easy and you only need a bowl and a whisk.
- The dry ingredients are mixed together, and then the egg and flavorings are added. This will result in a stiff batter that will soften when you add the melted butter.
- The egg whites are beaten before being incorporated into the batter to add some air and lightness to an otherwise dense batter.
- You add the berries, folding lightly so as not to crush them, and that's it! The cakes are ready to be baked.
Pan sizes
I use mini brioche molds simply because I have them, and they were perfect for this recipe as the mini cakes look amazingly cute and are a perfect size. But they can be expensive and not easy to find.
Tartlet molds, regular muffin cups would be my other choices and work just as well.
Mini bundt cake pans with simple patterns can also be an option, but I've had mixed experiences with other recipes using them, so they would be my last choice.
Depending on the size, you might get more cakes. Just make sure you fill them no more than ¾ of their capacity.
Gluten-free variation
They're easily adapted to a gluten-free version.
For GF, the best option is to use rice flour (white or brown) instead of the all-purpose flour in the recipe.
However, based on reader comments on other recipes, I believe a pre-made GF cake mix will work just fine. But I can't talk from experience, so if you try it, let me know!
Kitchen Notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, utensils and equipment needed, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
- Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as possible, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer (like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend tracking how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Flavorings: citrus zest (lemon, orange, tangerine and lime) all work very well with berries. Pure lemon or orange extracts (about ½ a teaspoon) can also be used. Skip the citrus and add some ground cinnamon, cardamom or almond extract for a different flavor profile.
- Gluten-free variation: the original recipe was GF, so it's easily adaptable. Substitute the same amount of rice flour (white or brown) for the all-purpose flour.
- Berries: use frozen blackberries directly from the freezer; there is no need to thaw them. Raspberries and blueberries also go very well with this recipe.
Related recipes you might like:
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Blackberry Almond Mini Cakes
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Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour, or use rice flour for a GF version
- ½ cup almond flour , or same amount of finely ground almonds
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, from about 1 lemon
- 2 egg whites
- ⅔ cup blackberries, fresh or frozen
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºC (180°C).
- Butter or spray 6 mini brioche molds (2.5 to 3 inches in diameter or 6 to 7.5cm). or regular muffin molds.
- Melt the butter in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the sifted flour and confectioners’ sugar together with the almond meal, salt and baking powder.
- Make a well in the center and add the vanilla extract or paste, zest and egg whites.
- Mix until well combined. Add the melted butter and mix carefully until fully incorporated. The mixture will be silky and shiny.
- Cut the blackberries in thirds.
- Put the individual molds on a cookie tray, and divide the batter evenly among them.
- Add the blackberry pieces on top.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, until a tester inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack and then carefully remove from pans. Cool completely.
- Dust with powdered sugar and serve.
Notes
Adapted from La Tartine Gourmande, by Beatrice Peltre
Marlene Gris says
These little beauties were fabulous. I made them with frozen wild blueberries and since I didn't have almond flour I finely ground blanched shivered almonds. I love the bit of crunch that it gave them.
My only problems were that I didn't know how much to grind the almonds and getting them out of the fluted brioche pans.
I sprayed the pans well but had to gently dig them out a bit.
I will definitely make these again!
rosa garrido says
good morning, your recipes are great - please what size of container you used to make this almond cakes. thnkyou
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Rosa, they're between 2.5 to 3 inches in diameter (6 to 7.5cm).
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
Berries and lemon, perfect anytime of the year. Love your little teacakes.
Felicia Lim says
Me encantaron Paula!! 🙂 Vos siempre tomas algo fácil y lo transformas en algo muy especial!! La combinacion de limón y blackberries es algo que todavia no probe pero ya me imagino que va a ser espectacular!
Kathy says
These are beautiful, Paula! I grow blackberries and raspberries, and always freeze them to enjoy during the winter. I think I will have to try these lovely teacakes!
HipFoodie Mom says
Paula! These teacakes are beautiful!!!!! I need to be better about freezing berries!!! These are just gorgeous!
Cocoa and Lavender says
I used to have 30 of those mini brioche tins, and I must have given them up when we moved west. So sad... I will have to make these using regular tins. But the good news is, they will still taste wonderful! I love the use of almond flour for a great cakey texture, too! Thanks,Paula!
Stacy Rushton says
How lovely these are baked in brioche molds, Paula! I can imagine them more rustic baked in a normal muffin pan but those molds really fancy them up.
laurasmess.me says
What gorgeous teacakes. Love the mini brioche pans as well, they make the cakes look so pretty with the fluted sides! Lemons and berries are definitely a winning combination. I am looking forward to more berry deliciousness as we head into the Australian summer! xx
Deb|EastofEdenCooking says
Freezing berries is a fantastic way to savor summer all year long. I also have the same book hiding somewhere on my bookshelf. It's time to start baking more often!
Medeja says
Lemon and blackberry.. Yummy! I am already dreaming about these teacakes.
Angie Schneider says
They look absolutely delicious! I still have some frozen berries, so I can bake some this weekend.