Name: Berry Snack Cake (Reduced Sugar)
Total time: 3 h 45 min
Ingredients: 1½ cups (7½ ounces/213 grams) all-purpose flour; 1½ teaspoons baking powder; ½ teaspoon salt; ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons Sucanat (3½ ounces/99 grams); 8 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened; 2 large eggs; 1 tablespoon grated lime zest (2 limes); 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; ⅓ cup whole milk; 1½ cups (7½ ounces/213 grams) blackberries , blueberries, and raspberries

Why This Recipe Works

Looking for a flavorful, naturally sweetened cake that would be equally at home as an afternoon snack or dressed up with whipped cream for company, we decided to create a mixed berry snack cake. The warm, molasses notes from the Sucanat gave our cake a good flavor backbone, while lime zest gave the cake a bit of unexpected punch. Stirring the fruit right into the batter ensured that the bursts of flavor and sweetness were well distributed throughout the cake, allowing us to use less sugar in the batter itself. We found that the creaming method gave the cake the best texture, opening up the crumb and ensuring that the cake was perfectly tender, but still sturdy enough to support the berries.

Before You Begin

You can learn more about Sucanat in this article. This cake can be served warm or at room temperature. You can substitute frozen berries for the fresh berries; do not thaw the fruit before adding it to the cake batter. This cake tastes best the same day it is made. You can skip grinding the Sucanat in step 2; however, the cake will have a speckled appearance.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Make foil sling for 8-inch square baking pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil so each is 8 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Grease foil.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl. Working in 2 batches, grind Sucanat in spice grinder until fine and powdery, about 1 minute. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat ground Sucanat and butter together on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add eggs, lime zest, and vanilla and beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk in 2 additions, scraping down bowl as needed. Give batter final stir by hand, then gently fold in berries with rubber spatula.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake cake until light golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 25 to 35 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.

Let cake cool in pan for 30 minutes. Using foil overhang, remove cake from pan and transfer to wire rack. Discard foil and let cake cool completely, about 2 hours, before serving.