Cardamom-Spiced Damson Buckle with Freshly Milled Spelt Flour

This fresh milled spelt buckle is a nutritional unicorn, wrapped in fall flavors. It's an easy whole grain cake recipe that's deeply flavorful and infused with fall spice. The cake is incredibly soft and rich, topped with juicy fresh fruit and finished with a cinnamon-spiked crumble. It's a crowd-pleaser and deceptively healthy — I swear, no one will ever guess it's whole grain!

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A piece of cardamom-spiced spelt damson buckle is served on a floral plate, topped with bright white whipped cream.

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time:15

Bake Time:50

Total Time:1 5

Servings:12 slices

Calories:270kcal

Equipment

9-inch (23cm) Cake Pan - (a spring form or removable-bottom pan work well)
stand mixer or hand mixer

Ingredients

Crumble Topping

30 g melted butter - (2 tbsp)
50 g brown sugar - (¼ cup)
¼ tsp cinnamon
½ pinch salt
35 g freshly milled spelt flour - (¼ cup)

Dry Cake Ingredients

175 g freshly milled spelt flour - (~1 cup)
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom

Wet Cake Ingredients

115 g butter, at room temperature - (½ cup)
150 g raw cane sugar - (¾ cup)
2 large eggs
160 g crème fraîche - (⅔ cup)
½ tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

275 g sliced damsons - (1½ - 2 cups)

Instructions

Prepare the Dry Ingredients

Weigh out whole spelt berries (210g in total) and mill them on the finest setting on your grain mill. Remove 35g to a different bowl, for the crumble topping. Add baking powder, cinnamon and cardamom to the rest and set aside.

Prepare the Crumble Topping

Melt the butter in a medium-small bowl in the microwave, or in a small pot on the stove. Whisk in sugar and salt. Add the flour and cinnamon, and mix together into a crumbly mass. Set aside to rest.

Make the Cake Batter

In a large bowl, beat together softened butter, sugar and salt until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix until incorporated. Turn the mixer up to high and beat the mix until the batter is light and airy. Gently mix in crème fraîche, vanilla extract and lemon juice.
Add the fresh milled flour, spices and baking powder and mix to combine. Rest the batter while you prep the rest.

Prep the Fruit

Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease your cake pan generously with butter and set aside. Wash and drain the damsons in a colander. Halve each damson, remove the stone and slice each half lengthwise.

Assemble the Cake

Once the oven is hot, transfer the cake batter to the prepared cake pan. Smooth out the top, then add the sliced damsons in an even layer. Break up the crumble topping with your fingers and sprinkle it over the damsons.

Bake and Cool

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool down on a wire rack to settle the crumb before you release the cake from the pan.

Notes

If you're using store-bought flour you can skip the rest. Prep your fruit, cake pan and crumble topping first and then assemble straight away once the batter is finished.
Halve or slice plums, it's delicious both ways. Halved plums won't sink into the cake, so pick what suits your style.
A light hand when mixing flour into cake batter is never wrong. But don't worry about using the mixer here, since spelt doesn't contain a lot of gluten. The risk of accidentally over developing it and risking tough cake is slim.
You can swap soft wheat without a problem. In Europe, it'll simply be labeled as wheat.
Use any in-season fruit you love: Damsons, other plums, apples or pears.
Dust the cake with powdered sugar and serve with soft whipped cream. Serve leftovers for breakfast with a dollop of yogurt, Greek yogurt, or other protein rich dairy.
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Let it come back to room temperature before serving.

Author: Sarah | Grains & Greens Kitchen

Calories: 270kcal

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it turned out!