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German Blueberry, Blackberry and Raspberry Sheet Cake

8/15/2016

57 Comments

 
This delicious light and fruity cake is easy to make. It makes a great snack or breakfast.  One could call it a coffee cake. You will find it in every German bakery or household using a variety of different fruits. I’ve used blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, and plums. However, my favorite for this cake are gooseberries mixed with red currants. I love the tartness of these fruits from the northern hemisphere. Unfortunately, they do not grow here in northern California. I have tried to grow them many times, but without success, as they need frost in the winter. . 
German Berry Sheet cake
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It all started when my blogging friend, Suzanne, from apuginthekitchen had bought some gooseberries and red currants at the farmer’s market and asked if anybody knew what to do with them. Instant childhood memories came to mind of stuffing myself with gooseberries fresh from the bushes as they ripened. I remember spitting out the tough skin while enjoying the soft creamy inside filled with seeds. My mom used to can them so that in the cold winter we could eat them as compote with vanilla sauce for our Sunday lunch. Sunday lunches were warm meals (more elaborate than weekday meals) and there was always dessert. My family would also bake large sheet cakes or Blechkuchen as they are known in Germany. These cakes could be as simple as a yeast cake dotted with butter and sprinkled with sugar, which is called Zuckerkuchen (sugar cake). Or the cake could have fruit with custard added as a topping.  Another favorite sheet cake of mine is Schmandkuchen (sour cream cake), a yeast cake topped with a rich custard and raisins. Today, whenever I’m in Germany these simple cakes are some of my favorites.
German Blueberry, Blackberry, Raspberry Peach sheet cake
Let’s get back to my sheet cake. I cut the recipe in half, which still makes enough for 9 generous pieces. I used a mixture of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. I am going to try plums next time. If I use plums, I will add some cinnamon too. With the second cake, I substituted spelt flour for the regular flour and ¼ cup coconut sugar for the regular sugar. This version of my cake was dense and lacked the lightness of the other cake. I think my cake tasters were polite when they said they liked it. I prefer the regular recipe served with whipped cream or ice cream.
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The spelt flour cake
preview recipe
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If you like butter you will like this buttery almond sheet cake I posted earlier. 
57 Comments
rebecca
8/19/2016 12:48:15 pm

I am going to make this tomorrow! I had something that looked like this when I was in Austria and I loved it. Yours looks even better!

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Gerlinde
8/19/2016 02:43:38 pm

Good luck with the baking Rebecca and let me know how it turned out.

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Mimi link
8/19/2016 12:48:23 pm

Just beautiful!

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Gerlinde
8/19/2016 02:44:09 pm

Thank you Mimi

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Pamela link
8/19/2016 12:53:00 pm

Okay, I'm going to show my ignorance here. Ready? I don't know what spelt flour is. I want to try this recipe, but do I have to go out and buy spelt? I have an old recipe of my mom's sort of similar to this, only you add two cups of boiling hot water to the pan (on top of the butter/sugar mixture at bottom, then washed fruit on top of that, then the water) and then bake. It's luscious also. :-)

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Gerlinde
8/19/2016 03:32:37 pm

That's not ignorance Pam, most people have no idea what spelt flour is. In Germany it is known as Dinkel flour and in Italy as Farro . It is a hardier and more nutritious cousin to modern wheat. I also use it in my banana pancakes. I can buy it here in Santa Cruz in any health food store. Store it in the freezer if you keep it for longer.
I would be interested in your mom's recipe, do you have it?

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Pamela link
8/27/2016 01:51:20 pm

Hi! Sorry I just saw your comment to me. I'll go look for spelt flour - probably Whole Foods has it. My mom's Blueberry Cake recipe (but it's not really cake): 2 cups berries, juice of half a lemon, 8" square pan. Put berries in bottom, sprinkle with lemon juice. 3/4 cup sugar, 3 Tbls butter, 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt. Cream sugar and butter and add milk with the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt). Spread batter over the fruit. Combine 1 cup sugar, 1/2-1 Tbls cornstarch, 1/4 tsp salt. Mix and sprinkle on top of the batter. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over it all. Bake 375 for an hour.
Sound weird? It always turns out delicious. Sometimes I add other berries with the blueberry, like blackberries when they're in season (I did this a lot when we lived in the Bay area). xo

Teagan R Geneviene link
8/19/2016 01:42:02 pm

Dear Gerlinde, this post is such a treat. The cakes look and sound delicious. Your narrative was so lovely, I could imagine the aromas of those childhood cakes. Simple pleasures (as they say) really are the best. I certainly would have dug right into any of these. Mega hugs!

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Gerlinde
8/19/2016 03:00:54 pm

Thanks Teagan, what a great compliment. Writing doesn't come easy for me, cooking does. Mega hugs back!

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Deb|EastofEdenCooking link
8/19/2016 01:59:24 pm

Food memories are the best! They include so much, seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling, touching, our emotions too! Your cake is lovely and so full of summer in each bite.

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Gerlinde
8/19/2016 03:02:58 pm

Your are right Deb, food brings back so many memories. I can still taste those Gooseberries.

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Jo Nell Huff
8/19/2016 02:34:52 pm

They both look divine and just right for summer!

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Gerlinde
8/19/2016 03:04:27 pm

Thanks Jo!

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Gudrun
8/19/2016 04:13:36 pm

Oh, my mom used to make this. Also, do you have a recipe for the Zuckerkuchen? My uncle had a bakery and he would make this as a big sheet cake for gatherings. I always loved it.

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Gerlinde
8/20/2016 01:07:48 pm

I don't really have a recipe Gudrun but here is a link I found on the net.
http://holunderweg18.blogspot.de/2015/10/apfel-schmand-hefekuchen-vom-blech.html
My mom never used apples in her Zuckerkuchen. My favorite Zuckerkuchen these days comes from a bakery in Northeim near our farm. It is a yeast cake topped with a lot of butter and sugar.

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Suzanne link
8/19/2016 05:37:18 pm

I have saved this recipe and will make it once I am at a point where I can reward myself for losing some weight. It looks delicious,

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Gerlinde
8/20/2016 01:11:09 pm

I understand Suzanne and maybe you get to make it next year when you have gooseberries and red currants .

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Tricia @ Saving room for dessert link
8/20/2016 04:25:03 am

This is a lovely cake and I love that you tried it with both flours. Experimenting is fun and this is going on my list. I adore making authentic recipes from other countries - such a treat! Have a great weekend.

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Gerlinde
8/20/2016 01:12:59 pm

Thank you Tricia, I love to play with food and create new recipes. It is so much fun.

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Nicole @ thejameskitchen link
8/20/2016 10:04:25 am

Blechkuchen, those are such great staples and I love the fruit cakes, too. My great aunt made a killer Zuckerkuchen which I can smell when I close my eyes but I never had Schmandkuchen, do you have a recipe here? I'll go and look. N xx

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Gerlinde
8/20/2016 01:15:10 pm

Hi Nicole, I looked at the web but couldn't find a recipe that looked like my mom's Schmandkuchen. I keep on looking. Do you have your great aunt"s recipe?

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Darlene Foster link
8/20/2016 10:54:13 am

My mom made this kind of cake with Saskatoon berries we picked on the Canadian prairies. It was so good. She also used plums and other fruit in season. Thanks for the recipe.

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Gerlinde
8/20/2016 01:18:58 pm

Thank you Darlene, I wish I had written down my mom's recipes. Her sheet cake were so delicious. She never used a recipe or measured the ingredients, it was all done by feel.

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penny link
8/20/2016 01:23:39 pm

All these berries are ripe and plentiful here right now. I can't wait to try this.

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Gerlinde
8/20/2016 01:25:47 pm

Thank you Penny, I hope you like it. It's a cake to have with your tea.

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Gudrun
8/20/2016 08:41:25 pm

Hello Gerlinde. Well, this is baking as I am writing. but I just guessed at what to do with the 9 TBLS of soft butter. I only had some frozen blueberries so that is what I used. It smells wonderful.

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Gerlinde
8/20/2016 11:24:03 pm

Thank you for telling me about the mistake I made. I fixed it. I wish I had a proof reader. I hope the cake came out okay. Frozen blueberries can be soggy.

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Gudrun
8/20/2016 11:38:09 pm

Whew....I did cream the butter and sugar first and then added the eggs....old habits die hard, lol. The cake took 50 minutes to bake in 8 inch pan and the blueberries are in the middle. It came out great and my husband loved it. Thank you for this recipe. I had IQF'd these blue berries from fresh and they were not soggy.

Charlotte link
8/21/2016 02:42:16 am

This looks soooooo good. I love berries and anything that exists to show off their tartness is perfect in my book. Thanks for the lovely recipe.

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Gerlinde
8/21/2016 10:06:11 am

You are very welcome

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Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen link
8/21/2016 06:29:54 am

Such a summer perfect cake with all those berries Gerlinde! I've always got an abundance of all sorts of berries from the local stands, so now I know what I'll make next! Thanks for sharing!!

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Gerlinde
8/21/2016 10:06:58 am

Thank you Mary Ann, let me know how it turned out.

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David link
8/21/2016 07:26:19 am

I remember the gooseberry version from my days living in Heidelberg! I wish we could get them here, too! Lovely cake, Gerlinde!

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Gerlinde
8/21/2016 10:09:15 am

Thank you David, Gooseberries are such an interesting berry. I love them, especially in cakes.

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cheri link
8/21/2016 07:43:32 am

I don't think I have ever had a gooseberry, but you make them sound so delightful. Love that you made 2 cakes with 2 different flours. It is fun to try different ingredients like that. Both look delicious!

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Gerlinde
8/21/2016 10:10:46 am

Thank you Cheri, you either love or hate gooseberries. Red currents are sour but wonderful in cakes and drinks.

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sippitysup link
8/21/2016 02:38:46 pm

Polite recipe tasters? I'm surrounded by nothing but critics ;) GREG

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Gerlinde
8/21/2016 02:42:56 pm

How come? My husband can be critical.

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Don
8/21/2016 05:01:05 pm

Gerlinde, this type of cake looks similar to your apricot cake I've had recently which I really like. I've gotta try some.. Don

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Gerlinde
8/21/2016 07:28:52 pm

It is similar, unfortunately Will ate ate all of the cake. I will bake you another one soon.

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Amanda link
8/21/2016 11:43:45 pm

Cake has been on my mind all day long - and now that I've seen this I really do think I',m going to have to go and bake one!

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Gerlinde
8/22/2016 07:10:17 am

Thank you Amanda, I was thinking of trying to find some canned gooseberries and use them in this cake.

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Linda Brown link
8/22/2016 12:31:07 pm

Very Yummy looking. I'm always on a look out for recipes I can adapt to gluten free...I'm going to give this a go.

Linda

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Gerlinde
8/23/2016 10:13:03 am

Thank you Linda, I don't know if spelt four is gluten free.

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sue|theviewfromgreatisland link
8/22/2016 04:14:01 pm

Oh wow, my grandmother used to make cake like this!

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Gerlinde
8/23/2016 10:15:08 am

There are so many versions of this cake around. I'm sure your grandmother 's cake was delicious.

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Bam's Kitchen link
8/23/2016 11:57:32 am

My friend this is the kind of sheet cake I would love to eat for breakfast. Well it is kind of healthy as it has berries. Just love the moist and easy cakes to throw together. I'm sorry I have been gone so long but wanted to wish you a very happy 3 years of blogging. Looking forward to many more years of delicious recipes.

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Gerlinde
8/25/2016 06:40:10 pm

Thank you so much , blogging has been a lot of fun and a challenge for me.

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John / Kitchen Riffs link
8/24/2016 08:10:18 am

What a neat cake! Love all the berries at this time of the year, and this is a fun way to use them. It'd be nice to add gooseberries, but alas, those can be hard to find. Really almost need to know someone who grows them. Anyway, lovely recipe -- thanks.

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Gerlinde
8/25/2016 06:43:47 pm

Thanks John, it's a great idea . I am going to get a gooseberry bush for a friend of mine that has a property in the mountains and sometimes gets a little frost.

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Karen (Back Road Journal) link
8/27/2016 11:51:06 am

What a tasty little cake for summer before all the berries end…especially good with a little whipped cream.

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Gerlinde
8/27/2016 04:13:35 pm

Thank you Karen, the whipped cream is important.

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Marilyn
8/27/2016 03:01:06 pm

I need your recipe for Duck cassoulet.

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Mary Pisarkiewicz link
9/1/2016 07:15:35 am

This looks fresh and great! Full of color!

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Gerlinde
9/1/2016 07:31:43 pm

Thank you Mary!

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TheKitchenLioness
9/19/2016 12:53:56 pm

Gerlinde, ja die guten Kuchen mit den Beeren - gibt fast keine mehr, leider, aber ich freue mich schon auf Äpfel und Birnen.
Liebe Güße,
Andrea

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Gerlinde
9/19/2016 03:28:27 pm

Meine Freundin hat mir die ersten Äpfel gebracht. Erdbeeren und Himbeeren gibt es noch bei uns auf dem Markt.
Ganz liebe Grüße
Gerlinde

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