Recipe: The Perfect Cake for Last Minute Guests (Healthy & Gluten Free!)

"Hey! We'll be in your area soon so we thought we'd drop by if you're home?"

"Of course! You're more than welcome - what time were you thinking?"

"In an hour or so?"

"Sure! See you then"

Cue panic. 

T minus 59 minutes to get out of your pajamas, do something with your crazy birdnest hair, clean up the mess that seems to be taking over your house, wash those dishes you'd "do later", tidy up the bathrooms and what are you going to feed them? There's not enough time to duck to the shops but you have to have something, right?!

That situation is where this cake fits perfectly into. Nicknamed "the last minute guest cake", it's perfect for those moments where you need to whip something up in a hurry - whether it's to bring a plate to a party or just have something when friends pop over unexpected.

It's a cake that is super simple to make, uses ingredients you probably already have on hand and tastes absolutely delicious! Best of all, it's a healthier one too! 

This cake isn't simply a Healthy Blueberry Cake Recipe because we've made it a dozen different ways. You'll find it's the perfect base recipe to use year round as you can use whatever fruit you have fresh or frozen. We've used apple slices, frozen berries, mango slices, tinned pineapple or canned apple and much much more! 

It's a recipe you can make your own and one you can tweak and change everytime you make it - that way your guests really do think you're Martha Stewart ;) 

But let me share the recipe with you! >> 

The Last Minute Guest Cake Recipe serves 8-10 

low fat, low sugar, gluten free, clean eating friendly, dairy free

3/4 cup milk of your choice (we used unsweetened almond milk)

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

30ml rice bran oil, melted coconul oil or melted butter (not dairy free)

1/4 cup (60g) plain greek yogurt *see below for dairy free options

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1/4-1/2 cup (50-100g**) coconut sugar or brown sugar

2 cups (240g) gluten free plain flour 

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup of whatever fruit you have on hand (fresh/frozen berries, fresh/canned apple, pineapple, peaches - whatever you feel like!)

• Preheat your oven to 180C/355F
• Grease and/or line a round cake tin (8 or 9") and set aside.
• Combine your milk and vinegar and allow it to sit for a minute or two to curdle whilst you get your other ingredients.
• Add your other wet ingredients and sugar to your milk mixture, mixing until combined.
• Add in your flour, baking powder and baking soda, mixing until just combined.
• Pour your cake mixture into your prepared cake tin, smoothing out until the mix is even in the pan.
• Add your fruit to the top, gently pressing the fruit into your cake mixture (you can also reverse these steps for an upside down cake with fruit on the bottom and cake mix on the top which, when flipped, gives you a moist fruity topping!).
• Bake for 15-30 minutes, depending on the size of your cake tin and fruit used. Remove your cake from the oven as soon as a skewer inserted into the centre removes clean and keep an eye on it so it doesn't overcook and dry out.
• If the top of your cake is browning too much, cover the tin with foil to allow the middle to cook through.
• Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving or serve at room temperature.
• This cake will keep fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for around 2 days, however, is best when fresh!

Notes:

*For a dairy free version, replace the 1/4 cup of yogurt with 1/4 cup (60g) or unsweetened applesauce.

**Use more/less sugar depending on how sweet you like your cakes. You can also use 1/4 cup of sugar and a little stevia if you want it sweeter but want to keep the sugar content lower.

But tell me, if you had guests coming over in an hour - what would you whip up?