Homemade Salmonberry Cake

We recently moved from the South to the Northwest. This summer we have taken up a new family hobby of mountain climbing/hiking. During one of our hikes, we discovered a type of berry growing on the mountain that we had never seen before. It kind of resembles a raspberry or blackberry. We saw people picking and tasting the berries so we decided to forage some and take them home. I did some research and found out they were salmonberries. The red, orange, and yellow berries are a little sweet but mostly tart so I figured they would be better if they were cooked with a little sugar. The berries are not something you will find at your local grocery store since they only grow in the Northwest and are super perishable. I took the berries I foraged and made a homemade salmonberry cake in my dutch oven. I used the lid on my dutch oven while the cake baked and took it off for the last few minutes. Even though the cake was really golden, it stayed soft and moist. It was really delicious especially with a little homemade vanilla whip cream. If you don't live in the Northwest or just don't like salmonberries you can use a different berry for this recipe such as raspberries, black berries, or blueberries. Recipe is below. I found the recipe in the The Pacific Northwest Berry Book by Bob Krumm and James Krumm on pg. 103. Also I used buttermilk instead of the plain milk the recipe calls for. Either one should work. (The photos are of my finished cake and whip cream.)

Salmonberry Cake

recipe by Betty Close, Kiel, Wisconsin

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk (buttermilk works great)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups salmonberries (any berry could be substituted such as raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries)

Directions:

Mix flour, salt, and baking powder. Cream butter and sugar; add egg. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk and vanilla to butter mixture. Pour into greased 9x13-inch pan; sprinkle with salmonberries. bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. 

(I cooked my cake in a dutch oven sprayed with baking spray with the lid on until the last few minutes I removed the lid for the remainder of the cooking time.


photos and changes to the recipe made by Julie Hodges
the recipe can be found in The Pacific Northwest Berry Book by Bob Krumm and James Krumm on pg. 103.
recipe by Betty Close, Kiel, Wisconsin