This mouthwatering dessert combines the rich, buttery goodness of classic pound cake with bursts of succulent blueberries and a tangy glaze making it incredibly popular with both young and not-so-young.
1cup(8 ounces/225 grams) unsalted butter(room temperature (See note 1))
1 ½cups(300 grams) granulated sugar
1tablespoonvanilla extract
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
5eggs(room temperature)
2tablespoons(30 mls/6 teaspoons) freshly squeezed lemon juice
2cups(250 grams) fresh blueberries
Lemon Glaze
1cup(120 grams) powdered sugar
2tablespoons(30 mls/6 teaspoons) freshly squeezed lemon juice
Extra blueberries for topping
Instructions
Wash the blueberries and remove any stems or bruised, mushy fruit. Spread out on a kitchen towel or paper towel to dry.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Butter and flour a 10-12 cup capacity bundt pan. Be extra careful with this if your bundt pan isn't non stick. Set aside.
In a small bowl, toss the blueberries in a tablespoon of the flour. Then sift or whisk the remaining cake flour, baking powder and salt.
Using an electric hand held mixer, beat unsalted butter in a large bowl until creamy on medium speed. Alternatively use a stand mixer.
Add ¼ cup granulated sugar, vanilla and lemon zest and increase the speed to medium high and beat for a minute. Add sugar in ¼ cup at a time beating for 20-30 seconds after each addition. When all the sugar is added beat for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Use a spatula to scrape the side and the bottom of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are well mixed.
Add eggs one at a time. Beat until all the egg has been absorbed before adding the next one. Take care not to overbeat. The mixture may look a little curdled but that’s fine. Don’t be inclined to keep beating or it will curdle more.
On low speed, add half of the flour mixture and beat until only just combined. Beat in the lemon juice. Then the remaining flour mixture always on low speed and only until just combined.
Use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom and gently combine the batter.
Follow this method to keep blueberries from sinking in the pound cake. Spread ¼ of the plain batter into the bottom of the prepared bundt pan. Then using a spatula, fold ¾ of the blueberries gently into the batter and spoon most of the batter into the pan on top of the plain batter. Fold the remaining berries into the remaining batter and scrape into the cake pan.
Level off the top and tap gently on the work surface a two of times to remove any large air pockets.
Bake 350ºF/180ºC for 40-45 minutes or until browned and a skewer inserted comes out clean. (See note 2)
Cool the blueberry pound cake in the pan for 20- 30 minutes. To remove, shake a little to check if it has loosened from the bottom then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and top with extra fresh blueberries.
Lemon Glaze
Combine the sieved powdered sugar with enough lemon juice to create a pouring glaze.
Notes
Don't soften the butter in the microwave as this could make it too warm. Remove the butter from the fridge an hour or so before.
The baking time for this cake is in a convection oven which means without the fan. If you are using a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 10 or 20 degrees.
Tips for Success
Preheat the oven.
Use fresh ingredients.
Preferably use scales to measure ingredients. If using cups, measure accurately. Stir to loosen the flour then spoon into the cups without packing. Don't dip the cup into the flour. This is an inaccurate way to measure.
Have all ingredients at cool room temperature.
Mix the ingredients thoroughly but don't overmix.
From time to time, use a spatula to scrape the side and the bottom of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are well mixed.
Let the cake to cool for at least 20 minutes after baking before turning out onto a wire rack. If the bundt pan you have used doesn't have a non-stick coating, allow it to cool longer.
This recipe has been adapted from Baking in America by Greg Patent.