Blueberry Pound Cake with Blueberry Glaze

 

 

Finally, I am settling into a new kitchen and eager to get back to doing some cooking and baking again. Transitions are never easy, but relocating from Thailand to the US, was both unexpected and fraught with all the twists and turns one finds along the way on any journey. Gladly my pots and pans arrived here and are in place along with my kitchen table that survived its long journey from half way around the world and is again an island of calm where my thoughts about food, recipes, and cooking can simmer away.

Of course working with an unfamiliar oven for the first time can be… well…stressful. But by chance I was just reading a recipe for a blueberry bundt cake by Melissa Clark in the New York Times that I thought would be a sure fire test run for my oven. Melissa’s recipes are always foolproof, but making a bundt cake can be tricky and frustrating when trying to release the cake from the bundt pan. So instead, I chose to make a pound cake, which is easier and eccentrically the same batter used for a bundt cake. I have made a few minor adjustments as well.

All went splendidly. The oven performed accurately and the blubbery pound cake and blueberry glaze was as delicious as I knew it would be. This is a perfect recipe for all sorts of fresh fruits and berries this time of year.

I will be posting a lemon bundt cake recipe in the next week or so, which will delve into the does and don’ts and how to avoiding the pitfalls of unmolding a bundt cake.

                                   

                                                            So let’s get baking!

 

Fresh Blueberry Pound Cake with Blueberry Glaze 

Makes 1 loaf pan cake and a small round cake.

Needed: a loaf pan and small round baking dish.

Brush the interiors of the  baking pan and smaller baking dish with melted butter and then dust with granulated sugar.

Preheat the oven to 350 f / 180 c   Set the oven rack in the middle position.

 

For the cake:

2 cups fresh blueberries

3 ½ cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon lemon zest

½ cup Greek yogurt

½ cup whole milk

 

For Blueberry glaze:

½ cup fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 cups confectioners sugar

Rinse all the blueberries and set side to drain in a colander.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside

Place the butter in a mixing bowl, or a stand mixer bowl, and beat on medium speed until the butter is fluffy. Then add the granulated sugar in three additions while continuing to mix until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs in three additions while continuing to mix until well incorporated and the batter is smooth.

Add the vanilla, grated nutmeg, and lemon zest and mix until incorporated.

Add the yogurt and mix on low speed until incorporated. Then add the milk and mix until the batter is smooth.

Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan and baking dish and place them in the oven.

Baking times are as follows. The small cake will take about 35 minutes to bake and larger loaf pan cake will take 50 to 60 minutes,

Test by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cakes and if the toothpick comes out clean with a few crumbs the cakes are done, As always keep an eye on your timing as you d not want the cakes to over bake which will make them dry.

When done remove the cakes from the oven ans set out to cool on a wire rack.

While the cakes are baking you can go ahead and make the blueberry glaze.

Place ½ cup blueberries in a small sauce pan and add the lemon juice. Place the pan over medium low heat and cook until the berries are bubbling away for about five minutes are so. Then, using a stiff silicone spatula, mash the berries into a paste. Then begin stirring in the confectioners sugar and continue stirring until most of the confectioners sugar is combined. You will be surprised how much sugar is absorbed. Ideally the glaze should be stiff but pourable. Store at room temperature for immediate use or cover and refrigerate the glaze for later use. Be sure to bring the glaze back to room temperature before using.

When the cakes are cool you can remove the cakes from their baking pans and serve with the blueberry glaze.

Serve slices of the pound cake at room temperature with the glaze poured over the slices of cake.

 

The cakes can be stored in the refrigerator, wrapped in cling film, for five days or they can be bagged and stored in the freezer for later use.