Blueberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Now that it’s September, maybe your heart is totally into apples, pears and pumpkins, but on the off chance that you’ve got a little bit of room in there for one more warm weather recipe, I highly recommend you show this Blueberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake some end-of-summer love! I promise you won’t regret it!
If you ❤️ blueberries, you are going to fall head over heels for this simple loaf cake, ‘cause it is just chock full of ‘em! And due to a clever little kitchen hack, aka freezing the berries, they don’t fall to the bottom or bleed through the crumb like they often do in other berry cakes. Instead, they wind up being equally scattered throughout. Brilliance!!
Now, let’s talk about the cream cheese part. We’re using the full-fat, brick kind here (no skimping). And what that creamy spread does is keep the cake moist and not too dense, as well as add that little tang that balances out the sweetness.
Also keeping the final product from being overly sweet is the addition of the finely grated zest of a lemon which perfectly complements the berries and adds that lovely touch of citrusy goodness throughout.
All of these components add up to a pound cake that is full of juicy blueberry goodness with a delicate and buttery, slightly dense crumb that only a great pound cake can deliver.
Yup, definitely worth a return to the summer berries before we commit to the flavors of fall!!
Blueberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Makes one 9x5-inch loaf
Prep Time: 20 minutes; Bake Time: 1 ½ hours
Ingredients
1 ½ cups fresh blueberries, placed on a plate or rimmed baking sheet and frozen for an hour
1 ¾ unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, plus a little extra for greasing the pan
6 ounces full-fat, brick cream cheese
1 ¾ cup sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of one lemon
The Recipe
1. Butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan and line with a piece of parchment papers that hangs over the sides so you can layer use it to pull the cake over the pan. Set aside. Position an oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 350 F.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together in a large bowl until smooth and creamy. Slowly beat in the sugar, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, add the vanilla and lemon zest.
4. Add the flour mixture on low speed, about ⅓ at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed until all of the flour has been incorporated and the batter is smooth. Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the frozen berries. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, then lower the heat to 325 F and bake for another 45-60 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out entirely clean and the top of the loaf is golden brown. If the tester has any gummy cake bits sticking to it, bake the cake for another 10 minutes and test again. If the top of the cake seems to be getting too dark, covet it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.
6. Let cake cool in the pan on a rack for at least 30 minutes, then use paper overhang to lift cake out of the pan and let cool completely on the rack. Slice and serve. Cake keeps well wrapped at room temperature for several days.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from The Harvest Baker by Ken Haedrich. I left out the nutmeg, cut the glaze and baked it longer.
