Lemon and blueberry are my go-to ( by ‘go-to’ I actually mean lazy) combination. I’ve never had a bad day if lemon and blueberry joined forces at breakfast. It’s true, they never fail me.
Too bad I can’t say the same thing for the fail dogs. Have you seen the creatures? They are dogs (that have little to do with baking, blueberries or lemon) who have tried and failed in one way or another. They make me laugh. They make me cry. I was a cat person until the fail dogs changed my life.
Now back to the Lemon Poppyseed Bread with wild blueberries…
For this pound cake I tried Dorie Greenspan’s Perfection Pound Cake, instead my usual winning recipe. I wanted to see if Dorie’s pound cake was in fact perfect. After all of my dabbling and doctoring, I have to be honest and say, that I thought the pound cake was a bit dry. My fault? Possible, maybe I baked it too long. It wasn’t a complete faildog move- a thick slice with just the right amount of lemon curd, and it’s just lovely.
Perfection Pound Cake
adapted from Baking: from my home to yours
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/3 cup frozen wild blueberries
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9-x-5-inch loaf pan. Put the pan on an insulated backing sheet, or on two regular baking sheets stacked on on top of the other.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds.
Rub the lemon zest into the granulated sugar until sugar is slightly tinted yellow and is fragrant.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fit with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar mixture on high speed until pale and fluffy, a full 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and beater and reduce the mixer speed to medium. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 to 2 minutes after each addition. As you’re working, scrape down the bowl and beater often. Mix in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour and poppyseeds, mixing only until incorporated. Take the bowl off the stand mixer, and use a spoon to fold in the frozen blueberries. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the top.
Put the cake in the oven to bake, and check on it after about 45 minutes. It it’s browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Bake the cake for about 70 to 75 minutes. The cake is properly baked when a thin knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean
Remove cake from the oven, transfer the pan to a rack and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Run a blunt knife between the cake and the sides of the pan and turn the cake out, then turn it right side up on the rack and cool to room temperature.
Wrapped well, the cake cake keep for 5-7 days at room temperature.
[…] start by making your pound cake. I used Joy the Baker’s Lemon Poppyseed Pound Cake recipe as my base and removed a few ingredients (lemon zest, poppyseed, blueberries) and added 1 […]