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.
Elena
i made this today and mine actually came out a bit overgreasy and not dry at all! if qnything ill use less butter next time! i whipped up some lemon curd while it was in the oven and had the best afternoon tea ever!
Cyndi
I just made Dorie’s pound cake tonight and have to agree with you. It is definitely dry and I know it wasn’t overbaked. I even took it out @ 65 minutes instead of the 70 she recommends. To “save” it for dessert, I sliced it thinly, made a quick blackberry sauce and some whipped cream, and served it as a layered dessert.
Maybe I missed it, but have you posted your own winning recipe? I would love to make it!
kim
joy – i made this pound cake for my office the other morning and it was a massive hit. is your regular pound cake recipe the one you used for your lemon pound cake? so glad i stumbled across your site – it’s lovely!
Erin
This looks so good! I love the lemon and blueberry combination. I’ve been wanting to try this pound cake for a while now. I already have a good plain pound cake recipe and, like you, I want to see if this is really “perfect!” I love the lemon curd on top too- great job!
Jaime
mine was a little dry too but i thought it might be b/c i overbaked it since i have no oven thermometer….
Gigi
This is totally next weeks breakfast! :) Yummy!
joythebaker
Awesome Laurie! I’m sure you’ll be blogging about how it turned out! It sounds seriously delicious!
brilynn
I’ve never made lemon curd before, but I keep seeing it everywhere and I want to!
laurie
You inspired me. I have cream cheese pecan banana bread in the oven right now. Okay, so its not lemon or blueberry, but I have neither on hand. :)
amanda
I’ve made this one before and it came out a bit dry too. And you’d think with all that butter it might be more moist but nope.
Deborah
I am also a fan of blueberry and lemon. Sounds delicious!
Gretchen Noelle
It looks delicious! And the curd topping it off is wonderful. Yum!
laurie
YUM! I love anything lemon. Lemon/blueberry just makes a perfect combo. As does orange/blueberry in my book. The curd puts it over the top. What delicious breakfasts you have! I am so jealous!
Warda
We both had a Dorie Greespan baking experience lately! Yours looks perfect to me if you didn’t mention the “dry” part. Give it another chance! Don’t be one of those fail Dogs :)
linda
Probably your cake was just better, but this one looks pretty good too ;)