I had a bunch of blueberries that I needed to use up. Today didn’t feel like a blueberry pie kind of day so I decided to make cake instead. Blueberries and lemon form the perfect sweet and sour flavor combination. Specially if you get blueberries when they’re in season and are at their peak, practically bursting with juicy sweetness. This recipe makes a super moist cake that’s great for breakfast or for an afternoon snack with a nice cup of hot tea.
Speaking of which, I saw a picture somewhere (probably on Pinterest) of a blueberry cake that was cut in small little rounds so I decided to try doing that. I baked one loaf cake with half my batter, but poured the other half of the batter into an 8-inch round pan to make a thinner cake which I cut into little circles with a mini-biscuit cutter. Don’t those look adorable? How perfect for a dessert table or for my annual Mother’s Day tea party!
BLUEBERRY LEMON BREAD
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 3 cups flour + 2 tbsp. for tossing with blueberries
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup plain yogurt (can substitute sour cream)
- zest of one lemon
- juice of one lemon
- 1 tsp. vanilla or lemon extract
Topping:
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 tbsp. butter, melted
- ¼ cup sugar
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom and sides of two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
- Toss blueberries in 2 tbsp. flour. This helps keep them from sinking to the bottom of the loaf. Set aside.
- Combine 3 cups flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
- In another bowl, whisk eggs together; then whisk in melted butter, milk, yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla.
- Pour into dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Gently fold blueberries into batter.
- Divide batter into prepared pans and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pans.
- Make topping by mixing lemon juice and melted butter together.
- Brush lemon-butter mixture on top of loaves.
- Sprinkle with a heavy layer of sugar while tops are still wet.
NOTE: My kids love the crunchy sugar topping made by sprinkling granulated sugar over the loaves, but if you prefer to have a glaze for the topping, just omit the butter, replace the granulated sugar with 1 cup of powdered sugar, and stir in 2-3 tbsp. of lemon juice till it reaches a good consistency for drizzling.
A nice trick to help you remove a cake from a loaf pan is to line the bottom of the loaf pan with a strip of parchment paper long enough to go up the short sides and stick out at least a couple of inches past the edge of the pan on either side. After your cake has cooled for 10 minutes, grasp the ends of the parchment paper that stick out past the loaf pan and use them like handles to lift the cake up and out. You can then tip the cake on its side to peel the parchment strip off.
Pinky's Pantry 