Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake with Vanilla Glaze

Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake with Vanilla Glaze pairs classic flavors to create an elegant and flavorful dessert.

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #SpringSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to help in the creation of the week’s recipes. All opinions are mine alone. 

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I think there’s something special about the combination of blueberry and lemon.  It feels both earthy and festive—almost like “fun” and “well-being” joined hands in a dish. 

It’s especially nice as winter fades.  Lemon feels like sunshine, and blueberries give promise of harvests to come.  Finally, the creamy vanilla glaze balances everything with warm mellow notes.

Yes, cut me another slice of the Lemon Blueberry pound cake, please! 

What is Pound Cake

Per Wikipedia, “Pound cake is a type of cake traditionally made with a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Pound cakes are generally baked in either a loaf pan or a Bundt mold. They are sometimes served either dusted with powdered sugar, lightly glazed, or with a coat of icing.”

Sadly what I always seem to remember was the part about a pound of butter.  It always scared me so much I rarely indulged in pound cake and never even considered baking it.

That is until I decided to do a flavored version.  Here, buoyed up by the amazing lemon and blueberry, it manages to suffice on a lot less butter. Count me in!

Why You’ll Love This!

Flavorful.  With balanced notes of lemon, blueberry and vanilla, this is a rich and flavorul dessert!

Attractive.  You know the saying we eat with our eyes first!  I think this is pretty enough to qualify—and cheerful even.  Um, who could use some cheerful in March?

Versatile.  This is a dessert that will be perfect for so many occasions from brunches to teas.

What You’ll Need

Ingredient Notes

• Lemons. You’ll use both zest and juice for lots of lemon flavor.
• Butter. This enriches both the cake and the glaze.
• Sugar. This sweetens the cake.
• Vanilla paste. This flavors the cake and the glaze.  You can substitute vanilla extract
• Eggs. This enriches the cake and helps it rise.
• Whole milk. You can substitute a lower fat milk, but the cake will be less rich. Or consider adding a little cream to your lower fat milk.
• Flour. This forms the bulk and structure of the cake.
• Salt.  This is a flavor enhancer.
• Baking powder. This helps the cake rise.
• Blueberries. These provide flavor and fruity goodness.  You can use fresh or frozen—don’t thaw if you use frozen.=

Special Tools

• No special tools required!

Step by Step Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a loaf pan with parchment and spray with nonstick spray.

In a mixer bowl, cream together lemon zest, butter, and sugar, until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl as needed.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla paste.

In a separate bowl, combine milk and lemon juice.

In a third bowl combine 2 cups of flour, salt and baking soda.

Alternate adding flour mixture and milk mixture to the creamed butter, half at a time. 

Toss the blueberries in 1 Tablespoon flour, then gently stir them into the batter.

Line a loaf pan with parchment, then spoon in batter.

Bake until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes.

Let cake cool completely then prepare the glaze.  Melt the butter (I microwaved it), then whisk in the cream, vanilla and powdered sugar. 

Drizzle over the pound cake.  If icing gets too hard to drizzle, microwave unused glaze to thin it.  

Enjoy. 

How to Serve

Lemon Blueberry pound cake would make a lovely dessert for any occasion.  It would be especially be fun and festive on a nice brunch table  Don’t forget that Easter and Mother’s Day are coming up!

 It would also be welcome at a baby shower or an elegant tea.

I’d even serve it for an easy breakfast, with a glass of milk or big mug of coffee.

Leftovers

This is a very moist cake so store it covered in the refrigerator and eat it within a few days. It should freeze well if you can’t finish it all.  If you’re going to freeze a whole cake, I’d freeze it unglazed and finish after thawing.  Or if that’s not an option (like freezing leftovers), let the glaze harden a bit to minimize freezer damage and thaw in the refrigerator.  

Tips & FAQs

If you need lemon zest for a recipe, but don’t need the lemon juice, you can zest your lemon then pop the now zest-less lemon into a freezer bag to use later.  Or just make lemonade!

Can I interchange Meyer Lemons and regular lemons?  I was lucky to have some beautiful Meyer lemons from my Melissa’s produce box.  But you can use either type of lemon. 

Can I use vanilla paste and extract interchangeably?  You can make this using vanilla extract if you don’t have vanilla paste.   But I especially like the Taylor and Colledge Vanilla Paste since it’s robustly flavorful and the tiny vanilla beans look so impressive dotting the glaze.  If you’ve got it, flaunt it, I like to say!

Why don’t you use a lemon glaze?  Lemon is an intense flavor, so I prefer a vanilla glaze on my Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake.  With some vanilla in the cake as well, you end up with three notes of flavor (lemon, blueberry, and vanilla) that are balanced and complimentary.  But if you want it really to take the lemon over the top, you can add some lemon juice or zest to your glaze. 

Welcome to #SpringSweetsWeek 2024 hosted by Heather from Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box! This year 17 food bloggers from around the country are sharing over 50 sweet recipes that are perfect for spring. So get ready to enjoy amazing spring treats like cupcakes, ice cream, pies, cakes, and more! Thank you to our #SpringSweetsWeek sponsors: Melissa’s Produce, Taylor and Colledge, and Selefina Spices for your generosity and support.

Monday #SpringSweetsWeek Recipes

• Banana Dragon Fruit Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Berry Triple Layer Cake from In Our Spare Time
• Blood Orange Crepe Suzette from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Blood Orange Crumb Muffins from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Blood Orange Posset from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Holiday Fruit Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Lavender Lemon Creme Brulee from The Spiffy Cookie
• Lemon Mousse Filled Crepe Cups with Berries from Blogghetti
• Lemon Raspberry Crepe Cake from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Meyer Lemon Almond Pound Cake from Cheesecurd In Paradise
• Meyer Lemon Upside Down Cake from Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box
• Split Seconds Cookies from Shockingly Delicious
• Springtime Chocolate Terrarium Dessert from For the Love of Food
• Sweet Crepes with Luscious Fruits from Our Good Life
• Tangerine Upside Down Cake from Magical Ingredients
• Tangerine Vanilla Fig Preserves from That Recipe

We share recipes from #SpringSweetsWeek on Pinterest! Make sure you follow the board to see all the delicious recipes shared this week.

Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake with Vanilla Glaze

Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake with Vanilla Glaze pairs classic flavors to create an elegant and flavorful dessert.

Author: Inger

5 from 7 votes

Print

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

cooling time 1 hour hr

Course Desserts & Snacks

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Cake:

• Zest from 2 lemons
• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 cups plus 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour divided
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup blueberries

Glaze:

• 1 tablespoons butter
• 3 Tablespoons cream
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a loaf pan with parchment and spray with nonstick spray.
• In a mixer bowl, cream together lemon zest, butter, and sugar, until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl as needed.
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla paste.
• in a separate bowl, combine milk and lemon juice
• In a third bowl combine 2 cups of flour, salt and baking soda
• Alternate adding flour mixture and milk mixture to the creamed butter, half at a time. Toss the blueberries in 1 Tablespoon flour, then gently stir them into the batter.
• Line a loaf pan with parchment, then spoon in batter.
• Bake until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes.
• Let cake cool completely then prepare the glaze. Melt the butter (I microwaved it), then whisk in the cream, vanilla and powdered sugar.
• Drizzle over the pound cake. If icing gets too hard to drizzle, microwave unused glaze to thin it.

I am not a health professional and nutrition data is calculated programatically. Accuracy may vary with product selection, calculator accuracy, etc. Consult a professional for the best information.

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