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This lemon blueberry pound cake is the perfect balance of moist and gooey, and you won't be able to stop eating it. It's made with simple basic ingredients, it's packed with lemon and blueberry flavor, and it can be whipped up in just 5 minutes.
The baked blueberries will color and moisten the crumb. The cake is light but so rich with a natural lemon-blueberry flavor. The lemon icing on top will make you lick your fingers, begging for more.
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What to expect from this lemon blueberry pound cake
Soft, moist, juicy, this lemon blueberry pound cake is perfect for any occasion. Serve it for breakfast, brunch, after lunch, or as a snack. Even as a dessert after dinner, with a scoop of ice cream on top.
You can clearly taste the lemon since we use both the juice and the zest. Also, this cake is not shy when it comes to blueberries. We use fresh ones, a whole 250g (9oz) pack.
They sink to the bottom, as they should, and when they bake they become all mushy, creating a moist, irresistible gooey juicy texture that I just can't describe with words.
The icing is sweet, yet refreshing and light, thanks to the lemon juice in it. You will definitely lick your fingers and ask for more.
Best of all, this cake is made with super simple ingredients that we all have in our pantries. It can be whipped up in literally 5 minutes (although it takes 50 painful minutes to cook. I usually go for a quick run while it bakes, so I can eat more of it later). And it's vegan-friendly too!
Pound cakes are super popular in Italy, although they are called, incorrectly, "plum-cakes", despite the fact that there are no plums in them. We generally eat them for breakfast, or as a mid-afternoon snack at around 4:30 pm (la merenda).
Ingredients & substitutions
For the pound cake
- Lemon: since we use both juice and zest, it's best if the lemon is organic.
- Blueberries: we prefer to use fresh blueberries. Frozen blueberries are fine, but not great. Add them to the batter frozen if you use them.
- Plant-milk: we love almond milk, or soy milk, but any plant milk works well for this recipe.
- Water: I mix the milk with water to make this pound cake lighter and fluffier.
- Sugar: regular white sugar is fine. You can replace it with brown sugar, coconut sugar, and most other sugars.
- Sunflower oil: I prefer this to butter to keep the recipe free from dairy. Refined sunflower oil, or any other type of refined vegetable oil, is great for cakes because it don't taste like vegetable. You can of course get healthier, organic, unrefined oils, but in my opinion cakes made with those don't taste as good.
- Flour: all-purpose flour. You can replace it with whole grain flour if you like.
- Baking powder: to make it rise as it bakes.
For the lemon icing
- Icing sugar/powder sugar: this is the main ingredient, it can't be replaced.
- Plant milk: any will work.
- Lemon juice: you can replace it with water, but it will taste a lot better with lemon juice.
Equipment
- Loaf pan 11 inches x 5 inches (30cm x 11cm). If you don't have this size, see chapter "How to scale this recipe" below.
- Electric hand mixer/beater/whisk. A hand whisk works too.
How to make lemon blueberry pound cake
Preheat the oven to 360F or 180C. Lightly grease your loaf pan with oil and dust it with flour, or line it with parchment paper.
In a bowl, add grated lemon zest, lemon juice, plant milk, water, sugar, sunflower oil, and mix with a spatula.
Add in the flour and the baking powder and mix with an electric whisk for a max of 1 minute, until all the ingredients are combined. Don't over-mix.
Over-mixing will develop the gluten in the flour and it will make the pound cake gummy and heavy.
Finally, add the blueberries and give them a quick stir with a spoon.
Now transfer the cake batter to the loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes.
You will notice that the loaf pan will be quite full, almost to the edge, with the cake batter. That is normal and will make your pound cake nice and tall.
TIP: Insert a skewer in the center of the cake. If it comes out dry, the cake is cooked. If it comes out wet, cook a few more minutes.
Let the pound cake cool down for at least an hour, then take it out of the shape and proceed with the icing.
For the lemon Icing
In a bowl add powder sugar, lemon juice, and plant milk. Stir till the powder sugar is dissolved in the liquids. You should get to a pourable consistency.
Pour on top of the pound cake. If it runs down on the sides, use a spoon to get it and pour it again on top.
Let set, then slice the cake, best if with a serrated knife, and enjoy.
How to scale this recipe?
This recipe is easy to scale. We calculated the scaling number for you. Pick the loaf pan size that you want to use for your cake, then multiply all the ingredients in our recipe box by the scaling number in this table. We used a 11 x 5 loaf pan (30cm x 11cm).
| Loaf pan size in inches | Scaling number |
|---|---|
| 8 x 4 | 0.58 |
| 8.5 x 4.5 | 0.70 |
| 9 x 4 | 0.65 |
| 9 x 5 | 0.82 |
| 10 x 5 | 0.91 |
| 11 x 5 | 1 |
How to scale the cooking time
The cooking time suggested in this recipe is for a loaf pan that is 11 x 5 inches. Depending on the size of your loaf pan, you might need to adjust temperature and cooking time.
Smaller loaf pan: if you use a smaller loaf pan (less than 11 x 5 inches), keep the same temperature but you might need to bake it for a shorter time. Always check with a toothpick if the cake is fully baked inside.
Bigger loaf pan: if you use a bigger loaf pan (more than 11 x 5 inches), you might need to reduce the temperature and increase the baking time. My advice is to bake at 170C / 340F for the first 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 160C / 320F until your cake is fully baked inside. Always check with a toothpick if the cake is fully baked inside.
Tips
Don't over-mix: I can't stress this enough. Over-mixing will make your pound cake gummy and heavy. This happens because while mixing, you will activate the gluten in the flour, which will ruin your cake.
Add the baking powder last: to make sure your lemon blueberry pound cake gets nice and tall, add the baking powder last, then bake the cake as fast as possible. That's why it's important to always preheat the oven.
I do this because once you add the baking powder in with the wet ingredients, it will start its chemical reaction. You want as much of this reaction to happen in the oven so that your cake will rise, and be light and fluffy.
Let it cool down: it will improve both flavor and texture. This cake is great 2 to 3 hours after it has baked, and even better the day after.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can. But fresh ones keep a better shape and are less messy once you bake them.
Yes. This recipe is suitable for making little lemon blueberry muffins.
Yes, but it will crumble a lot more than the non-gluten-free version. I recommend using a pre-made gluten-free mix specifically designed for cakes. You can find those in the supermarket these days.
Insert a wooden skewer or a toothpick in the core of it. If the skewer comes out dry, then the cake is ready. If it's wet, cook a few more minutes and repeat the skewer test.
Storage
Store the lemon blueberry pound cake at room temperature, best if covered, in a cake dome, or in a plastic bag. This way it will stay moist for 4 to 5 days.
You can freeze it for up to three months if you like. In this case, I would recommend freezing it already sliced up, so when you feel like it, you can just thaw the portion you want to eat.
Thaw in the refrigerator (not at room temperature, that is not safe due to bacterial growth) or in the microwave, a few seconds at a time.
Variations
Chocolate pound cake: a rich and moist pound cake full of chocolate flavor and with a light orange aroma.
Lemon and yogurt pound cake: we combine plant-based yogurt and lemon zest to make a super nutritious lemon pound cake.
Recipe
Lemon blueberry pound cake
Equipment
- Loaf pan 11 inches x 5 inches (30cm x 11cm)
- Electric hand beater/whisk
Ingredients
- 1 big lemon juice and zest
- 250 g (1 cups) plant milk
- 250 g (1 cups) water
- 200 g (1 cups) sugar
- 60 g (⅓ cups) sunflower oil or melted vegan butter
- 450 g (3 cups) flour
- 16 g (3½ tsp) baking powder
- 250 g (1⅔ cups) blueberries
Icing
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 2 tbsp plant milk
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 360F or 180C. Lightly grease your loaf pan with oil and dust it with flour. If you prefer, you can line your loaf pan with parchment paper instead.
- In a bowl, add grated lemon zest, lemon juice, soy milk, water, sugar, sunflower oil, and mix with a spatula.
- Add in the flour and the baking powder and mix with and electric whisk for max 1 minute, until all the ingredients are combined. Don't over-mix.
- Finally, add the blueberries and give it a quick stir. Transfer the cake batter in the pound cake form and bake for about 50 minutes. TIP: insert a skewer in the center of the cake. If it comes out dry, the cake is cooked. If it comes out wet, cook a few more minutes.
- Let the pound cake cool down for at least an hour, then take it out of the shape and proceed with the icing. You might need to help yourself with knife to separate the cake from the loaf pan.
For the icing
- In a bowl add the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and plant milk. Stir till the powdered sugar is dissolved in the liquids. You should get to a pourable consistency.
- Pour on top of the pound cake. Let set, then slice the cake, best if with a serrated knife, and enjoy. Store leftovers in a reusable plastic bag so that it doesn't get dry.
Full video on youtube @theplantbasedschool
Notes
Nutritional Values
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Did you try this recipe at home? Let us know in the comments below, or take a picture and tag us on Instagram @italiaplantbased.
Buon appetito!
Nico
Myra
So so good! The pound cake itself is the PERFECT texture (especially when enjoyed cold. I have found that vegan recipes don’t often get the texture right, and those that do will call for silken tofu which I don’t always have on-hand. This recipe is the best, by far.). I made it with blueberries the first time and the whole loaf was gone within 48 hours lol. I had some strawberries in the fridge so I decided to make another loaf and add those, this time (it is in the oven as I type!). The only thing I changed is I added a bit of vanilla extract to the icing, but that’s definitely a personal preference. Thank you for another stellar recipe!