Desserts

Berry Pound Cake

Classic Cake Companion for Coffee or Tea Time

I never stop looking for perfection in a dish. Pound cakes can be sturdy, well-mannered desserts or something with a beverage break. This recipe is perfection in a triangulation of crumb, sweet-tart, and moistness!

This recipe just really nails it; I think it’s the dairy acid that balances and lifts the cake, I really do. Actually, I use Greek style yogurt for the buttermilk with excellent results. I love to top desserts with yogurt as you can see.

Wild, Dried Blueberries from Trader Joe’s

Fresh or frozen berries will need 1 TBS of flour to coat and help absorb liquid during baking. If dried fruit, you can skip this.

I used an oval baking dish with about 81 square inch area. You can use any shape within that parameter

INGREDIENTS: Buttermilk hack: add 1/2 tsp. rice or white wine vinegar to a half cup of milk.

  • oil, neutral – 1/2 cup
  • buttermilk – 1/2 cup or yogurt
  • eggs – 2 large
  • sugar – 1/2 – 3/4 cup [start low then taste batter before adding to pan and adjust]
  • vanilla – 1 TBS
  • flour – 1-1/2 cups
  • baking powder – 1-1/2 tsp
  • baking soda – 1/2 tsp
  • salt – 1/2 tsp
  • berries, fresh or frozen* – 2 cups, if large cut into 1/4-inch pieces
  • [Note: if using dried berries use about 3/4 to 1 cup as they are smaller and more concentrated]

INSTRUCTIONS: Baking dish size matters. This recipe uses a 9 x 9 square dish; cook times will vary with other sizes. If using frozen berries, dust them in flour while frozen and add to the batter just before baking.

  1. In a large bowl combine the oil, buttermilk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla, and room temperature berries. Whisk to dissolve the sugar
  2. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
  3. Pour 1/3 flour mixture into liquids and lightly combine, continue with 1/3 and repeat until just combined
  4. Preheat oven to 350º
  5. Coat fresh or frozen berries in a TBS of flour and fold into the batter, if using dried berries skip this step
  6. Oil or butter a 9 x 9 baking dish then dust with some flour; or use baking spray [use about 80 square inch pan of any shape]
  7. Bake for about 30-35 minutes and begin to check for doneness; it should be golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out dry; [frozen berries will take a bit longer]. If you have an instant-read thermometer, 190º F is right for doneness
  8. Allow cake to cool for about 15 minutes before running a knife around the edge and flipping it out onto a wire rack
For a greater balance of taste and texture I used wild, dried blueberries from Trader Joes with an oval casserole dish
Served with my triple thick Greek yogurt
I just picked fresh pineapple and used a 10″ round cake pan for delicious results

This cake freezes well.

Recipe adapted, original from Dawn Perry, New York Times

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