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Lemon-Blueberry Pound Cake

A good pound cake is worth its weight in gold! This not-too-sweet version is adapted from a recipe of one of my favorite baking teachers and writers, Marion Cunningham. The Buttermilk Lemon Pond Cake in her FANNY FARMER BAKING BOOK is a long-time favorite that I just recently decided to change up a little. Should you only have one 81/2"x41/4" loaf pan, make that one and bake the rest of the batter in two or three baby loaf pans or as cupcakes. If you've only the 9"x5" pan, make that, filling it 2/3 full and then perhaps one baby loaf. The baby loaf pans will be done in under 30 minutes and the cupcakes in 15-17 minutes. Serve as is or fancied up with a scoop of vanilla and fresh strawberries or raspberries. Tip: Be sure to zest your lemons before juicing.
makes two 8½” x4¼" loaves

Ingredients

  • Zest of two lemons
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice (need about 2 lemons)
  • 1 cup (8 oz or 240 ml) milk
  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract
  • 3 cups (360 grams) minus 1 tablespoon all-purpose, unbleached flour (The 1 tablespoon gets stirred into the blueberries to help them stay aloft in the batter.)
  • ½ teaspoon each: baking soda and baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (8 oz/227 grams) salted butter at room temperature
  • 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 cup (150 grams) fresh or frozen blueberries stirred together with the reserved 1 tablespoon of flour
  • Powdered sugar for dusting the tops of the cakes--optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Set oven rack at center. Grease and flour two 8 ½” x 4 ¼“ loaf pans. Set aside.
  • In a small bowl or two-cup measuring cup, stir together the lemon zest, lemon juice, milk, and almond extract. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  • In another large bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter until light and smooth. Slowly pour in the sugar, continuing to beat, until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs all at once, beating until mixture is light and fluffy.
  • Tip about half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix until well blended. Beat in half of the milk mixture. Add remaining flour and milk mixture and beat until the batter is smooth and well blended.
  • Stir in the blueberries with their flour by hand.
  • Divide the cake batter evenly between the two greased and floured pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula. (Some bakers weigh the batter to make sure the cakes are the same; I usually just eyeball it.) Bang each pan briefly to settle the batter. Bake about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out barely clean. If your oven bakes unevenly as does mine, carefully rotate the pans midway through baking.
  • Cool pans on a rack for 10 min. Gently insert a small, thin knife around the edges of the pans to loosen the cakes. Holding it securely with mitts, bang one pan firmly a time or two on the counter before turning upside down, catching the cake carefully in a mitted glove, and then turning it back over down onto the rack to complete cooling. Repeat with the other pan. When nearly cool or cool, dust the tops of the cakes with powdered sugar, if desired. Serve barely warm or at room temperature.
    STORAGE: Pound cake will keep about 2 days, well-wrapped or in a cake server, at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to a week. To freeze, return the cake to a clean pan -- if possible -- and double wrap. Freeze for up to 4 months, thawing wrapped overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter for 2 or 3 hours.

Notes

The FANNY FARMER BAKING BOOK is a great book for beginners through advanced bakers, offering detailed instructions and notes for several types of basic baking before many of the chapters with recipes.
Copyright Alyce Morgan, 2026. All rights reserved.