Blueberry Pound Cake

Feeling blue.

This moist blueberry pound cake recipe folds plump, juicy blueberries into traditional butter pound cake for an easy dessert that also works great as a breakfast treat.

Meet This Moist Blueberry Pound Cake Recipe

No matter how many fancy desserts exist, there is something uniquely beloved about simple, old-fashioned, homemade desserts. And nothing tastes better than a simple butter pound cake recipe — except when it has lots of juicy blueberries folded into it.

This is my go-to blueberry pound cake recipe: a moist, easy pound cake loaded with fresh blueberries that burst with their juices when baked. Serve for dessert, breakfast, tea time (don’t forget the scones, too!), or any time you like. Below, you’ll learn all about this moist blueberry cake recipe, including:

• The best blueberries for baking
• Recipe ingredients
• How to mix this cake better
• How to prevent blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the cake
• Storing and serving this cake

Recipe Ingredients: Blueberry Pound Cake

This is a straightforward recipe. As with all recipes with only a few ingredients, use the best quality you can find.

I prefer Madagascar vanilla extract; unbleached, all-purpose flour; European-style unsalted butter such as Plugra or Kerry Gold; and organic, free-range large eggs. That said, don’t worry about going too nuts about ingredients; just use the best you can or what’s on hand.

To make this moist blueberry pound cake recipe, you will need the following ingredients:

• 2 sticks (half pound) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar, plus more to sprinkle
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tbsp (3 tsps) vanilla extract
• Lemon zest (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal and find Morton’s too salty; adjust as necessary)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups fresh or fresh-frozen (IQF) blueberries

What type of blueberries are best to bake this pound cake?

All blueberries are not created equal. If possible, choose the plump, standard blueberries you see in most grocery stores. Larger blueberries distribute better when folded into the batter. When baked in the  oven, bigger blueberries mean bigger, juicier blueberry crannies in the cake.

I love wild Maine blueberries. Wild blueberries are much smaller, deeply concentrating the blueberry flavor, as well as nutrition. Small, wild blueberries will definitely work in a blueberry pound cake.

However! Despite how good small wild blueberries taste, I find them too small in proportion to the cake batter. You really don’t get that big burst of blueberry like you do with larger berries. So choose the larger, standard blueberries if you can. Save the wild blueberries for desserts like blueberry cobbler or pie.

I often bake this cake with frozen (IQF) blueberries. Frozen blueberries make an especially great choice when blueberries are not in season. You do not have to thaw frozen blueberries before folding them into the pound cake batter. Just increase the baking time by a few minutes.

How to Make This Easy Recipe

This recipe follows a standard creaming method:

1. Beat the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. I usually beat the mixture on medium high speed. (Once the flour mixture is added, only mix on low to not activate the gluten.)
2. Add the vanilla, eggs, and salt. Beat again until lightened and emulsified.
3. Combine the baking powder and flour. When the flour mixture dry ingredients are just mixed into the batter, add the blueberries.
4. Fold in the blueberries until evenly distributed.
5. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit in a greased large loaf or tube pan until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes or so.

How do you keep blueberries from sinking in the pound cake when it goes in the oven?

A great pastry chef trick to keep berries from sinking into a cake: toss the blueberries with a few tablespoons of the flour. The flour coats the blueberries, creating a grippy coating that will cling to the batter and suspend the berries in the cake.

Remember: Measure the flour for the cake recipe, then remove a portion of that flour to toss the blueberries. Do not use additional flour to coat the berries because that will change the dry ingredient measurement overall.

That said, I find that this cake batter is thick enough to support the blueberries without tossing them in flour. Just make sure the berries are evenly distributed into the cake mixture, and you should be fine.

How to keep blueberry pound cake moist

This is a very moist blueberry pound cake for two reasons: 1) the correct balance of butter, sugar, and dry ingredients, and 2) storing it correctly.

1. Keeping your pound cake moist with the ingredients and baking time.

The two most important considerations in baking a moist blueberry pound cake are 1) the correct ingredient ratio of dry ingredients to liquifiers, and 2) not overbaking the cake and drying it out.

Ingredients: recipe uses 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour to 2 sticks (1 cup) of butter, 2 cups sugar, and 4 eggs. This is a nice amount of wet ingredients, and ensures that the cake tastes very tender.

Baking time: You can bake this cake in a buttered or greased tube pan, large loaf pan (I used a 4.5-inch x 12-inch loaf pan), or large bundt cake pan. The cake generally takes about 1 hour 15-20 minutes to bake. But in the words of my baking professor at the C.I.A., the cake it “done when it’s done.”

You can tell your cake is done when a cake tester comes out clean and the top feels firm and springs back — your finger shouldn’t sink into it.

2. Keep pound cake moist by storing it correctly.

This blueberry pound cake keeps for several days at room temperature in an airtight container, such as under a cake dome or wrapped. It also freezes very well. Do not refrigerate; refrigerators are quite humid and will stale the cake.

How far in advance can you make a pound cake?

This pound cake will keep for at least 3 days covered at room temperature.

Pound cake has a high fat content, which keeps it tender and moist.

You will also like these sweet blueberry-based recipes:

• Mixed Berry Pound Cake
• Blueberry Sheet Pan Pancakes
• The Best Blueberry Muffins
• Peach Pound Cake

The Best Blueberry Pound Cake

An easy, moist blueberry pound cake recipe for a cake that bakes up sweet, and bursting with fresh, juicy blueberries. Make in a loaf pan, bundt, or tube pan. (Plus: a pro tip on not letting your blueberries sink into the batter!)

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keywords:: baked goods, blueberries, blueberry, brunch, cake, dessert, easy baking, easy summer desserts, pound cake

Servings: 1 pound cake

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Ingredients 

1x2x

• 2 sticks (1/2 pound) butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar, plus more for dusting
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt)
• Zest of one lemon, optional
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups blueberries, fresh or fresh-frozen (no need to thaw)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease and line a standard tube pan, bundt pan, or large loaf pan (4.5" x 12").

  PRO TIP: Do not overfill the blueberry pound cake batter in the pan. No matter what type of cake pan you choose, the blueberry pound cake batter should not fill the pan higher than about 3/4 full. Bake any extra batter as muffins or tea-sized loaf cakes.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and light. Add the large eggs, vanilla, salt, and lemon juice (if using). Beat until smooth and light.

  PRO TIP: Don't forget to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice with a rubber spatula as you go! The batter should be fully emulsified.
• Mix in the baking powder and flour on low, just until combined. Fold in the blueberries and mix gently, just until evenly distributed.

  PRO TIP: If you'd like to do a slightly extra step, scoop out about 1/3 cup of the flour mixture and toss it with the blueberries. This serves two purposes: First, if you're using frozen blueberries, it will absorb some of the juice and keep the batter from turning lavender colored. Second, the flour acts as a grippy buffer against the batter, helping suspend the berries instead of getting a sunken situation.

  The flour mixture will absorb into the batter with the blueberries.
• Pour the batter into the prepared tube, loaf, or bundt pan. Spread the batter to even the top, and sprinkle the top generously with sugar, if desired.
• Bake for approximately 1 hour 15 to 20 minutes, or until a cake tester, such as a toothpick, comes out clean and the top of the cake springs back lightly. Do not overbake.

  TIP: If you use frozen blueberries, your baking time will increase slightly.
• Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a wire rack. When the cake pan is cool enough to handle and the cake is still warm, turn the cake out onto the cooling rack to cool fully before serving. Feel free to serve as-is, or whisk up a quick confectioner sugar glaze with fresh lemon juice, water, or milk.

Notes

This blueberry pound cake recipe should turn out moist and sweet, bursting with blueberries. Be sure to grease the pan very well -- especially if using a bundt pan. Nothing is worse than a stuck bundt!

Pound cake freezes well. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil or plastic wrap before freezing. Thaw, unwrapped, at room temperature. 

It will keep for several days, covered at room temperature.