Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake

Close-crumb sour-cream pound cake with packed lemon zest and blueberries that do not all sink. Warm lemon syrup soaks the hot loaf; a thick glaze goes on after it cools. Bake low at 325 F in a 9x5 metal pan with a parchment sling.

By Brandon Carroll

Yield: 12 slices

Prep: 25 minutes

Cook: 70-80 minutes

Total: about 3 hours (includes cool)

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (226 g), plus more for the pan
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (350 g)
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons packed lemon zest (from 2 to 3 lemons)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (batter)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 g), plus 1 tablespoon for the berries
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream, room temperature (120 g)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (about 225 g); frozen unthawed also work

Soak

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar (120 g)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• pinch kosher salt

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 325 F with a rack in the center. Soft-butter a 9x5-inch metal loaf pan. Line with a parchment sling (strip down the long sides with tails over the rims). Butter the paper. Butter, eggs, and sour cream must be room temperature or the batter will curdle and bake up dense in the middle.
2. Zest the lemons first (2 tablespoons packed), then juice them. You need 2 tablespoons for the batter, 3 tablespoons for the soak, and 2 to 3 tablespoons for the glaze — about 3 lemons total.
3. Beat butter on medium until creamy, 1 minute. Add 1 3/4 cups sugar and beat 3 to 4 minutes until pale and fluffy. Scrape the bowl. Beat in eggs one at a time, waiting until each disappears. Beat in vanilla, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. It may look slightly split; that is fine.
4. Whisk 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. On low, add the dry mix in three additions, alternating with the sour cream in two additions, starting and ending with flour. Stop as soon as no dry flour remains. Do not beat air back in.
5. Toss blueberries with 1 tablespoon flour. Spread about two-thirds of the batter into the pan. Scatter two-thirds of the berries over that layer. Spoon on the rest of the batter and press the remaining berries into the top so they do not all sink to the floor.
6. Bake 70 to 80 minutes, until the top is deep golden, a tester in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs (not wet batter), and a thermometer in the cake (not the pan, not a berry pocket) reads 205 to 210 F. Tent loosely with foil after 50 minutes if the top is browning fast.
7. While the cake bakes, stir 3 tablespoons lemon juice with 3 tablespoons sugar until the sugar dissolves. As soon as the loaf comes out, poke the top all over with a skewer and brush on the soak. Cool in the pan 20 minutes. Lift out by the sling onto a rack and cool at least 1 1/2 hours until just barely warm or fully cool.
8. Whisk powdered sugar, a pinch of salt, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Add more juice a teaspoon at a time until thick but pourable. Drizzle over the cooled loaf. Let the glaze set 15 minutes. Slice with a serrated knife. Tight-wrap leftovers at room temperature up to 3 days, or freeze slices up to 2 months.