Friday, February 19, 2016

Blueberry Yogurt Pound Cake


This lovely, lemony blueberry cake is the perfect sweet treat to serve to your loved ones any day of the week. The cake is studded with fresh blueberries and it tastes like a lighter version of a pound cake.




Instead of being made with the traditional one-to-one ratio of butter, all-purpose flour and sugar, my version is made with natural yogurt as well as healthy almond oil. The almond oil that I use hails from my favorite local oil mill (here) – it has a very light color and a mild, very pleasant taste of almonds that harmonizes perfectly with the remaining ingredients of the cake. If you prefer to use another oil, feel free to substitute the almond oil in this recipe with sunflower oil or use a light tasting, fruity, good-quality olive oil.




Full-fat natural yogurt is a surprisingly great substitute for butter when baking bread and cakes. Not only is it lower in fat, it adds a delightful tangy flavor and creates a very tender crumb.




This is one of my favorite cakes for weekdays, when there is not really much time for creaming butter and sugar, and fussing with a long recipe. The method for making this lovely Blueberry yogurt pound cake is as basic as they come. You only stir the ingredients together, spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan and, just under an hour later, remove the light, blueberry-studded cake from the oven. Let the cake cool, dust with some powdered sugar and you will be in for a real "any-day-of-the-week" kind of treat.




Blueberry Yogurt Pound Cake

Ingredients
  • 75 ml almond oil (preferably from your favorite oil mill or manufacturer)
  • 125 grams full-fat natural yogurt, Greek yogurt also works in this recipe
  • 150 grams superfine baking sugar, also called caster sugar or sucré semoule (NOTE: if you are unable to find this fine sugar, feel free to grind regular sugar in your food processor for a few seconds)
  • 2 eggs (L), organic or free range
  • 1 ½ tsps pure vanilla sugar (best homemade)
  • zest of 1 lemon (organic or untreated)
  • 210 grams AP (wheat) flour, plus some for dusting the cake pan
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • a good pinch of fine sea salt
  • 150 grams fresh blueberries, plus some for serving alongside




Preparation
  1. Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F).
  2. Butter and flour a 900 gram cake pan (about 20 cm/8 inches long).
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, yogurt, sugar, eggs, vanilla sugar and lemon zest.
  4. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  5. Pour the dry ingredients into the yogurt mixture along with the blueberries and fold very gently together, taking care not to mix the batter any more than is necessary as overzealous stirring at this stage could result in a tough cake later.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a small knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  7. Leave to cool on a wire rack before dusting with powdered sugar and cutting into slices to serve with some more fresh blueberries.




So, what are you waiting for - Have your cake and eat it too!





18 comments:

  1. aww Andrea what beautiful and amazing cake. And love the pictures like always. have a nice weekend!!

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    1. Gloria, very kind of you! Glad you enjoy this one as it is utterly delicious indeed!
      ¡Muchas gracias!

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  2. Andrea, this is seriously gorgeous and I bet would be delicious. I admire your ability to get lovely sunny photos even in winter.

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  3. Because I hadn't made a cake for a long, long time (I think it was Nigella's Chocolate-Banana Cake that is a favorite of yours. Do you remember how black my bananas were?), I practiced twice before making Melissa's Hummingbird Birthday cake. Since I don't know anyone here and have no freezer space, that meant I ate cake. Hummingbird Cake is wonderful for breakfast! The point is that I forgot how much I like cakes and coffee cakes and don't find them particularly difficult to pop in the oven. This pound cake looks delightful and, except for the blueberries and almond oil. I did bring my food processor (for the sugar)and a loaf baking pan. I think I will "bake this cake and eat it too." As always your "settings" and displays of your food is spectacular. (Not overstated.) PS - You are making me work to convert the ingredient portions. I can do it. I can do it.

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    1. Mary, happy belated Birthday to Melissa then! She must have been thrilled with the wonderful Hummingbird Cake that you baked for her special day! I have never gotten around to baking one yet although I always think that the name sounds so pretty and the ingredients are delicious. Nothing wrong with eating cake for breakfast or lunch. I know a lot of people who do so, including the kids. Oh, the conversion, sorry about that - I should put in a special order at amazon us and have one send to all my followers...in the meantime, let me know if you need any conversions!
      Thank you for your kind comment,
      Andrea

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  4. I'm with Mary, this would be perfect for breakfast or with a cup of mid-morning tea. I'll call it blueberry loaf and pretend it's really not cake ;) Beautifully done, my friend!!!

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    1. Liz, true, cake is just great any time of day - especially in the morning! Thank you for the kind words!

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  5. HI Andrea, love that you used almond oil and yogurt instead of butter, great way to lighten this up. Cake for breakfast is the best way to enjoy it in my book, that way I can work off the calories throughout the day. Take care!

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    1. Cheri, sounds like a great approach to me - a slice of delicious pound cake in the morning and then a brisk walk later in the day.

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  6. What a great looking cake and your photos are so beautiful . I wonder if I could substitute hazelnut oil? That would give it a different flavor?

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    1. Dear Gerlinde, I have tried different oils in this cake - hazelnut oil works well (if it is a light, subtly flavored one) but you can easily go for sunflower here as well - whichever oil you use, just make sure it is a mild-flavored one that is suitable for baking.
      Danke für deinen netten Kommentar und liebe Grüße!
      Andrea

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  7. Oh, my - this looks fantastic! One of our Honors College students did a research project on using olive oil and yogurt instead of butter in making a pound cake. Lots of variations, but the one that combined yogurt and the oil was best! Even better than the one with butter! Unglaublich! Liebe Grüße aus immer schön Tucson! David

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    1. Dear David, much better than with butter and by baking this I not only get one wonderful afternoon dessert treat but I support my local and much appreciated artisan oil mill.

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  8. Andrea, this is cake I know I will love! These types of recipes are my favorites. Beautiful pictures of this cake and I happen to have all the ingredients here to make it :) Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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    1. Marcelle, this is actually my current favorite cake. Hands down. As easy as can be, moist, delicious and even a bit on the "healthy side" of desserts.

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  9. You had me at blueberry, Andrea!
    Wish I could split a piece w/ you! xxx

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    1. Kim, blueberries are fabulous for baking and snacking on...love them and would love to share this cake!
      Alles Liebe,
      Andrea

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