Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links. I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase as a result of clicking one of these links. There is no additional cost to you.
This Lemon & Blackberry Pound Cake is sweet and sunny and so beautiful. It's the perfect afternoon sweet treat or rustic dessert for a gathering with friends.
Cake has a long history in paganism. Prior to chemical leaveners like baking powder, cake was much more like bread, leavened with yeast and enriched with butter or oil. It was typically sweetened with honey, fruit, booze, flowers, or syrups. And because it contained expensive ingredients and was labor intensive to prepare, it was coveted as much by the gods as by kings and queens.
Different deities would accept cakes in specific shapes or flavored with sacred fruits or herbs as offerings. Cake was not only a source of pleasure for those eating it, but a way to receive blessings. And there's absolutely nothing modern about celebrating with cake. Again because cakes were more difficult and expensive to make, they were often only baked for special occasions. From the Chines Moon Festival to the ancient feasts of Beltane, special cakes have been a central part of the festivities.
What makes this Lemon & Blackberry Pound Cake so awesome?
This gorgeous cake is a beautiful way to celebrate the bounty of summer. Whether you're carefully picking fresh blackberries from their brambly bushes or buying them from a shop, there's something so succulent and inviting about their deep color and sweet flavor. I love the way the fresh fruit streaks the cake when you cut it open. It's almost like an impressionist painting. This cake is definitely impressive.
It also tastes beautiful. It's light and moist with a beautiful balance of flavor. The cake is just sweet enough, and the lemon and blackberry balance each other perfectly. This is a gorgeous cake to serve for afternoon tea, whether that's a formal gathering or just a cheeky little treat at the office. But it's also beautiful enough to serve as a rustic dessert at a dinner party. You and your loved ones deserve a sunny sweet piece of cake any time you want one.
Magical Properties of Blackberries
Like all berries and other fruits loaded with seeds, blackberries carry the energy of fertility and abundance, but because of their prickly branches, this plant is also known for its protective powers. These berries also have a tie with harvest and death, making them a popular choice for Mabon. As they're sacred to the goddess Brighid, I often use them at Imbolc as well. Blackberries are ruled by the planet Venus, the element of water, and the sign Aries. They're also sacred to Brigantia and loved by fairies. (Source: The Hearth Witch's Compendium by Anna Franklin)
To learn more about the magical properties of the ingredients in this recipe, check the Kitchen Magick page.
Ingredients
Here's everything you'll need to make this cake. The full details are in the recipe card below.
- Sugar - caster or granulated sugar
- Butter - unsalted and softened
- Sour cream - you could substitute plain yogurt if needed
- Eggs
- Lemons - you'll use the zest and juice
- Flour - all-purpose or plain
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Milk - whole milk is best, but use what you've got
- Blackberries - cleaned and dried
- Powdered sugar - aka confectioner's sugar or icing sugar
Tips for making Lemon & Blackberry Pound Cake
If you're a baker, there's nothing particularly unusual about this cake. In fact, it's a bit less fiddly than many recipes. You can add all your wet ingredients in one go to your mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer to combine them.
You'll combine all your dry ingredients in a separate bowl, but before you mix them into your cake, take a spoonful and sprinkle it over your blackberries. This helps stop them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
To finish mixing your cake batter, you'll alternate between adding your dry ingredients and milk, dividing the dry stuff into three and the milk into two. So it's gonna go dry milk dry milk dry. Get it? Mix with your electric mixer until you have a smooth batter. Then very gently fold your blackberries into your cake batter and transfer it to your loaf pan. You can hold back a few to dot the top if you like. Then bake until beautifully risen and golden brown.
I also made a simple glaze with powdered sugar and lemon juice to drizzle over the top. Nothing fancy here, just whisk it to the right consistency and let it drip beautifully down the sides of the cake once it's cool.
I'd recommend fresh if you can get them as their keep their structural integrity better, but if that's not available, you could use frozen. Just be aware that there will be more water involved so there may be some holes in your cake around the berries. It will still be delicious, though.
This Lemon & Blackberry Pound Cake is fit for the gods, and it's definitely awesome enough for you and your friends. I hope you give it a try.
Looking for more awesome cake recipes? Try this lovely Lavender Cake or a semi-homemade Peanut Butter Gooey Butter Cake.
PrintLemon & Blackberry Pound Cake
This Lemon & Blackberry Pound Cake is sweet and sunny and so beautiful. It's the perfect afternoon sweet treat or rustic dessert for a gathering with friends.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 60
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
For the cake:
- ¾ cup granulated or caster sugar
- ¼ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 egg
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 ½ all-purpose or plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup whole milk
- 150 grams (5 ounces) fresh blackberries*, washed and gently dried
For the glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat your oven to 375 F (190 C) and grease a 8-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray.
- Add the sugar, butter, sour cream, egg, and lemon zest and juice to a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
- Add your flour, baking powder, and salt to a mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- Add your blackberries to a bowl or dish and sprinkle over a spoonful of your flour mixture. Gently toss to coat the berries in flour.
- To your wet mixture, add a third of your dry ingredients and beat until combined. Next, add half your milk and beat to combine. Repeat this process with the next third of your flour, the rest of yoru milk, and the final third of your flour, beating until incorporated after each addition.
- Scrape down the side of your bowl and give it one final mix. Then use a rubber spatula to gently fold in your blackberries. You can hold back a few to press into the top of the cake if you like.
- Transfer your cake batter to your loaf pan and smooth it out, adding the final berries if you kept some back.
- Bake for one hour before you check it for the first time. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs but no wet batter. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then carefully turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the glaze:
- Add powdered sugar and lemon juice to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Honestly, I rarely measure for this. Just add lemon juice a bit at a time until you have a drizzly consistency.
- Drizzle your glaze over your cake. It's best to do this with the cake on a wire rack over a baking sheet in case there are drips.
- Store leftovers in an air tight container for 3-5 days.
Notes
*You can be somewhat flexible with the amount of blackberries depending on the quantity sold in your supermarket. Basically, use one package of berries.
Recipe slightly adapted from I Am Baker.
Leave a Reply