I had a basket of blueberries giving me the eye the other morning, as well as some ricotta cheese in the fridge begging to be used up. Hmmm. Blueberry muffins, maybe? Blueberry pancakes? Or pound cake? A lemon blueberry pound cake won the toss this time, a pound cake made even more dense and silky rich with the substitution of ricotta for some of the butter and flour. This lemon blueberry ricotta pound cake was declared a winner by all who tasted it. Enjoy!
Tips for Making This Cake
Room temperature ingredients: You’ll have better success with this cake if the ingredients are at room temperature before baking, specifically the eggs, ricotta, and butter. To quickly bring eggs to room temperature, place them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes. Fresh baking powder: The leavening in this recipe comes from the eggs and the baking powder. Make sure your baking powder is fresh! Baking powder older than 6 months tends to go flat. Keep your berries from sinking: Toss the blueberries in a little flour before mixing them into the batter. This will help keep them from sinking. Use fresh or frozen blueberries: No need to defrost frozen blueberries if that is what you are using. Just make sure they are separated before tossing with flour.
How to Store and Freeze This Cake
This cake will keep covered on the counter for 3 to 4 days. It also freezes well: wrap in foil, then place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to three months, and thaw on the counter before serving.
More Ways to Love Blueberries and Lemon!
Lemon Blueberry Scones Blueberry Cake Lemon Pound Cake Blueberry Buckle Lemon Curd
Make sure your baking powder is fresh! Baking powder older than 6 months tends to go flat. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed for one minute after each addition. Mix in the lemon zest and vanilla extract. Don’t worry if the batter looks a little curdled at this point. It isn’t curdled; it just looks that way. After the first 40 minutes of baking you may want to put a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the pan to keep it from browning further. Gently remove the cake from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. Let cook completely before slicing.
