Lemon Blueberry Tea Cake
This cake is the perfect balance of light and airy mixed with a hearty crumb, making it a perfect balance of textures. This batter is luscious and smooth, not overly heavy like most pound cakes. The glazing and frosting ensure that the cake stays moist for days and compliments the bright lemon flavor. The Blueberry Basil Preserve swirled through makes this cake so elegant and gives it the best of flavours, bright and slightly sweet. Every bite tastes like sunshine.
Makes 1 - 9 x 5 inch Loaf
Ingredients:
Cake
- 1 Lemon
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ¾ cup Greek style yogurt
- ½ cup Blueberry Basil Preserve
Glaze
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup icing sugar
Icing
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 ½ cups icing sugar
- 1 Tbsp milk
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Prepare a 9 x 5 inch loaf tin by lining the bottom with parchment paper and generously coat the sides of the pan with butter. Dust the pan with breadcrumbs, shaking to coat. Discard any extra crumbs that didn’t stick to the sides. Set aside.
- Zest the lemon and set aside in a small bowl, then juice the lemon, strain out the seeds while leaving the pulp. Use a fork to extract as much of the pulp and juice from the lemon.
- In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of stand mixer, cream together the butter and oil until it’s a smooth creamy paste. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Add in the sugar and lemon zest, and continue beat, until the mixture is fluffy. Add one egg at a time, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Whip the butter, sugar, egg mixture until the mixture is a pale yellow, light and airy, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and sea salt. Add half the dry mixture into the batter and slowly mix it in until fully incorporated, then add the yogurt and lemon juice, scrape down the bowl and mix in the remaining flour, just until all the dry is fully incorporated.
- Tip the mixing bowl and using a spatula, scrape all the batter to one side of the bowl. Add the jam all at once along the length of the batter and fold it once with the spatula to gently mix and swirl the preserve. Immediately pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, keeping as much of the jam intact as you pour do not mix or spread the batter once it is in the pan. Gently tap the pan on the counter to allow it to settle and level in the pan. Place in pre-heated oven. Bake for 60 – 65 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with only a few light crumbs attached. If the cake is browning too much, loosely cover with aluminum foil, shiny side up.
- To make the glaze, whisk together lemon juice and icing sugar in a small bowl until lump free.
- To make the icing, whisk together lemon juice and icing sugar, and thin with milk to form a thick, but still pourable icing.
- Remove the cake from the oven, immediately run a knife around the outside. Let cool 5 minutes, then carefully turn the cake out of the pan and onto a wire rack. Brush the surface of the warm cake with the glaze, ensuring it falls in any natural cracks. Allow the cake to cool and drizzle with icing, or serve warm and serve with icing on the side.
- The cake will keep in an airtight container for up to one week.
