Blueberry Pound Cake

My grandson Frederick and I love cooking together. Of course, what he loves most is baking. I have similar memories of baking with my grandmother. Sweet things were always my favorite. Baking together is a special time. I allow lots of time for the job so we can talk and fiddle. Frederick reads the recipe, does most of the measuring, listens patiently as I lecture on the chemistry involved, and then gets to lick the beaters or bowl.

If someone drops in, Frederick gets to serve them something he helped create. How cool is that? Potluck? Frederick takes something he worked on. Cooking and community are tied together. That’s what I learned from my grandmother and I am doing my part to pass on the lesson.

Another lesson from grandmother was that food could be exciting and delicious. This cake falls in that category. As soon as Frederick saw the blueberries, he was really interested in what we would turn out.

This blueberry pound cake is adapted from a recipe in The Food Network Kitchens’ Favorite Recipes. The recipe came complete with a brightly inspiring photo. Frederick and I both exclaimed over it. He never noticed that we were using freshly ground spelt flour instead of the prescribed all-purpose. Luckily, sucanat works in his book. It’s sweet, so who cares about it’s heavier molasses flavor. (Sucanat is a whole cane sugar, strong in molasses flavor.)

Eggs are not on the top of Frederick’s favorite food list but the five eggs that went into this cake don’t count. He even cracked them with no comment. Eggs, milk, butter and blueberries: high calorie, good nutrition, and fine baked goods for Frederick and his little brother!

Disclaimer: You do not need little boys in the house to enjoy this luscious cake.

Blueberry Layer Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup sucanat (regular sugar works too)
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries

Cake Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups spelt flour
• 1 1/2 cup sucanat
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 12 tablespoons softened butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• 3/4 cups buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• Freshly grated zest from 2 lemons
• 5 large eggs

Blueberry Pound Cake Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter a bundt pan or a tube pan. Do not flour.
3. In a small skillet melt the butter. Add the sugar and lemon juice. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
4. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the vanilla and blueberries. Set aside.
5. In the large bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sucanat, baking powder and baking soda. Blend thoroughly.
6. Add the softened butter and mix at medium speed until the a crumbly mixture forms.
7. Mix the lemon zest and vanilla with the buttermilk.
8. Slowly add the buttermilk to the flour mixture with the speed set on low.
9. Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating each one before the next goes in.
10. Turn the speed to high and whip for two or three minutes until the batter is light and fluffy.
11. Spread the blueberry mixture in the bottom of the baking pan and gently pour the batter over top.
12. Bake 40 to 50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

This cake is best if allow to rest overnight before serving. This takes some kind of self control!