The Best Little Anti-Oxidant Around

We all know the beneficial health qualities of blueberries, and let's face it...aren't they cuter and more fun than broccoli? To prove it, I am going to share a fabulous blueberry pound cake recipe with you. It is everything you want a pound cake to be - rich, dense and buttery, with the added bonus of blueberries....so now it's good for you too!

Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake

For the cake:

Pre-heat oven to 350*

1/3 cup of whole milk
6 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 Tbls, pure vanilla
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup freshly grated lemon zest (about 5 lemons)
2 - 2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, tossed with 1 1/2 tbls. flour

For the syrup

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar

In a small bowl whisk together the milk, the eggs, and the vanilla. In another bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In the mixer cream the butter with the granulated sugar, the brown sugar, and the zest until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture alternately with the egg mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, beating the batter after each addition until it is just combined. Fold in 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries. Spoon 1/3 of the batter into a greased and floured 10 inch bundt pan, spreading it evenly, and sprinkle 1/2 cup of the remaining blueberries over it. Spoon half the remaining batter into the pan, spreading it evenly, and sprinkle 1/2 of the remaining blueberries over it. Spoon the remaining batter into the pan, spreading it evenly, sprinkle the remaining bluberries over it. Bake in the middle of a 350* oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until golden and a tester comes out clean...don't over bake.

Make the syrup while the cake is baking: In a small saucepan combine the lemon juice and the sugar, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissloved, and remove the pan from the heat. When the cake comes out of the oven, poke the top immediately all over with a wooden skewer, and brush it with half the syrup. Let the cake cool in the pan, on a rack, for 15 minutes, invert it onto the rack, and poke it all over with the skewer. Brush the cake with the remaining syrup and let it cool completely.

This cake stands on its own, but you could gild the lily and serve it with a dollop of creme fraiche or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum!