Celebrate blueberry season with this rich, fluffy, and moist Blueberry Ricotta Pound Cake! The sweet cream cheese icing on top elevates every bite and gives this brunch and dessert-worthy cake an extra pop of tang.
⭐ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you’ve been searching high and low for the best dessert to celebrate summer, you’ve come to the right place! This Blueberry Ricotta Pound Cake is made with fresh blueberries, tangy ricotta cheese, and an easy cream cheese frosting. The incredibly moist and delicate crumb makes this loaf cake a real crowd-pleaser!
Have you ever baked with ricotta cheese before? It’s a phenomenal ingredient that’s perfect for cakes! It’s the key to elevating the texture and flavor in both this blueberry pound cake and my Cherry Ricotta Pound Cake without overwhelming the cake’s naturally soft and fluffy texture.
This classic dessert, brunch finisher, or breakfast cake is buttery soft on the inside with a slightly crispy outside. Drizzled in cream cheese icing, you won’t be able to stop after just one slice.
❓ Why is it called pound cake?
Pound cakes are aptly named after the traditional ingredient measurements. They were typically made using a pound of flour, a pound of butter, a pound of eggs, and a pound of sugar! This heavy list of ingredients would make the cakes very dense and rich, but have since been slightly lightened up.
🍴Ingredients
Most of the ingredients in pound cake are fairly straight-forward, with just a handful of delicious exceptions:
- Blueberries - You can usually find fresh blueberries in season from June to September here in the US. If you can, use fresh, seasonal berries for the best flavor. Extra blueberries? Try your hand at making a blueberry shrub or blueberry simple syrup!
- Ricotta cheese - Ricotta isn’t just for toast or crackers anymore! This soft, curd-like cheese is made by adding an acid (like white vinegar) to heated cow’s milk. When curds start to form, the ricotta is ready! This simple process is easy to do yourself at home or you can buy whole milk ricotta from most grocery stores.
- All purpose flour - You need flour for both the cake batter and for tossing the blueberries.
- Vanilla extract - This will help balance the flavors in the cake. Make your own vanilla extract for the warmest and richest flavor.
- Cream cheese icing - This simple, bright, and tangy icing is an easy go-to when you need an extra hit of sweetness and brightness on spiced bundt cakes, blueberry petit fours, and even banana bread.
📖 Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Mix dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Step 2: Whisk the ricotta. Whisk the ricotta vigorously in a separate bowl until it’s completely smooth.
Step 3: Mix wet ingredients. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Next, mix in the eggs one at a time before adding the vanilla and ricotta. Finish by mixing in the dry ingredients until everything is well combined.
Step 4: Toss blueberries in flour. Toss the blueberries in some flour before folding them into the cake batter.
Step 5: Bake the pound cake. Transfer the cake batter to a loaf pan and smooth out the top. Bake until the middle of the cake reaches an internal temperature of 200ºF. Let it cool completely.
Step 6: Make the icing. Whisk the cream cheese, milk, and vanilla bean paste (or extract) together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and whisk again until you reach the desired consistency.
Step 7: Decorate and enjoy. Pour the cream cheese icing on top of the cooled pound cake and enjoy!
Note: Unfortunately, the toothpick-in-the-center test isn’t a completely accurate way of checking if the pound cake is fully baked. Instead, measure the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer. You’ll end up with perfectly baked pound cake every time!
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- Lemon Zest and Fresh Lemon Juice: Incorporating fresh lemon zest and lemon juice into a blueberry ricotta cake elevates the bright flavor, making it a perfect sweet treat for afternoon tea.
- Storing the Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Pound Cake: To retain the cake's moisture and freshness, wrap the blueberry-lemon ricotta pound cake in plastic wrap and store it in an airtight container. For better results, ensure the cake cool on a wire rack before storage.
- Choosing the Right Pan: Using a prepared loaf pan or springform pan lined with parchment paper ensures the blueberry ricotta cake releases smoothly. If baking in a bundt cake pan, a simple lemon glaze drizzled over the top accentuates the cake's visual appeal.
- Incorporating Ricotta for Moisture and Flavor: The addition of ricotta cheese to the lemon blueberry pound cake recipe imparts a rich, moist texture. For a healthier pound cake recipe alternative, consider substituting cake flour with whole-wheat flour without compromising the cake's delightful taste.
❄️ Storing and freezing pound cake
To store: Wrap the cake or individual slices in plastic and store at room temperature for 2 or 3 days. It’ll also keep for up to 1 week in the fridge.
To freeze: Wrap up the slices or loaf (without the icing) in a few layers of plastic and freeze for up to 3 months.
💭 Recipe FAQs
A 9x5 pan is best for even heat distribution. If all you have is a bundt pan, just make sure to grease it really well and double the recipe as bundt pans are typically much larger.
Both fresh and frozen blueberries will work in this pound cake recipe! Just make sure the frozen blueberries are thawed and patted dry first, then toss them in flour before mixing them into the batter.
The best way to prevent the berries from sinking to the bottom of the pound cake is to toss them in a tablespoon of flour before folding them into the batter.
Raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, cherries, or any other berry you love will work in this recipe.
Looking for more fresh and bright cakes to try?
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Blueberry Ricotta Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
Blueberry Ricotta Pound Cake
- 1 ⅔ Cups (205 g) All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 ⅔ Cups (370 g) Whole Milk Ricotta
- ¾ Cup (170 g) Unsalted Butter, softened
- 1 ½ Cups (300 g) Granulated Sugar
- 1 Lemon's worth of zest
- 3 (150 g) Eggs, large
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tablespoon All-Purpose Flour , for tossing with cherries
- 1½ Cups (265 g) Blueberries
Bluebrrry Cream Cheese Icing
- 3 Tablespoons (45 g) Cream Cheese , softened, ideally microwaved for 10 seconds for easy mixing
- 1 Tablespoon Whole Milk
- ¼ Cup (37 g) Blueberries, Mashed
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste , or vanilla extract
- 1 ½ Cup (180 g) Powdered Sugar , Sifted
Instructions
Baking the Blueberry Ricotta Pound Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease your 9x5 loaf pan. Then, line your loaf pan with a long strip of parchment to make it easy to remove after baking.
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk until all ingredients are combined. Set aside.1 ⅔ Cups All-Purpose Flour, 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder, 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- In a separate bowl, whisk the ricotta vigorously until completely smooth - this should take about one full minute.1 ⅔ Cups Whole Milk Ricotta
- Place the butter, sugar and lemon zest into the bowl of your mixer and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Then, add the vanilla and eggs one at a time stopping between each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl.¾ Cup Unsalted Butter, 1 ½ Cups Granulated Sugar, 1 Lemon's worth of zest, 3 Eggs, 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Add the ricotta and mix until combined. Then add the dry ingredients and mix until everything looks homogenous.
- Toss blueberries in 2 Tablespoons of flour. This ensures that they don't sink to the bottom of the pound cake while baking and fold them gently into the batter.1 Tablespoon All-Purpose Flour, 1½ Cups Blueberries
- Scoop the mixture into your 9 x 5 greased loaf pan and smooth out the top with an offset spatula or a spoon. Then, bake until the center of your loaf reaches 200° F on your thermometer before removing it from the oven. This should take about 65 to 75 minutes at minimum. Unfortunately, the toothpick test is not the best way to ensure that this pound cake is fully baked - checking for doneness with a thermometer will ensure you have a perfect bake!
- Allow your pound cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing and placing it on a cooling rack to cool completely.
Blueberry Cream Cheese Icing
- Whisk the soft, microwaved cream cheese, mashed blueberries, milk and vanilla bean paste together until homogenous. At first, the mixture will have a difficult time coming together! Keep whisking vigorously until the mixture is smooth before moving on.3 Tablespoons Cream Cheese, 1 Tablespoon Whole Milk, ¼ Cup Blueberries, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste
- Add sifted powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. If you would like to thicken your icing, add another few tablespoons of powdered sugar - alternatively, if you prefer an even thinner icing, you could add some additional mashed blueberries!1 ½ Cup Powdered Sugar
- Pour the blueberry cream cheese icing on top of the pound cake and enjoy!
Notes
- Can you bake pound cake in a bundt pan? A 9x5 pan is best for even heat distribution. If all you have is a bundt pan, just make sure to grease it really well and double the recipe as bundt pans are typically much larger.
- Should I use fresh or frozen blueberries? Both fresh and frozen blueberries will work in this pound cake recipe! Just make sure the frozen blueberries are thawed and patted dry first, then toss them in flour before mixing them into the batter.
- How do I keep the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the cake? The best way to prevent the berries from sinking to the bottom of the pound cake is to toss them in a tablespoon of flour before folding them into the batter.
- What berries can I use in pound cake? Raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, cherries, or any other berry you love will work in this recipe.
pansy
This was DELICIOUS!!! The only change I made was to add a little lemon juice to the frosting. It was so good. Super moist and flavorful!