Blueberry Ricotta Pound Cake

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, blueberry simple syrup or my blueberry macarons with blueberry frosting!

• 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!

• 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

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