I was privileged to be featured in Outlook (as a baker) last week. (Click here for a direct link to the article.)
One of the questions I was asked was why I bake.For a moment, I didn’t know what to say, rather how to answer this question in a concise manner. The enigmatic image of whipping butter and sugar, frosting, piping, serving, the undefinable comfort zone for a baker in the midst of her kitchen on a Sunday morning. These are all reasons. There are so many, I don’t need a reason to bake. To bake not to bake, is never the question.
When it comes to serving a multitude – a party, families getting together, a pot luck dinner – I steer towards baking a cake. I feel it’s easy and presentable though on the flip side there is no fix should it turn out either too sour or overly sweet. Bloggers, of course, by definition must try new recipes. I am no different. A new blog post outweighs the possibility of a kitchen disaster. So I took my chances and baked a luscious pound cake, perfect as it were for a summery May afternoon. I chose well.
Pound cakes are really rich and that’s no secret but I particularly like baking them cream cheese. It adds a tactile texture, making it tender and almost melt-in-your-mouth. In fact, one of my favorite cakes of all times is a Cinnamon Cream Cheese Pound Cake. Makes for a great tea time treat.
I did make several changes to the recipe and in my book this recipe is a keeper. I entirely avoided adding any artificial almond flavoring. I chose to replace a part of the all-purpose flour with almond meal and stirred in about half a cup of finely chopped almonds to bring crunchiness to this rich cake. I also cut down the sugar a wee bit and for the glaze I used a cream cheese glaze instead of the regular sugar drizzle. The one thing I missed adding was a tinge of lemon to the glaze.
The recipe for the glaze is just enough to give it a drizzle, if you like to frost it completely then you could easily double it. For the blueberries: feel free to use, fresh or frozen. Both work equally well. You could also replace it with any other berry or a combination of berries of your choice.
Over to the recipe: A soft and tender cake bursting with berries, crunchy almonds and a luscious glaze. Perfect for all occasions.
- ¾ cup butter, softened
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla essence
- 11/4 cup sugar
- ½ cup almond meal
- 4 eggs
- 11/2 cups unbleached or all-purpose flour
- 11/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 11/2 teaspoon salt
- 13/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
- ¾ cup slivered almonds
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup confectioners sugar
- 2-3 tablespoon milk, depending on desired consistency
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 24cm bundt pan.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt, set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time and beat until well combined. Add vanilla extract along with the last egg.
- Add flour mixture and beat until its well incorporated
- Stir in blueberries and ½ cup almonds and then spoon batter into the prepared bundt pan.
- Bake for about 50-55 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Let cool for about 20 minutes.
- For the glaze: Beat the ingredients in a small bowl until you reach your desired consistency. Drizzle over cake and sprinkle almonds.
Happy Baking!
Congratulations Anuradha on a fab write up!! I really admire your baking skills and also you work wonders with your clicks.
Asimle pound cake is an all time favourite, now I must try out your version with the blurberries and cream cheese :D.
Thank you, Anuja. Do let me know it turns out. :)
This looks truly mouthwatering!!!
I love to bake because, like creating art, I get a thrill out of taking raw ingredients and making something beautiful out of them!
I love the way you decorated your cake — truly stunning!
This is SO pretty! I love all the wonderful things you bake. Very clever indeed.
Beautiful! That cake looks irresistible and delicious.
Cheers,
Rosa
The glaze on top gives the cake an artistic feeling, love the idea too that u used almond meal instead of artificial liquids. Plus blueberries! Can I have a piece please? =)
Blueberries are buy one get one free at Whole Foods today… I was going to make a coffee cake, but maybe I’ll make this instead! :D
Congratulations on the article! I need some of that cookies and cream cheesecake you mentioned! :) Your poundcake looks so good and so perfect for get togethers! I love the little drizzle over the top, it looks gorgeous!
Beautiful. I love the idea of replace flour with almond meal–it is such a nice way to get the flavor in to a pretty treat like this.
Gorgeous looking Pound cake. Loved all your pictures.
I love using almond meal in place of regular flour! It adds a great flavor and texture! :)
I adore pound cakes and yours looks perfect! Great idea to use almond meal!
wow that looks amazing!
blueberry and almonds is such a great match.. i love it. and i love these simple cakes that go so perfect with tea/coffee.
This pound cake must be as delicious as it looks stunning :D
Your photography is beautiful my friend!
And this recipe sounds crazy delicious!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
This looks so good. Congrats on being featured in the article. I’m sure more will be coming :-)
Thanks CJ! You’re too sweet. :)
So beautiful! You never need a reason to bake, and cake sounds like a perfect choice to me! Hugs, Terra
That is absolutely stunning visually! I stared at the top picture for a good minute! :o Beautiful!
Congrats on being featured on “Outlook”. :)
This pound cake looks AMAZING!!
You’re so creative!! I am very impressed
Congrats on the feature! This cake does look fabulous, blueberry in a baked good is hard to resist. Also, your pictures look awesome, that black background really makes the cake stand out. Great post!
Thanks Tina. :)
How could someone say ‘no’ to piece of this gorgeous cake. Just can imgaine how good that combination of almonds and blueberries smell. :)
beautifully presented delicious looking cake
Your poundcake looks amazing!!!! I haven’t had a good poundcake in years! I am drooling over this!! The berries look moist and I love that you didn’t add a pound of butter!! Perfect recipe!!
Congrats Anuradha!! Why there’s no photograph of yours!!!! :-(
so good and so proud to see Outlook mention you and your blog. absolutely inspiring.
The pound cake.. welll mmmm looks delicious
Thanks Anita. They’re based out of Delhi and I really never expected them to send someone for a picture. ;)
This looks yummy… but for those of us who are metrically challenged, how many cups in a 24cm bundt pan? I’ve tried googling it, but can’t make heads nor tails of the answers!
Many thanks – can’t wait to try this!
Hola Baker! This would be around 8 to 9 cups.
Happy Baking!
A
Congratulations on being featured Ana. Great little write-up and it was wonderful to read about the other bakers too! This pound cake, well…you are right, you certainly chose well. It looks scrumptious and your photographs of it are tantalizing!
Thanks Paula.
Oh WOW! I hav’nt had a chance to give you much comment love lately, I started a new job. This post kind of brought to my knees… Gorgeous!
GORGEOUS! It’s easy to see why you were featured :) Well done!
Aww… Thanks Lisa. :)
I would serve this for any dinner party its gorgeous!
This really looks amazing!! That first pic is fantatstic.. just last week i saw a recipe for another orange cream cheese pound cake.. but this with blueberries and almonds… in to the must-bake recipe list!!!
Hi anuradha,
You are a phenomenal baker and i love reading your blog. After reading and seeing what you bake , one can tell you are so passionate about it.
This cake looks super yummy! The presentation and photographs are stunning.
Congrats on being featured in Outlook… shall check out the page. :) What a beautiful pound cake…. love the addition of the almonds with the blueberries.
Well done on being featured, I’ve never made a pound cake but they look fabulous in a ring mould with icing.
Thanks Sarah. :)
Gorgeous photos! I wish I had a slice of that delicious pound cake right about now, too. Love that it has cream cheese in it!
Great job on the feature! I love pound cake and this sounds like a wonderful version =)
That cake looks delicious – beautifully presented, beautifully photographed. I particularly liked the pics on black and on the wooden spatula. Simple and beautiful.
Thanks Debbi! :)
What a fantastic looking cake, and I love the drizzles!
Congratulations on the write up! My heart is all a flutter with this pound cake! Using almond meal was genius, and adding cream cheese to pound cakes turns my legs to jelly. Mmm…
Heh. Thanks. :)
What a picture perfect cake!!! I love a dense pound cake and the addition of cream cheese is so wonderful.
PS…you are so talented when it comes to icing a cake…just lovely~
Thanks Liz! xx
Congrats on your feature! I love your reason for baking…and this pound cake! The glaze and almonds are the perfect finish :)
Congrats on your write up. This pound cake is rich and divine. love the pretty drizzle:)
Thanks Lora! :)
Congratulations on your feature in Outlook! That’s very exciting and not surprising! You’re a baker to be envied! I mean – how many people could really bake this pound cake and make it look as beautiful at this!?! It’s too pretty to eat, but that wouldn’t stop me from eating it. :)
Thanks MJ! :)
Oooooh this so simple and pretty!
What a gorgeous pound cake! I have some blueberries and was thinking of making a bundt…. Might need to give this one a try today!!
I am not surprised that you were featured after looking at this gorgeous and the rest of your lovely desserts I have been getting into so far. Its simply wonderful with a great simple finishing. Btw, I am not sure why I am having issues commenting on your latest post. The box for comments is not showing. Just check on your side and see why.
Just sent you an email. :)
Congratulations on the article! This recipe looks and sounds amazing. I’m looking forward to testing it out.
Thanks Jennifer.
Beautiful cake and beautiful photos! I would love to dive into this, the flavor sounds wonderful with the almonds and sweet berries!
This cake looks gorgeous and your photos are just beautiful!
Congratulations on your well-deserved publicity! That cake is really fabulous–I wish I could get my drizzled glazes to look that even.
Girl, this cake looks amazing. It’s absolutely beautiful. As is everything else you make. I have to agree with you. I love making cream cheese pound cakes. I think it’s the dense, creamy texture that the cream cheese creates that I love most.
great recipe and I love your photos! :)
This looks incredible. I just made a pound cake myself. I love the idea of adding cream cheese to it. YUM
I just lost my word looking at these gorgeous pound cake. Love the glaze – very fine line and just so beautiful!!! And I love blueberry pound cake too. This is the best recipe I’ve seen so far today!
Hello! This looks amazing! If I am using frozen blueberries, do I keep the extra juice??
Thank you!!
Thanks Rosemary. Drain the juice before you use the frozen berries. :)
This cake is absolutely stunning! I love blueberries and do a lot of blueberry picking in summers. I agree, this recipe is a keeper. I am definitely making it!
Thank you for sharing it on RecipeNewZ. I hope you contribute some more of your wonderful recipes!
Thanks Elena! I surely will. :)
Congrats on being featured!! I love anything to do with berries, and saw this very similar treat in one of my mags. Am definitely bookmarking this and can’t wait to make them over another weekend. Have a good week ahead!! xoxo
Congrats on being featured! Gorgeous cake my friend!
Congrats!!! How amazing, great write up!! A wonderful recipe, looking forward to catching up with all your new posts (moving has me behind!)
What a fantastic article! Congrats. This cake is beautiful as always. Love getting to know my favorite bloggers better.
Thanks Dara! :)
I can’t even begin to imagine a life without baking! People often ask me why I do it, and it’s such a huge combination of reasons – delicious ingredients, loving to try what I make, the smiles on peoples’ faces when they eat it, the list goes on. This looks absolutely gorgeous – any cake with blueberries gets my vote :-)
You’re absolutely right. There is an unspoken feeling when you see people smile after eating a slice. Blueberry is up there for me too! :)
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Your pound cake was the 1st photo on YBR that caught my eye. So exquisite and I’m drooling! If only I have half your talent & blueberries are less expensive here..
Aw.. Thanks Shannon! Blueberries are quite expensive here too. But this recipe is too good. You could try this cake with any berries of your choice. :)
Wow. I’ve got to say, this is the prettiest thing I have seen all day! Never made a pound cake, but this is an inspiration if I ever do. YUM!
Hi Anuradha,
Congrats on the feature. Thanks for being a part of the YBR:) This pound cake looks amazing!
P.S.
I’ll be in touch with my post and info soon.
Thanks Nancy! :)
Fabulous cake, I have lots of blueberries so this cake recipe will come in handy.
I’m allergic to nuts, but I want to make this this summer. Our blueberry bushes are just loaded with blueberries, but they’re not ripe yet. I’m sure it won’t be as good, and interesting, but I’ll just use AP flour. But it looks so moist and delicious!
Love your Pound cake, your photos and your site!
Beautiful! And what kinda questions is: “Why do you bake?” That’s like asking, “why do you like yummy food, exactly?” Geeesh.
Ohhh, What a beautiful cake! And I love the glaze decoration….just beautiful :) Have a wonderful week ahead!
You too. Thanks Aldy!
This pound cake looks amazing…it has a real wow factor! I love the sound of the blueberry and cream cheese too…I’ll definitely be making this one! :-)
Thanks Laura! :)
I absolutely had to “boost” this recipe/photo on the Top Dog competition right now… Despite being precisely that – competition – I LOVE your photo composition and can’t wait to add this recipe to my list of cakes to try! : )
Aw.. Thank you so much for the vote :)