Devilishly good Blueberry Lemon Pound

Simple, delicious and healthy, this cake has NO BUTTER but is the most delicious thing you will ever eat! The smell of the vanilla and lemon zest was enough to drive me almost crazy with excitement! I used plump blueberries for this recipe, but the beauty of this cake is that you can substitute with strawberries, raspberries, blackberries….or heck make a tri-berry cake too!! Be adventurous and use orange zest instead of lemon and voila you have a whole new burst of flavor in your mouth! 

The original recipe called for plain yogurt, but when has plain ever been exciting? So I decided to use Vanilla Greek Yogurt instead, this added the extra moisture and vanilla flavor in the cake and gives it extra points for being a healthy dessert!

For the cake batter

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup Vanilla Greek yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups blueberries, always fresh! (also set aside 1 tablespoon of flour)

For the syrup

1 tablespoon sugar

The juice of 2 lemons

1.     Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease loaf pan. You can also just use a larger baking deep dish or even muffin tins for this! Just remember to adjust cooking time and use the toothpick test to make sure it’s baked all the way through.
2.     Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl.
3.     In another bowl, whisk together the greek yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
4.     Mix the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter. This is to prevent them from sinking to the bottom.
5.     Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45-40 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test.
6.     In a saucepan, cook the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then cool on a baking rack.

While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in (you can poke tiny holes using a toothpick, so the syrup seeps all the way through)

Aaaand, it’s time to EAT!!