Pound cake is one of the first cakes my mom taught me how to bake. I called it butter cake and till today whenever she comes to see me she always brings me a loaf of butter cake! I always have a pound cake in my freezer. It is great for last minute guests or when you want a sweet pick me up after dinner. I make many variations to the basic recipe but this orange and blueberry combination is my absolute favorite.
The cake is rich, buttery, moist and has an amazing fresh flavor from the orange zest and juice. Please do not use canned orange juice, it just does not taste the same. The blueberries add a perfect blend of tart and sweet flavors. What I love is that they burst open in the cake while baking and it almost tastes like a blueberry preserve swirled throughout the cake. Yummm….
There are a couple of tricks to making a perfect pound cake. Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature. Cream the butter and sugar really well. Also, do not over beat the flour. Just a quick mix. If you over beat the cake batter the gluten in the flour forms elastic gluten strands which will result in a dense, chewy texture. The final tip, toss the blueberries in a tablespoon of flour. This will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
Here is how I make it…