Blackberry Pound Cake

This blackberry dessert is the perfect balance of sweet and tart. A simple, buttery pound cake swirled with fresh blackberry purée and topped with a fresh blackberry icing.

Servings: 10 slices

Download printable recipe card here.

INGREDIENTS:

Blackberry swirl: 

  • 4 ounces (113g) fresh blackberries, about 1 cup

  • 3 tablespoons (38g) granulated sugar

  • 1 tablespoon (15mL) lemon juice

Pound cake: 

  • 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (225g) cake flour

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature

  • 1½ cups (300g) granulated sugar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 4 large eggs at room temperature

  • ¼ cup (60g) sour cream at room temperature

Blackberry icing: 

  • 2 ounces (57g) fresh blackberries, about ½ cup

  • 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar

  • 1 tablespoon (15mL) milk

  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

  • ⅛ teaspoon salt

 

Blackberry Pound Cake Recipe:

Blackberry swirl

  1. Place the blackberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat and simmer until you have about ⅓ cup of mixture, about 10 minutes.

  2. Remove mixture from heat, then press through a sieve to remove the seeds. Set aside.

Pound cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.

  2. Sift the cake flour, add the salt, whisk everything together, and set this mixture aside.

  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl several times during mixing. The mixture should be very pale yellow after mixing.

  4. With the mixer running, add the vanilla. Next, add in one egg at a time, mixing on medium speed and allowing each egg to fully incorporate before adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently. Do not rush this process.

  5. Again with the mixer running, add the dry ingredients to the bowl in three additions, alternating with the sour cream in two additions, starting and stopping with the dry ingredients. Continue to mix on medium speed in between each addition until fully incorporated.

  6. Remove about ½ cup of batter from the bowl and add to the blackberry mixture. Stir until completely combined. Set aside.

  7. Pour half of the pound cake batter into the prepared pan, then pour the blackberry + batter mixture on top. Spread the blackberry batter around evenly, then top with the remaining pound cake batter. It's ok if the blackberry filling peeks out. Use a butter knife or skewer to swirl the batter.

  8. Bake the pound cake for 60–70 minutes until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs.

  9. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes before turning out of the pan to cool completely before adding the icing.

Blackberry icing

  1. Press the fresh blackberries through a sieve so that all you have is juice. Pour the juice into a small bowl.

  2. Add the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt, and stir until icing is cohesive and light purple in color. Add more milk if you want a thinner icing or more powdered sugar if you want a thicker icing.

  3. Pour the icing over the cooled blackberry pound cake and allow to set before serving, about 1 hour.

Store leftovers at room temperature up to 3 days or in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Loaf freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Fresh April Flours.

Rachel Perry