Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

This recipe is one of my new favorites.  It’s going to go in the books and put in the regular baking rotation with my chocolate chip cookies, banana bread and lemon loaf.  I LOVE the lemon and blueberry combo.  You could even jazz it up for a spring summer dinner party and serve with a nice blueberry sauce and some whip cream. 

I made this for our Easter BBQ at the in-laws.  Everyone who tried it enjoyed it.  I was mostly surprised with how much the hubby liked it.  Usually he turns his nose at anything that doesn’t have chocolate.  But he said it’s a winnerJ 

Next time I will zest the lemons and throw that into the batter.  It seems like a waste to throw out an un-zested lemon, plus you would get an extra lemon flavor.  Not that it was lacking lemon, it would just put it over the top.  The poppy seeds are subtle but give and extra little crunch every couple of bits. 

If you decide to give this one a try make sure to use the breadcrumbs with preparing the pan.  It can be difficult to get moist cakes out of a bundt pan.  If you just use cooking spray you may end up with half of your cake stuck inside the pan.  Flour might not quite do the trick either.  I found the breadcrumbs perfect, the cake just slide right out without any extra convincing.
 
Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

Ingredients

Cake:

· Cooking spray

· 1 1/2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs

· 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

· 3/4 cup butter, softened

· 4 large eggs

· 13 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3 cups)

· 1 tablespoon baking powder

· 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

· 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

· 3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk

· 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

· 1 teaspoon lemon extract

Glaze:

· 1 cup powdered sugar

· 1 tablespoon nonfat buttermilk

· 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.

2. To prepare cake, coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; dust with breadcrumbs.

3. Combine granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt); stir with a whisk. Add blueberries to flour mixture; toss to coat. Combine 3/4 cup buttermilk, 1/3 cup juice, and extracts. Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.

4. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan; cool on rack.

5. To prepare glaze, place powdered sugar in a small bowl; add 1 tablespoon buttermilk and 1 tablespoon juice, stirring with a whisk until combined. Pour glaze over warm cake; cool completely.

ENJOY!