Blueberry Lemon Tea Cakes

It’s no secret that I love lemons & any recipe that contains lemon for that matter. The combination of the lemon & blueberries in this Martha Stewart recipe is totally heavenly. You will need about 35 minutes to prep & a total of two hours to get everything done.

The original recipe calls for a stick of butter & baking soda, so I’ve adapted some of the wording & measurements so that it’s slightly easier to understand (for a South African gal).

Blue Belles

The recipe makes 9 mini loafs or 2 big loafs or about 12 muffin sizes cakes 

* Recipe taken from the July 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living

½ cup of unsalted butter, plus more for pans

2 cups cake flour, plus more for pans

1 ½ cups of sugar

4 – 6 lemons to get the following: 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

¾ cup of cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

salt

2 large eggs

1 ¼ cups of fresh blueberries

Preheat your oven to 180°C. Butter your pans & dust with flour, tapping out the excess.

Combine ½ cup sugar & ½ cup lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and syrup is thickened, about 4 minutes. Let stand while making cakes.

Meanwhile, combine the cream, remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice, & the vanilla in a bowl. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda & 1/4 teaspoon salt in another bowl.

Beat butter, lemon zest & remaining cup sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale & fluffy. Reduce speed to low & add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour mixture in three additions, alternating with cream mixture, beginning & ending with flour. Gently fold in blueberries using a rubber spatula.

Divide batter evenly among your chosen pans. Bake on a rimmed baking sheet until a toothpick inserted into the centre of each comes out clean, about 30 minutes (for the small loafs). Bake big loafs for 55 minutes & muffin sized ones at 15 minutes.

Transfer pans to wire racks & brush tops of cakes with lemon syrup. Let them stand for 15 minutes. Turn out cakes from pans & brush all over with remaining syrup. Let cool completely on wire racks. These cakes can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

This recipe is quite a bit of work, but so worth it though. Every single person who has tried it asked for seconds… & thirds… & the recipe! Martha Stewart won’t easily disappoint.

Try it!

Yolandi ♥