Cardomom & Blueberry Pound Cake with Rosebud Lemon Curd

By Alex Corlett - August 3, 2018

For the Cardamom Syrup

10 g cardamom pods
150 ml water
1 lemon – zest and juice
150 g caster sugar
125 g fresh blueberries

For the Cake

250 g unsalted butter
250 g light muscavado sugar
1 orange - zest finely grated
3 medium sized eggs
250 g self raising flour – not sieved

For Serving

1x jar Rosebud Preserves Lemon Curd

When only cake will hit the spot, try this gorgeous blueberry loaf sponge recipe with a lovely cardamom syrup. Very summery, and made even better with a dollop of lemon curd…

You will need a 1lb loaf tin, lined with greaseproof paper

Pre heat oven to 180°C.

To make the syrup:

Toast the cardamom in a hot pan for approximately 1 minute, shaking all the time until they pop.
When cool, open the pods, remove the seeds and put them in a pan adding the water, lemon zest and juice and caster sugar. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes then set aside to cool.
After 10 minutes, add the blueberries to the syrup and gently mix together for two minutes. Leave the fruit to infuse for 2 minutes then strain them, reserving the blueberries and syrup separately.

To make the cake:

Grease the loaf tin with butter and line with greaseproof paper.
Bring the butter to room temperature or put it in an 800W microwave for 15 seconds.
Add the sugar to the butter, mix together for 2-3 minutes, add the zest and the juice of the orange and beat for approximately 1 minute until the mixture is slightly lighter.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs until the whites are just broken up. Gradually add small amounts of egg and flour to the mixture until it is all used– take your time to prevent curdling the mixture.
Put the blueberries in the bottom of the greased tin, cover with the cake mix and even out the surface of the mixture.
Cover the top of the tin with kitchen foil allowing enough foil for the cake to rise (approximately 2”). Puncture the foil in one place with a sharp knife to allow the steam to escape.
Cook the cake in the middle of the oven for approximately 40 minutes, test with a skewer, if it is clean of mixture, the cake is ready, if not put back into the oven for another 5 minutes and re-test.
Remove the foil completely; cover the cake with the cardamom syrup until it is all absorbed. Leave the cake in the tin until it has cooled to room temperature, turn out onto a wire rack and serve with Rosebud Lemon Curd.

Recipe courtesy of Rosebud Preserves.