I didn’t ask hubby what kind of cake he’d like for his birthday but I know I’m safe with this little beauty.
Tell me – when does this happen in real life? From the blueberries to the mascarpone, the balsamic to the brown sugar, I had absolutely everything I needed. Every last ingredient. There they were – all giving me the stink eye – as if to say – “Hey lady – use us, we’re here, don’t let us get lost behind the vanilla almond milk and nectarines… We’re available now, we’re fresh and we’re ready…”
So, how could I resist? My wheels started turning and Blueberry Mascarpone Pound Cake with Marinated Berries was born.
I had no choice. And not for nothin’ – all’s well that ends well – this is one of the tastiest most decadent yet still refined classic pound cakes that I’ve enjoyed in a while. And there’s no doubt Dom is going to love it!
My superman turns another year more charming tomorrow… Yep, April Fool’s Day! Legend has it – when the doctor handed Dom to my mother-in-law and said, “It’s a boy!”, she said, “You’re kidding, right? It’s April Fool’s…” Nope – Doc did not employ silliness that morning – and Mona received the gorgeous gift of her first little boy, Dominick Jude.
This recipe is a combination of flavors and techniques I’ve combined as a result of favorite recipes I’ve collected over the years. Though lemon and ricotta can create bright flavor and beautiful texture, I am hooked on the gentle sweetness that mascarpone delivers. And any chance I have to use vanilla bean paste, I’m all about it. The tiny flecks of seeds along with its pleasing aroma make me melt a little.
This cake has a tender yet substantial crumb. The crust bakes up to a perfect crisp as if to protect the cake from drying out. It’s silky and moist, sweet and savory.
I decided to marinate berries in a little balsamic, brown sugar and yes, vanilla bean paste, for a topping that adds a little more texture and a tiny (I mean teeny-tiny) tartness to our blueberry bread. Adding the topping is optional, of course. I would describe it as a nice pop of flavor that adds to the cake like, say, a perfect handbag or a silky scarf adds to a gorgeous ensemble. Not necessary but nice.
This recipe’s a keeper…just like my Number #1 Man! My Birthday Boy! My Numero Uno!
Buon Appetito!
- Pound Cake
- 1¾ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup mascarpone (8 oz.), room temperature
- 1½ cups sugar
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- ½ Tbsp. vanilla bean paste
- 1½ cups blueberries
- Marinated Berries
- ¼ cup balsamic
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
- 1½ cups fresh blueberries
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Butter sides and bottom of a 9x5-inch loaf pan then right before filling with batter, line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, vigorously whisk the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Rinse 1½ cups blueberries and toss them with a little flour to lightly coat.
- Use an electric mixer on high speed, beat together the butter, mascarpone and sugar for 3 minutes until pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed for one minute after each addition.
- Mix in the vanilla bean paste.
- Without over-mixing, stir in the dry ingredients (in 3 additions) until just incorporated.
- Gently stir in the blueberries.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing out the top with a rubber spatula.
- Place on a baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven.
- Bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Check the cake when there's about 20 minutes to go, you may want to put a sheet of foil over the top to keep it from browning further.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes in the pan.
- Gently remove the cake from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- In the meantime, prepare the marinated blueberries.
- Rinse 1½ cups of blueberries and place in a medium bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk the balsamic with brown sugar and vanilla bean paste.
- Pour the balsamic mixture over the berries.
- Let the fruit marinate for about 15 minutes.
- Drain the marinade.
- Slice the pound cake.
- Serve berries over top.
A couple birthday recipes from yesteryear…
Yellow Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Meatball Pizza with Garlic Oil & Crushed Red Pepper
CIAO!
Annie…I love this…I love it all…from the story to the photograph to the recipe…I love it all. You cook with you heart and it comes through so clearly in all of your posts 🙂 Happy Saturday dear friend…off to stalk the rest of your blog!
You just warmed my heart, Mila! Thank you for your kind words, my friend! I feel the same about your beautiful site! 🙂
Sounds like a prefect birthday cake to me! I love the fresh berries baked in the cake and then the extra berries served with it! That’s a little slice of blueberry heaven! Yum!
Oh, it is! Thanks so much, my friend! 🙂
This cake looks delicious, Annie! Love the blueberries and the use of mascarpone! Yum! What a great combo. Wishing your hubby a very happy birthday. Have a great weekend too 🙂
Thank you so much, dear! Have a lovely weekend! 🙂
Ha! You did indeed surprise me. I thought it was to be a no churn and then this. Sounds wonderful, lucky Dom!
Hahah! You were not alone in your guess for no-churn! Thanks, friend! 🙂
Awwww!! Tell Dom Happy Birthday. It is our anniversary — first date – 1968. So I will vicariously eat a piece of your delicious looking pound cake and pour a glass of wine and make a toast to Dom, you and us. Great recipe!!
Awwwhhh! We will toast you as well! Thanks, my dear! 🙂
I thought from your IG teaser shot yesterday that it was going to be another great no-churn ice cream, Annie! Love, love, love this – just delicious. Happy b-day to Dom!
Thank you, Geraldine! You were not alone in the guess for no-churn! Have a lovely weekend, my friend! 🙂
Pound cake is one of those desserts I don’t have very often, but every time I do I think “why don’t I make this more?” This looks like such a delicious recipe. Those marinated berries sound wonderful!
I know…it’s so easy to forget about such things! But they’re so delicious! How do we do that? 🙂
Drooling! The perfect cake for Dad’s b-day <3
I think he’s going to love it! I told him he could have a little piece last night but he wants to wait! How cute is that?! Wish you could share it with us, Sweeta! We’ll face-time! Love you!
Awww so cutie! Yes facetime is a must! Love you guys!
Yayay! See your face soon! Love you! 🙂
?They say it’s your birthday? What a beautiful cake for what sounds to be a special guy. Love how you combined your favorite things to create this and the marinated berries sound delicious. Thanks for the post.
Yes! I will be singing that song all weekend and I love it! Not so sure how much Dom will love it as I’ll be singing it to him! Thank you so much, dear! 🙂
Thank you Annie! I don’t know what I did in life to be so lucky! You are my Superwoman!
I love you, Dominick
We both won the lottery that day, Sweeta! Love you! 🙂
This is stunning! I love the use of mascarpone- and I also thought of a lemon ricotta cake when I read the title of this, but I love the play with the mascarpone to really get all of the natural sweetness 🙂 And also vanilla bean paste makes everything ten times better!
Blueberries and lemon are such a perfect combination but I was just in the mood to change it up a bit and it proved delish! Thanks, dear! 🙂
Mmm I can’t believe you had all the ingredients needed to make this gorgeous cake – I wish I did too!! It looks so delicious, especially with those balsamic berries. Delish!
I know!! I had planned on making a French toast recipe but I never got to it – so…low and behold, I was in business! Thanks, my friend! 🙂
Happy Birthday to your husband Annie! I can only imagine how this cake tastes! Love mascarpone! I also have all the ingredients, need to try it!
Well, look at that! Meant to be, my friend! I hope you try it! It’s so good!! Thanks, friend! 🙂
Happy B-day to Dom! What a great cake to celebrate with. I think mascarpone makes everything a little better and blueberries with brown sugar and balsamic is the perfect topping. Pinned. Take care.
It does make everything a little bit better! Thanks, my dear! 🙂
HAPPPY Birthday DOom! Now, this cake has all the flavors I love in a good blueberry cake. Marinating the berries is so smart and brings out their juices and luscious flavor. That mascarpone has me melting… yes, melting, Annie!! Love love love it in this cake! I don’t bake with mascarpone enough… so thank you for your nudge. It is such a delicious addition! Beautiful work my dear! xo
THANK YOU, TRACI!!!! Yay – so glad I could nudge you in the direction of mascarpone! You’ll never be lost on that road… Okay – I took that too far, didn’t I?! 😉 This is a yummy one, for sure! Thanks for stopping by with a kind word, my dear! Happy Blog-iversary, again! You rock! xo
Happy happy birthday to Dom! I adore when you write about him (and your children), I can feel the love through your words! And this cake!! Absolutely perfect for a celebration, Annie! Gorgeous and I’m willing to bet crazy delicious! Loving the blueberries and mascarpone combo, dear! And those marinated blueberries accompanying this fine cake look oh so good! Wish I could reach through my screen and steal a few slices of this! Cheers, lovely! Xoxo
Wish you could too…better yet, wish you could come over and share in a slice or two with me! Thank you so much for your sweetness…always brings a smile to my face! Have a lovely weekend, dear! xoxo
Annie, this cake is beautiful! and happy birthday to your husband!
Thank you so much, Alice! You’re very sweet! 🙂
My son was due on April Fools’, but of course the joke was on me when he arrived way early. 🙂 Love that story about Dom. His mom sounds hilarious!
And this cake…wow. I am so happy when you make dessert, Annie!
Hahaha! Your son had another plan! Just like our daughter Lauren who was due on our 2 year wedding anniversary but decided to arrive 8 days early…on Easter Sunday! Those kids just couldn’t wait! Thanks so much, my dear! That means a lot coming from you! 🙂
Such a gorgeous birthday cake Annie! I’m sure it tastes just as delicious as it looks. I love that you used marscapone, I’m always trying to figure out ways to incorporate it in my baking more and this is pound cake is the perfect way! And I could probably eat those marinated berries by the spoonful they sound heavenly.
Oh yeahhh, those marinated berries are the bomb! You could use any berry you like and it would be a wonderful addition to almost anything! Thank you, Michelle! 🙂
I would definitely request this pound cake for my birthday! What a gorgeous combination, Annie! I absolutely love pound cake, but you’ve taken it to a whole new level with the mascarpone and marinated blueberries. I wish I had a giant slice of this to go along with my morning cup of coffee!
Too bad we don’t live closer! Thank you so much, Gayle! I think Hubby will be very happy with his cake this year! Have a beautiful weekend, my friend! 🙂