Greek Yogurt Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake
Yields: 1 pound cake
 
This pound cake is one of my brother’s favorite desserts! It’s bursting with bright sunshiny flavor and plenty of juicy blueberries. Leftovers will keep for at least a week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
  • 2 ¾ cups (330g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp (15g) freshly grated lemon zest
  • 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
  • 3 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla crème stevia
  • ¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
  • ½ cup (120mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ½ cup + 2 tbsp (150mL) nonfat milk
  • 1 ½ cups (210g) fresh blueberries
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat a 9x5” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla extract, and stevia. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of milk. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Set aside 2 tablespoons of blueberries, and gently fold in the rest with a spatula.
  3. Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and gently press the remaining blueberries into the top. Bake at 350°F for 45-55 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes: For the gluten-free flour, use the following: 1 ½ cups (180g) millet flour, ¾ cup (90g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 2 teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends will work as well, if measured like this.

Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the white whole wheat flour. Regular whole wheat flour may be substituted in a pinch, although the cake will be less tender and have a distinct wheat-y flavor.

The cake requires 3 full egg whites. The whites contain the majority of the protein in eggs, and that protein is required to ensure the cake maintains its shape and texture while cooling. Without all 3 egg whites, the cake will collapse while cooling and turn out much denser.

For a sweeter flavor, increase the vanilla crème stevia by an additional ½ teaspoon.

I do not recommend substituting for the vanilla crème stevia, if at all possible. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!) However, if you really prefer to omit the vanilla crème stevia from the cake, substitute ¾ cup (180mL) of honey or agave. Omit the milk if using this substitution. The baking time may vary slightly. I do not recommend substituting pure maple syrup; it will overpower the lemon flavor. In place of the vanilla crème stevia, you may also substitute ¾ cup (144g) granulated sugar and decrease the milk to 6 tablespoons, but the cake will no longer be clean-eating friendly. The baking time may vary with this substitution as well.

Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.

For the best lemon flavor, use lemons that are entirely bright yellow with no green spots. I prefer Meyer lemons, and I highly recommend using them if you can find them!

Frozen and thawed blueberries (pat them dry to remove the excess moisture from thawing) may be substituted for the fresh. They will stain the batter a grayish color, but the flavor should remain basically the same.

Do not use an electric mixer to mix up the batter. This will result in a dense or tough cake. Use a whisk where instructed, and use a fork for everything else.

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, lower sugar}
Recipe by Amy's Healthy Baking at https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2016/08/21/greek-yogurt-blueberry-lemon-pound-cake/