Blueberry Swirl Cake

This is just about THE most moist cake I have ever made.  A delicious lemony cake is filled with a homemade blueberry swirl of fresh berries and then topped with a lemony syrup and finished off with a lemon glaze.  There are lots of steps, but they are all easy, anybody could make this delicious cake!

Ingredients:

For the Cake:
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup vanilla whole-milk yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
The zest of one lemon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil

For the swirl:
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1/3 cups of sugar
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cornstarch

For the Lemon Syrup:

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar

For the Lemon Glaze:
1 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2  tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Begin by making the “jam” for your swirl.  In a small saucepan, heat blueberries with sugar and lemon juice over low heat for about five minutes.  Mix with a hand blender or a potato masher.  Add cornstarch and keep on heat for about 5 more minutes until thickened.  Cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour one 9 x 9 inch pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Layer half of the batter into your pan and spread it thin.  Carefully drop half of the blueberry mixture by teaspoonfull into the batter and swirl around with a knife.  Add remaining batter and top with remaining blueberry mixture and swirl again.
Bake 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside.

Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf. Brush the top and sides of the loaf with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cake cool completely.

To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. Let the lemon glaze harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.

Recipe adapted from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen