Chai Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake

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I have this to say about this Chai Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake:

It is absolutely…delightful. This is the elegantly-spiced cake that summer didn’t know it needed. With fresh blueberries, a kiss of lemon for brightness, and the complex-but-oh-so-complementary spices in the fresh-brewed masala chai, this cake is deep, summery, and beautiful. It sings to all five of your senses-four before you even take a bite.

Chai Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake

This cake is the summer love that you never forgot. Or, in my case, the summer love that you married. ??????

I love it so very much. It fragranced my entire kitchen with a spicy-sweet-summery scent, and the taste was even better than I could have imagined!

And I might have gorged myself on the extra Lemon Cardamom glaze.

Okay, I did gorge myself. It’s sweet and smoky and spicy…and that kick of lemon just made me throw my hands in the air in praise. So yes, I ate it all. It topped this cake perfectly and transported me somewhere very nice.

Want to learn all of the techniques that you’ll need to execute this Classic Peach Pie? Join my Classic Peach Pie Class at the BwB Home Baking Academy!

Why Masala Chai?

After making this cake, the question for me became: why not masala chai?

You see, “chai” in Hindi is the word for “tea”. The chai that I made for this recipe (using this recipe from the great blog Tea and Tumeric) is actually masala chai, which is tea with milk and spices. The recipe has cardamom and pepper and cinnamon and cloves, which marry into masala chai and create a perfect pairing for this classic lemon blueberry cake.

The masala chai adds a lovely spicy note to the lemon, and the fresh, sweet pops of blueberry against that masala spice blend were just delectable. The flavor actually builds the longer the cake is in your mouth, which made me slow down and linger as I ate it. I was truly transported by this cake, in ways both expected and unexpected. And the masala chai had a lot to do with that.

Beginners Start Here

If you’re new to baking, or if you want to brush up on basics, here are a couple of super helpful articles from the BwB site that will help you get set up for success with this amazing Chai Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake.

These resources are super helpful to help you build consistency and confidence on your baking journey. Happy Reading!

Important Tools Used in this Chai Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake

Below, you’ll find some tools that I used for this pound cake. These are the tools that I use in my kitchen for just about everything that I bake.

**I get paid a small commission if you purchase directly from some of these links, but they are truly amazing products that you’ll find in my kitchen.**

Chai Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake

If you have them already, great! Think of this as a checklist to help you build the confidence that you’ll need to execute this recipe!

Onto the recipe! ????

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    My Favorite Bundt Pans

    10

    Hello Friends! If you’ve spent any time bopping around on this site (first of all, thank you for that), you know that I have a thing for pound/bundt cakes. So, today, I figured I’d quickly tackle what is easily one of the most asked questions in my inboxes:

    What kind of bundt pan is that? And where did you get it?

    Okay that’s two questions. But I have answers to both of them right in this blog post!

    In this Post:

    Spoiler Alert: They’re All NordicWare

    I love the look of a precision bundt cake. The more crevices and angles a bundt pan has, the more I love it. There’s just something about a centerpiece bundt cake that makes every occasion more special to me.

    NordicWare Bundt Pans
    Photo Credit: Ashleigh Bing Photography

    I’ve used a lot of bundt pans brands over the years, and I can confidently say that NordicWare bundt pans are my absolute favorite. I love the precision and beauty of NordicWare designs. I put them through their paces in my kitchen and they are so well made. They are works of art all by themselves, but they create cakes that are just as beautiful.

    Technically, they are outstanding pans. They heat evenly and give the outside of my bundt cakes a beautiful crust. They’re dependable in a 325°F oven, and that’s important when you’re trusting the vessel that’s going to transform your hard-earned batter to the quintessential pound cake.

    If you grease them properly (you can see my technique right here), and if you take care of them, they’ll be beautiful heirloom pieces for you to hand to the next generation.

    Let’s talk about my current favorites, shall we?

    *This post contains affiliate links to my favorite bundt pans. If you purchase one of these incredible pans from the links that I’ve provided, I get a small commission and I am eternally grateful for your support!*

    The Elegant Party Pan

    The NordicWare Elegant Party Bundt Pan creates beautifully shaped, rounded slices. It’s perfect for the host who wants to cut even slices at their event, and the uniform way that the final glaze drips over the cake sides is unparalleled.

    I’ve used the Elegant Party Bundt Pan for many, many cakes. Most notably, my Snickerdoodle Pound Cake, my Carrot Cake Pound Cake, and my Butter Rum Pound Cake.

    The way that the final glaze cascades down the inside and outside of the cake is just poetic to me. I truly enjoy this pan and look forward to making many, many cakes with it in the future.

    The Cut Crystal Cast Bundt Pan

    This one takes my breath away. The NordicWare Cut Crystal Cast Bundt Pan is a visually stunning piece of baking equipment, and it makes an absolutely remarkably stunning bundt cake. It gives me the equivalent of Met Gala couture in a cake.

    Yes, it is work to prep this beautiful pan for baking. No, I would not recommend using a baking spray to try and get cakes to release from this pan. And yes, I recommend packing your patience as you prep this bundt pan, because if you do?

    This is the result:

    The detail that I get out of this pan takes my breath away every time. When I really want a mind-blowing centerpiece, this is the pan I reach for every time.

    The Fleur de Lis Bundt Pan

    The NordicWare Fleur de Lis Bundt Pan was my very first NordicWare Pan, and I have loved the pan and the brand ever since. This pan made me earn my stripes and truly nail down my greasing technique, but it was absolutely worth it.

    There’s something that’s just classically beautiful about this pan. When I use it now, it takes me back to those first bundt cakes I made. I was wobbling around like a baby giraffe with those cakes, but my baking confidence grew every time I got a beautifully-detailed cake to release from this incredible bundt pan.

    And oh, the cakes!

    If you’re looking for a patterned bundt pan, and if the Cut Crystal Cast Bundt Pan is a little intimidating right now, start with the Fleur de Lis! I promise you won’t be disappointed. This little pan delivers beauty and elegance and the cake that comes out will delight your guests.

    The Brilliance Bundt Pan

    Sometimes, family, you want both precision and beauty. And that’s when I reach for the NordicWare Brilliance Bundt Pan. With its precision peaks, this pan delivers “peak” drama every time I use it. (Told you I’d never miss an opportunity for a pun. ????)

    Between greasing the pan and glazing the cake, this pan takes a bit more work. To grease the pan, I really have to get into every deep crevice with a buttered pastry brush and oodles of flour. For the final glaze, I always use my trusty squeeze bottle to get the glaze just right.

    But it’s worth it.

    When I say that the cakes that come out of this pan are stunning? Turning out a cake from this pan is always a high moment in my kitchen. And when I do work for my cottage bakery, clients are always ecstatic to receive a bundt cake from this pan.

    The Heritage Bundt Pan

    Friend, the overhead pictures that this bundt pan creates are a sight to behold.

    I’d like to introduce you to…The Heritage Bundt Pan by NordicWare. It’s a new addition to my bundt pan collection, and I just adore it!

    One thing that I noticed immediately was the fact that this pan is substantially easier to grease than any other in my collection. Because the design is much simpler than other NordicWare pans. But friends, it is no less beautiful:

    While this bundt pan is new to my collection this fall, I can already tell that it will be in heavy rotation. There is something so beautiful about its simplicity and cannot wait to showcase more of my pound cakes in it this year.

    The Bavaria Bundt Pan

    If the Heritage Bundt Pan can be celebrated for its simplicity, the Bavaria Bundt Pan must be celebrated for its incredible intricacy. Like the Brilliance, I reach for this pan when I’m feeling fancy and elegant. Because the detail is beyond incredible:

    She is also new to my collection, so we’re just getting started (and I didn’t get a chance to photograph the cakes before we devoured them), but I will definitely update this post when I have proof of the Bavaria’s elegance!

    I just adore my NordicWare bundt pans, and I hope that this post inspires you to try one of them! I’m continuing to collect them and will update this post with new finds as I fall in love.

    Until next time, friend!

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      Orange Creamsicle Pound Cake

      6

      It makes no sense how much I continue to love Orange Creamsicles at my big age. Yet here I am, every summer, looking forward to it: an orange popsicle with vanilla ice cream. My obsession with Orange Creamsicles hit a new high (or low, depending on how you look at it) when inspiration hit: I could make an Orange Creamsicle Pound Cake!

      Orange Creamsicle Pound Cake picture

      Orange Creamsicles have always been so…satisfying to me. Just little sunshine bars of love. The orange popsicle’s initial chill always cooled my too-hot summer self instantly, making outdoor heat much more tolerable (which was probably some adult’s point in giving me the popsicle in the first place, now that I think about it…because we could never go indoors).

      BUT THEN the vanilla ice cream hit. And to my 7-year-old self, that ice cream was luxury.

      So, this summer, when thinking about what dessert would perfectly capture that satisfying, simple luxury, the Orange Creamsicle was at the tippy top of that list.


      Beginners Start Here

      If you’re new to baking, or if you want to brush up on basics, here are a couple of super helpful articles from the BwB site that will help you get set up for success with this Orange Creamsicle Pound Cake!

      These resources are never mandatory reading, but they are super useful to help you understand the techniques that you’ll need to successfully execute this amazing cake. Happy Reading!

      How to Make this Orange Creamsicle Pound Cake

      The Batter

      To start, heat your oven to a true 325°F and prep your mise en place. Having everything in one place, measured and ready to go, is one of the most important steps in all of baking. For this particular recipe, having your mise en place ready to go will also prevent you from feeling frazzled and out of control when it’s time to add the orange zest. ????

      Important note: the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and kosher salt should be sifted together!

      Start mixing by adding the butter and cream cheese to your mixing bowl and mixing them together until they’re cohesive and smooth. Room temperature ingredients are key for this step!

      Make sure that your fat is combined and smooth before adding your sugar.

      Next, add the sugar and cream together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Make sure that the butter/cream cheese/sugar combination looks airy and light, like the picture below, before you move on. This step is über important to cake rise!

      After creaming the butter and sugar, add the eggs, one at a time. Mix each egg until you can’t see any traces whatsoever of that egg, before moving on to the next egg. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary (I usually scrape after the third and sixth egg in this recipe).

      When you’re done with the eggs, the batter should look very smooth and rich.

      Add the pure vanilla extract and the orange zest and mix well. Prepare to be transported on waves of nostalgia as that orange zest releases its fragrance.

      Resist the urge to sit down with the bowl and a spoon at this point please. Thanks so much.

      Next, add roughly half of the flour mixture and mix until nearly combined.

      Add all of the buttermilk and mix until nearly combined.

      Finally, add the rest of the flour and mix until nearly combined.


      Finish the batter by scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, and then stir the entire batter gently with the spatula until it’s smooth. Don’t get overzealous, Family. 5-7 turns of the spatula should be more than enough!

      Prep your bundt pan and lovingly place your batter into the bundt pan. Bake for 60-75 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 210°F-215°F (my perfect temp is 212°F).

      Place the cake pan on a cooling rack for ten minutes. After ten minutes, invert the cake onto the cooling rack and carefully remove the cake pan (it will still be hot!). Brush the cake with simple syrup and allow it to cool completely.

      Before and after simple syrup.

      It’s going to take several hours before you can do the next step. Skedaddle away from the kitchen or you’ll ruin all of your hard work. Seriously.

      The Final Glaze

      Remember how I said that the vanilla ice cream was the luxury element of an Orange Creamsicle? Well, we’re upping that element on this cake with mascarpone. Specifically, a mascarpone vanilla-infused final glaze that’s just nose-scrunchingly delicious. And because mascarpone is fickle when it comes to temperature, you want to make sure that your cake is cooled to its core before you glaze it.

      To start, gather your ingredients. Tip: measure your mascarpone and put it back in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.

      Yes, friends, mise en place matters here too!

      Use a 9″ whisk and gently mix all of the ingredients together. It’s really important that you don’t over-mix this glaze or it will turn to soup.

      Pour the glaze over the cake however you’d like. Allow it to set for a few more minutes and then…it’s go time.

      Here’s an Instagram reel to show you how I made and glazed this cake!

      I hope this Orange Creamsicle Pound Cake floods your senses with fun memories of summers past. If you make it, tag me on Instagram @beginwithbutter so I can tag you!

      Enjoy the recipe!

      Thanks for stopping by today! If you loved the recipe, don’t forget to subscribe so that you can see what else is coming soon!

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        The Best Strawberry Sauce

        Since childhood, strawberries have always meant summer to me. And fresh strawberries = this versatile and delicious strawberry sauce!

        In my house, friends, the strawberry is the Queen of Fruit. It is one of the few types of fruit that everyone will eat.

        I know, I blame me too. But everyone in my family likes what they like, and I’m just glad that they like strawberries because I love them so much.

        This Strawberry Sauce is deceptively easy to make, and you can use it on just about any summer dessert…including my amazing (and recently posted) Strawberry Pound Cake!

        (I might have also tested it on a bowl of Talenti gelato just now…for quality control purposes.)

        Why Strawberries = Summer to Me

        Growing up in Naperville, Illinois, summers meant too many hours at the pool without sunscreen (it was the 80’s), ice cream melting down my fingers as I laughed hysterically with my twin sister and our best friends, and long evenings at home with my family, watching lazy fireflies glide through barbecue-scented air as we shared the adventures of our days.

        Summer meant pushing the boundaries of “be in the house before the street lights come on” (and usually losing that bet ????), riding bikes, skinned knees, fishing with hot dogs as bait in the neighborhood ponds (and depending on the kindness of others because I would never, ever touch the fish that I caught), roller skating in the unfinished basement when it was storming outside (which, incidentally, was the only time that we were allowed to come in the house during the daytime as kids), and many wounds that probably needed stitches but only got butterfly band-aids and mommy kisses.

        Summer meant shorts and t-shirts (FINALLY!), jelly shoes and flip flops, and drinking from the hose outside.

        Summer meant peaches and nectarines and watermelons, to be sure, but in those early days, I absolutely knew that summer had arrived when my mother started putting strawberries in the fridge.

        Those blessed strawberries. They were as big as my palm and so deeply red that they were almost purple. And their sticky-sweet smell overpowered just about everything else in the refrigerator. Sniffing strawberries in the grocery store is still one of my favorite parts of shopping.

        My mother’s signature summer dessert was her strawberry ice cream. To say that it was “hers” is generous, since her contribution to the effort was simply telling us the ingredients, and then leaving us with salt, ice, and a hand-crank ice cream maker to do the work. Outside. ????

        So, Family, I will forever equate strawberries with summer. I love you Mommy. Happy First Day of Summer. I’m sorry that I wore shorts before today but it’s been HOT!

        How to Make this Strawberry Sauce

        This strawberry sauce is incredibly simple! All of the ingredients go straight into a small saucepan, then you bring them to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Stir every few minutes to check the consistency, and in thirty minutes you’ll have jammy, unctuous, lovely Strawberry Sauce.

        If you’re feeling “saucy” (friend, understand that I will never pass up on the opportunity for a pun ????), you can absolutely use an immersion blender to make a smoother sauce. If you’re really feeling froggy, you can run the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the seeds (I never do this).

        I hope you love this taste of summer as much as I do! It truly is the most perfect topper for all the things.

        Thank you for dropping by! While you’re here, consider signing up for the BwB email list so that you can be the first to hear about all of the good things happening with BwB!

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          Easy Strawberry Pound Cake (Perfect for Spring and Summer Baking!)

          Strawberries capture everything I love about summer: bright, sweet, a little sticky, and fleeting. This Strawberry Pound Cake is my favorite way to savor that feeling all year long. It’s unfussy but beautiful — full of real berry flavor from freeze-dried strawberries — and it tastes like you spent all day baking, even though it comes together easily with just a little care.

          Family, this cake doesn’t take all day to make. But it will challenge your patience during the cooling time, because the intoxicating aroma will make you want to slice in the minute it comes out of the oven.

          Be patient. It’s worth it. 🍓✨.

          In this Post:

          🍓 Recipe-at-a-Glance

          • Yield: One 10–12 cup Bundt cake
          • Prep Time: 25 minutes
          • Bake Time: 55–65 minutes
          • Total Time: ~5–7 hours (including cooling)
          • Tools Needed:
          • Special Ingredients/Notes:
            • Freeze-dried strawberries (not fresh or frozen) bring concentrated strawberry flavor
            • All-purpose flour for a sturdy, moist crumb
            • Cream butter and sugar thoroughly for proper rise
            • Finished with a strawberry glaze made from homemade strawberry sauce or strawberry preserves
          Strawberry Pound Cake

          About this Easy Strawberry Pound Cake

          Here’s the thing, friends. Fresh strawberries, all by themselves, don’t lend a lot of flavor to baked goods. By the time you get to the finished product, you’re often left wanting for that big punch of strawberry flavor.

          It’s more like a love tap at that point.

          And when I’m eating a STRAWBERRY dessert, I want that strawberry flavor to come roaring through. 🦁

          Some solve this issue by adding additional strawberry extract. I solved the problem with this strawberry pound cake by using freeze-dried strawberries.

          Yes, family. I used freeze-dried strawberries in this cake. Freeze-dried strawberries deliver a huge strawberry flavor to, well, everything, and it actually solved two problems: 1) it allowed my greedy self to have strawberry-flavored desserts all year; and 2) it gave a huge, satisfying punch of strawberry flavor to this cake.

          Also, for food scientists who are control freaks about liquid content in their cakes, freeze-dried strawberries don’t add any additional liquid. This eliminates the problem of strawberries sinking to the bottom of your baked goods and making your cake a two-texture mess.

          We want ONE texture throughout our cakes.

          The result: BIG strawberry flavor in our strawberry pound cake.

          Beginners Start Here

          If you’re new to baking, or if you want to brush up on basics, here are a couple of super helpful articles from the BwB site that will help you get on the good foot with this incredible Strawberry Pound Cake!

          This is an overhead view of a strawberry pound cake with freeze-dried strawberries crumbled on top.

          These resources are never mandatory reading, but they are super useful to help you understand the techniques that you’ll need to successfully execute this amazing cake. Happy Reading!


          🍓 Ingredient Spotlight: Freeze-Dried Strawberries

          Fresh strawberry flavor, all year round!

          This Strawberry Pound Cake gets its bold berry flavor from freeze-dried strawberries — not fresh or frozen ones. Freeze-dried strawberries are real strawberries that have been gently dehydrated until crisp, locking in all their bright, sweet flavor without any extra moisture.

          They’re easy to find in most grocery stores (usually near the dried fruit or snack aisle) and they blend beautifully into cake batters. Using freeze-dried berries means you’ll get a pop of true strawberry taste in every bite — without worrying about soggy pockets or uneven texture.

          Tip: If you don’t have a food processor, no problem! A sturdy storage bag and a rolling pin work just fine for crushing freeze-dried strawberries into smaller pieces. (Sometimes low-tech is the best tech.) And don’t stress about getting them perfectly uniform — a mix of powdery bits and slightly bigger pieces is just right. They’ll gently rehydrate as the cake bakes, giving you pockets of real strawberry texture. (Hello, science!) 🍓✨

          Tools You’ll Need for Easy Strawberry Pound Cake Success

          Below, you’ll find some tools that I used for this pound cake. These are the tools that I use in my kitchen for just about everything that I bake. **I get paid a small commission if you purchase directly from some of these links, but they are truly amazing products that you’ll find in my kitchen.**

          This is a side view of a strawberry pound cake with freeze-dried strawberries crumbled on top.

          If you have them already, great! Think of this as a checklist to help you build the confidence that you’ll need to execute this recipe!

          • My Favorite Bundt Pans — A roundup of my tried-and-true Bundt pans that give beautiful results every time.
          • Oven Thermometer – Ensure your oven is baking at the right temperature every time — a small tool that makes a huge difference.
          • Digital Food Scale – Precision is everything in baking. Weighing your ingredients helps you achieve bakery-level consistency at home.
          • KitchenAid Hand Mixer – Perfect for batters that need power without over-mixing — a great option for beginners and pros alike.
          • KitchenAid Stand Mixer – My go-to for creaming butter and sugar into silky perfection with minimal effort.
          • Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl Set – Lightweight, durable, and versatile — ideal for mixing, folding, and prepping glazes.
          • OXO Spatula Set – Flexible, sturdy, and essential for folding your batter with care (and getting every last bit into your pan).
          • Sifter – Aerates your dry ingredients beautifully for a lighter, more tender cake crumb.

          I’m ready for summer! Let’s get to the recipe!

          The Recipe

          Frequently Asked Questions

          Can I use fresh or frozen strawberries instead of freeze-dried?

          I don’t recommend it for this cake. Fresh and frozen strawberries add too much moisture, which can make the pound cake soggy. Freeze-dried strawberries give you bright, concentrated flavor without throwing off the texture.

          Where can I find freeze-dried strawberries?

          Most major grocery stores carry them! Look near the dried fruit or snack aisle. You can also find them easily online if they’re not available locally.

          What’s the best way to crush freeze-dried strawberries?

          If you have a food processor, it’s perfect for pulsing them into powder. If not, pop them in a sturdy storage bag and gently crush them with a rolling pin. (Low-tech works just fine!)

          How should I store Strawberry Pound Cake?

          This cake can be stored at room temperature on the countertop for up to five days.

          A Cake for Every Bright Day

          I hope this Strawberry Pound Cake finds a sweet place in your home — whether you’re celebrating something special or just treating yourself to a quiet afternoon slice. If you loved this cake, you might also enjoy my Classic Lemon Pound Cake or Very Vanilla Pound Cake — simple, joyful bakes that bring a little extra sunshine to your kitchen.

          Happy baking, BBs! 🍓💛