All That's Left Are The Crumbs: Blueberry Citrus Thyme Bundt Cake ~ Bundt Bakers

February 17, 2022

Blueberry Citrus Thyme Bundt Cake ~ Bundt Bakers

We all know that blueberries and citrus play very nicely together in cakes,

but adding a little thyme elevates the flavor sensation even further.

The Bundt Bakers are baking with Herbs this month. At first you may be wondering what herbs go well in a cake, but you will be pleasantly surprised to learn that quite a few are the perfect addition to a cake. Also, a bundt can sweet or savory, so there are so many choices.

I decided to go the sweet route with blueberries and a combination of lemon and lime, and added thyme to the mix. It turned out to be a wonderful choice, and although the thyme didn't come through super strong, there was enough of a hint to have people guessing what it was. This cake is a little time consuming if you are making everything in one day, but if you make the blueberry filling in advance it makes the cake more doable. One thing I really loved about the recipe was the nice thick cake batter. I am such a fan of using butter in my cakes rather than oil, and I always think that by doing this you get a creamier cake. The cake did take longer to bake than what the recipe suggests, but I did not adjust the recipe below because I am not sure if my oven is having an issue - I suggest setting the timer for the listed time and then keep an eye on it until the cake tester comes out clean.

If you would like to know more about the Bundt Bakers and see what the other bakers in the group made for our Herb Bundts theme please scroll down below the recipe.

Blueberry Citrus Thyme Bundt Cake

Printer Friendly Recipe

Ingredients
Berry Filling ~

150g (¾ cup) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons low-sugar pectin
⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
330g (2 cups) fresh blueberries
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Cake ~

360g (3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
2½ tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
165 ml (¾ cup) buttermilk
30ml (2 tablespoons) lemon juice, freshly squeezed
15ml (1 tablespoon) lime juice, freshly squeezed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon grated lime zest
395g (2 cups) granulated sugar
255g (18 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs plus 1 large yolk, room temperature

Citrus Glaze ~

2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus more if needed to thin out glaze
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
½ cup fresh blueberries for decoration
Lemon and lime zest for decoration

Preparation

Berry Filling ~

Whisk sugar, pectin, and salt together in a small saucepan.
Process blueberries in a blender until mostly smooth, about 1 minute.
Transfer ¼ cup purée and zest to a saucepan with sugar mixture and stir to thoroughly combine.
Bring mixture to simmer over medium heat, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently to dissolve pectin and sugar.
Transfer mixture to medium bowl, add remaining purée and lemon juice to cooled mixture, and whisk to combine.
Let sit until slightly set, 8 to 10 minutes.

Cake ~

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 160℃ (325℉).
Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with baking spray; set aside.
Whisk flour, thyme, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, lemon juice, lime juice, and vanilla together, set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix both zest and sugar until it resembles wet sand. Add butter and beat on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed.
Reduce speed to medium and add eggs and yolk, 1 at a time, until incorporated.
Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients, and beating in each addition until barely combined.
After final flour addition, beat on low until just combined.
Remove bowl from mixer and finish folding batter with rubber spatula to fully combine.
Let the batter sit for 15 to 20 minutes.
Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth top.
Using the back of a spoon, create a 1.25cm (½-inch) deep channel in the center of the batter and spoon half of the filling into the channel.
Using a small offset spatula, gently swirl filling into batter using figure-8 motion, being careful not to drag filling to the bottom or edges of the pan.
Repeat steps with remaining batter and filling.
Bake until the top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes.
Cool cake in a pan on a wire rack set over a baking sheet for 10 minutes, then invert cake directly onto the rack.
After inverting the cake, pour half of the glaze over the warm cake and let cool for 1 hour; pour remaining glaze evenly over top of cake and continue to cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.
Decorate cake with blueberries and citrus zest.

Citrus Glaze ~

While cake is baking, whisk together juices and sugar until smooth, adding more lemon juice gradually as needed until glaze is thick but still pourable.

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page. If you are a food blogger and are interested in joining in the Bundt Baking fun please send an email to Stacey at foodlustpeoplelove at gmail dot com.

Let's take a look at what everyone baked up with Herbs today........