This blueberry pound cake is a rich and buttery cake filled with fresh blueberries and bright lemon flavor. Top with this lemon blueberry pound cake with a deliciously sweet and tart lemon glaze. Enjoy this easy to make lemon blueberry loaf for breakfast, brunch or dessert.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
I absolutely adore baking with fresh berries. My Lemon Blueberry Cookies, Blueberry Coffee Cake, Blueberry Muffins and Lemon Blueberry Scones are just a few of my favorite lemon blueberry recipes on the blog. This blueberry loaf cake is another addition. Here are a couple of reasons I know you’ll reach for this lemon blueberry cake over and over again.
- It has the perfect rich, buttery and tender texture. This blueberry loaf cake has the perfect pound cake like crumb scented with bright lemon and fresh blueberries.
- Easy to make with simple ingredients. This moist blueberry pound cake is made with simple ingredients like flour, butter, sugar, eggs, lemon and fresh blueberries. It comes together quickly and easily making it the perfect little cake for any occasion.
Ingredients
This lemon blueberry pound cake requires only a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge. Here’s what you’ll need:
Blueberry Pound Cake
Dry Ingredients: Gather all purpose flour, baking soda and salt.
Wet Ingredients: Gather granulated sugar, lemons, butter, eggs, sour cream and vanilla extract.
Lemon Glaze
Gather powdered sugar, lemon juice, heavy cream and vanilla extract.
Substitutions
This lemon blueberry loaf cake is as easy to make as it is delicious. Here are my recommended ingredient substitutions if you need them.
- All purpose flour: To make this lemon berry cake gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill.
- Baking Soda: This both act as leavener in this blueberry pound cake recipe. Substitute with ¾ teaspoon baking powder.
- Granulated Sugar: This blueberry cake recipe calls for granulated sugar, but maple sugar would also work well to make this refined sugar free.
- Lemon Zest: Lemon pairs so beautifully with blueberries. To make this blueberry loaf even more perfect, zest 2 lemons into the sugar. Lime would be a wonderful substitute.
- Unsalted Butter: Feel free to use an equal amount of salted butter in place of the unsalted butter. Just make sure to omit the added salt. Vegan butter or plant based can also be used in place of regular unsalted butter.
- Eggs: This recipe has not been tested without eggs.
- Sour Cream: A thick and creamy greek yogurt works well as a replacement in this pound cake recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: This is more for background flavor and nicely enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Blueberries: You can fresh or frozen blueberries. If using frozen berries, do not let them thaw too long. Also note that the baking time will be a bit longer if using frozen berries. Raspberries and blackberries would also work really well in this blueberry loaf cake recipe.
Variation
Blueberry Bundt Cake: Prepare the recipe as written. Pour the blueberry pound cake batter into a well greased 6 cup bundt pan. Bake at 350 f (177 C) for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. To make the lemon blueberry pound cake in a traditional 10- inch (12 cup) bundt pan, make 1.5 times the recipe. You can also add 2 cups blueberries to my Lemonade Bundt Cake.
How To Make
Here’s how to make this iced berry loaf cake in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (170 C). Line a 8.5 x 4.5 or 9 x 5 loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving a bit of overhang on two sides. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together until well combined.
- In another small mixing bowl, mix the sugar and lemon zest together until well combined and like the consistency of wet sand. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat in the butter and lemon sugar together until light and fluffy. This takes about 2-3 minutes at medium speed. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract one at a time, waiting until the previous ingredient is just combined before adding the next. Mix until well combined.
- By hand or on the lowest mixing speed, mix the dry ingredients into the wet alternating with the sour cream until the batter is just combined. Fold in the blueberries.
- Evenly scoop the lemon blueberry cake batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake the bread for 45-70 minutes (depending on the pan size) or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the moist blueberry pound cake comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool the cake in the loaf pan for 15 minutes. Use the parchment sling to lift the loaf cake out of the pan. Cool completely before topping with the lemon icing.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the powdered sugar with lemon juice, milk and vanilla extract until well combined. Pour the glaze over the cooled blueberry lemon pound cake. Allow 30-45 minutes for the glaze to set, slice and enjoy.
How To Store, Freeze and Thaw
Store leftover slices of blueberry pound cake: Place the slices in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Freeze the lemon blueberry cake: Individually wrap each slice of cake in plastic wrap. Place each wrapped slice in a ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Thaw the blueberry loaf cake: Remove your desired number of pieces to sit out at room temperature or in the fridge until fully thawed and enjoy!
M’s Expert Tips
- Prepare the blueberries. Rinse, dry and toss the blueberries in flour before staring the recipe. If you are using frozen blueberries, pull them out right before starting the recipe. Ideally, they would sit out for about 10 minutes before being mixed into the pound cake. If you are using frozen blueberries, know that the baking time will be a bit longer.
- Zest the lemons directly into the sugar. Zesting the lemon directly into the sugar catches all the citrus oils. This is where so much of the lemon fragrance and taste is!
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature. This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in moist and perfectly mixed blueberry pound cake.
- Don’t overmix the cake batter. Always use the lowest speed on your electric mixer or mix in the dry ingredients by hand. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
- Use an 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan to get more of a dome, bake this lemon loaf in a slightly smaller loaf pan. The baking time will be longer than 45 - 60 minutes.
FAQs
Any cake can be a bundt cake so long as it’s baked in a bundt pan. Pound cakes are a dense, buttery cake that is traditionally made with a pound each of butter, sugar, flour and eggs.
This can happen as a result of overmixing.
Yes, lightly coating berries in flour can help prevent them from sinking by absorbing some of the liquid released from the berries while baking.
This happens due to the density of the cake. The outside of the cake bakes first which can cause the batter to rise up and crack in the center. Cracks are a signature mark of pound cakes baked in loaf pans.
Other Loaf Cake Recipes to Try
If you try this Blueberry Pound Cake recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! -M
Blueberry Pound Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 1 8.5 x 4.5 or 9 x 5 (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan
- 1 parchment paper
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
- 1 citrus zester
Ingredients
Blueberry Pound Cake
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 lemons, zested
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 large eggs (US), room temperature
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 cup (190 g) blueberries tossed in 1 tablespoon (8 g) flour
Lemon Glaze
- 1½ cups (180 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) lemon juice
- 1 - 2 tbsp (15 - 30 ml) milk or heavy cream
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (170 C). Line a 8.5 x 4.5 or 9 x 5 loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving a bit of overhang on two sides.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together until well combined.2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix the sugar and lemon zest together until well combined and like the consistency of wet sand. Beat in the butter and lemon sugar together until light and fluffy. This takes about 2-3 minutes at medium speed.1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, 2 lemons, zested, 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
- Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract one at a time, waiting until the previous ingredient is just combined before adding the next. Mix until well combined.3 large eggs (US), room temperature, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- By hand or on the lowest mixing speed, mix the dry ingredients into the wet alternating with the sour cream until the batter is just combined. Fold in the blueberries.½ cup (120 g) sour cream, room temperature, 1 cup (190 g) blueberries
- Evenly scoop the lemon blueberry cake batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake the bread for 45-70 minutes (depending on the pan size) or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the moist blueberry pound cake comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool the cake in the loaf pan for 15 minutes. Use the parchment sling to lift the loaf cake out of the pan. Cool completely before topping with the lemon icing.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the powdered sugar with lemon juice, milk and vanilla extract until well combined. Pour the glaze over the cooled blueberry lemon pound cake. Allow 30-45 minutes for the glaze to set, slice and enjoy.1½ cups (180 g) powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice, 1 - 2 tablespoon (15 - 30 ml) milk or heavy cream, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
Notes
- 8.5 x 9.5 loaf pan: 60 - 70 minutes
- 9 x 5 loaf pan: 45 - 60 minutes
- Baking with frozen berries will extend the baking time by about 5 - 10 minutes.
Olga Twist says
This sounds wonderful and I'm goings to try it.. I was wondering if you can use a boxed lemon cake + pudding instead. Anything to save me time.
Megan says
Hi Olga, I haven't tried this recipe with box cake mix and pudding, but if you've had success with this before, I would definitely give it a try! Please let me know how it works for you.
Sunaina Mannan says
Can I use frozen blueberries ?
Megan says
Hi Sunaina, you can use frozen blueberries. Just make sure to keep them frozen until right before tossing them in the flour and mixing them into the batter.
Julie-Ann says
Could I use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream?
Megan says
Hi Julie-Ann, greek yogurt is a good substitute for sour cream. I recommend a full fat greek yogurt when possible.