Lemon Blueberry Cake
This lemon blueberry cake is soft, moist, and buttery with a lovely lemon flavor. It’s filled with pockets full of jammy blueberries and topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting. Not only is it delicious, but it’s also simple to make!
Why this recipe is so great:
- Easy to make – This recipe is easy and approachable for anyone. It starts with a simple cake batter that only takes 15 minutes to prepare. Then it’s topped with a simple 4-ingredient cream cheese frosting.
- Best cake and frosting combination – The cake is delightfully buttery, moist, and bursting with fresh lemon flavor and blueberries. The cream cheese frosting is smooth and perfectly tangy to match the richness of the cake.
- Can be made in advance – You can make the cake and frosting up to 3 days in advance and just assemble before serving.
How to make lemon blueberry cake:
(the ingredient amounts are listed in the printable recipe card further below)
- In a large bowl, mix the sugar and lemon zest together using a rubber spatula. Press the spatula down as you mix to extract the oils from the zest.
- Beat in the butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and beat again until combined.
- In a separate bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix 1/3 of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, followed by 1/2 of the milk. Repeat and finish with the remaining dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the fresh blueberries.
- Spoon the batter into a greased bundt pan. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.
Variations & substitutions:
- Lemon & blueberries – Feel free to use other citrus and fruit combinations, like cranberry orange or lemon raspberry.
- Frozen blueberries – Frozen fruit can be used. Do not thaw, and bake for a few minutes longer until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Frosting – If you’re not a fan of cream cheese frosting, a simple glaze or dusting of powdered sugar works too.
- Type of pan – You can also bake this in a 9×13″ pan if you don’t have a bundt pan. Just reduce the bake time to 30 minutes.
FAQ:
How to make in advance:
Prepare the cake as instructed. Let cool completely and store in the fridge tightly wrapped in saran wrap or placed in an airtight container. Prepare the frosting as instructed, tightly cover, and store in the fridge. One hour before serving, remove the cake and frosting from the fridge and frost before serving.
How to serve:
This lemon blueberry cake is best served at room temperature. So if you are making it in advance or storing away any leftovers in the fridge, bring to room temperature before serving.
How to store:
Cover and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
How to freeze:
Once the cake is completely cooled, double wrap in saran wrap and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and remove from the fridge one hour before serving. Top with cream cheese frosting just before enjoying.
You might also like:
- Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
- Blueberry Coffee Cake
- Homemade Blueberry Pie
- Best Blueberry Scones
Did you make this recipe? Please kindly leave a comment with your star rating below.
PrintLemon Blueberry Cake
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 45 min
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12
- Category: dessert
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This lemon blueberry cake is soft, moist, and buttery with a lovely lemon flavor. It’s filled with pockets full of jammy blueberries and topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
- 1/2 cup (114g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup (170ml) milk
- 2 cups blueberries
Cream cheese frosting:
- 4 oz (114g) cream cheese, softened
- 3 tbsp (43g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 heaping cup powdered sugar, plus more if needed
- 1 tsp lemon juice, plus more if needed
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F and generously grease a bundt pan.
- In a large bowl, mix the sugar and lemon zest together using a rubber spatula. Press the spatula down as you mix to extract the oils from the zest.
- Add the butter to the lemon-sugar mixture. Beat together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and beat again until combined.
- In a separate bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix 1/3 of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, followed by 1/2 of the milk. Repeat and finish with the remaining dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the fresh blueberries.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then invert the cake onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.
Frosting
- Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until combined.
- Mix in the powdered sugar along with the lemon juice until smooth and creamy. Add more powdered sugar or lemon juice if needed to reach desired consistency.
- Spread on top of cooled cake. Decorate with fresh blueberries and lemon slices if desired.
Notes
Leftovers can be covered and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
*This lemon blueberry cake is best served at room temperature. So if you are making it in advance or storing away any leftovers in the fridge, bring to room temperature before serving.
Hi Lily,
We are HUGE fans of your blueberry streusel-topped muffins, so when I wanted something lemon blueberry for a family weekend, I went to your site first. I am not a novice baker, but I messed this one up. 🙁
I didn’t see “in” on the “beat in the butter” line, so I added the eggs and vanilla to the butter before I realized my mistake. So I knew the cake wasn’t going to rise, but I was looking for less of a dessert and more of a breakfast cake to serve with coffee, so I still had hope. Then, it wouldn’t release from my bundt pan, even though I sprayed it liberally with cooking spray. Still, I thought, it should taste good. But it wasn’t very sweet and I could hardly taste any lemon, sadly. My boys still ate it (not exactly a high bar!) but I wouldn’t make it again.
I think it might be easier to follow if you said “beat the butter into the lemon sugar mixture” or maybe “beat the butter until creamy and then add the lemon sugar mixture to the creamed butter.”
I considered adding lemon extract but figured the zest of a large lemon would be adequate. If it hadn’t crumbled so badly, I would’ve made a lemon glaze, which would have upped the lemon flavor.
Anyway, I love your recipes, but I can’t recommend this one. I’ll be back for others, though! Cheers!
Hi Anita, thank you for your kind words. I appreciate your feedback, and I’m sorry my instructions weren’t clear. I’ll change the wording to make it more clear like you suggested.