Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake

This lemon blueberry loaf cake is a fruity, delicious and simple bake that is packed full of flavour. It has a moist but light crumb to the cake, with ground almonds helping to boost flavour and texture. Fresh blueberries, lemon zest and juice, it has as much flavour packed inside as it can – and even though it’s simple, it’s an absolute showstopper.

What makes baking with lemon and blueberries so good?

When baking cakes, you can go from the very simple of four basic ingredients (butter, sugar, eggs, flour) and you can go all the way to a 20+ ingredient sponge, but this lemon blueberry loaf cake is wonderfully simple yet packed full of flavour.

When baking with fruit, especially when it’s in the peak of its season, it has so much flavour. Sometimes, I find blueberries can taste a little bit of nothing, but when you add them to a bake and bake them in the oven, they burst full of flavour in comparison.

This loaf cake merges two of my other recipes together (my lemon blueberry cake, and my bakewell loaf cake) to create a wonderful bake perfect for spring and summer.

Ingredient tips and notes

Find the full recipe in the recipe card below

• Butter – when making a sponge, you can use a block unsalted butter, or you can use a baking spread or margarine. Either works totally fine, but if using a block butter, make sure the butter is at room temperature so that it mixes well.
• Sugar – I love to use caster sugar in a fruity bake as it adds the essential sweetness you need in a cake, but it doesn’t cover the flavour of the fruit that other sugars can. However, golden caster sugar is a good swap
• Flour – I would use self raising flour, as it’s readily available in the UK. If you only have plain flour, or a basic all purpose flour, you can use that, and add 2 level tsps of baking powder (whisked into the flour before using in the recipe)
• Almonds – this ingredient may be a twist, but it’s almost essential for the end result. Adding ground almonds increases the moisture of the cake, as well as helping prevent the fruit from sinking in the sponge
• Eggs – I use medium eggs, so I use three. You can use three large though
• Lemon – I use the zest of 2 larger, unwaxed lemons. If you have smaller lemons, I would use 3-4 for a super strong flavour
• Blueberries – I use fresh blueberries – but you can use frozen.

Tips for making the best cake

This cake is quite straightforward to make, and there are a few easy methods. I generally use a larger bowl, with an electric hand mixer to make it nice and easy, but you can use a stand mixer, or a bowl with a spoon/spatula if that is what you find easier.

I would make sure to preheat the oven, as a chemical reaction is basically what helps bake a cake, and the preheated oven will help create the perfect cake. I use this 2lb loaf tin – unfortunately, there is no consistency when it comes to 2lb loaf tins, so I would make sure to only fill the tin to 2/3 full. If you have spare mixture, bake some cupcakes.

Adaptions to this cake

I would always recommend making this cake as the recipe suggests for the best results, but there are a few alternations you can make, if needed or wanted.

• Baking without nuts – the almonds do make a MUCH better bake, but if you have a nut allergy, you can remove the ground almonds. This may make the blueberries sink however, so it’s worth coating them in flour first before baking (the cake will also be a smidge smaller)
• Making the cake gluten free – the cake is great for making simple swaps to gluten free by swapping the flour to an alternative, and making sure all other ingredients are safe.
• Making the cake dairy free – you can swap the butter to a vegan/dairy free butter really easily

FAQS

Storage and Freezing

This cake is deliciously moist, thanks to the fruit in the cake. I would store this cake at room temperature for 3-4 days, once baked – but on a super hot day, it may need the fridge if you have decorated with fresh berries.

You can freeze this cake – I personally would slice the cake before freezing, so it’s easier to portion – but if you want the cake for another time, you can freeze the sponge once baked, whole. I would decorate after thawing, but it’s not a problem if it’s already decorated.

To thaw the cake, if you have frozen it, I would thaw it in the fridge overnight, or on the side, somewhere cool, for a few hours.

Want to make something else lemon or blueberry flavoured?!

This cake is obviously the best place to start, but if you want to try anything else, I have some delightful other lemon and blueberry themed recipes you could try:

• Lemon Blueberry Blondies – these blondies are an easy and fruity traybake, that are perfect for a picnic, party or to prep in advance as they are great for freezing.
• Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake – this cheesecake is an absolute showstopper, with a baked cheesecake filling, packed full of the zesty lemon and punchy blueberries
• Lemon Blueberry Tart – a simple tart with a simple biscuit base, and a five ingredient baked condensed milk filling, perfect for a twist of a dessert.