Moist & Plush Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake Recipe

May 23, 2025 Rebecca Firth

Butter for flavor, oil for moisture, lemon zest for brightness, fold in those berries and you’ve got the moist delicious Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake!

As always with loaf cakes I wonder if we should be calling it Lemon Blueberry Bread? A Blueberry Quick Bread? Or are we happy with calling it a loaf cake?! I would love to know your thoughts!

Regardless of what you call it, this plush, springy cake is bursting with juicy blueberries and loaded with bright, zesty lemon flavor. The whole one-bowl cake can be quickly mixed and baked in about an hour and 15 minutes (give or take).

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate blueberries than with this delicious lemon bread recipe! We’re loving it for a snack, for breakfast and yes, for dessert!

Enjoy!

Rebecca Firth

A slice of lemon flavored cake with fresh blueberries throughout on a white plate with gold trim.

Why You Should Make 
This Delicious Blueberry Lemon Quick Bread ASAP!

  • The most perfect tight crumb that is equally soft, plush and moist
  • Extra lemon zest (a whooping 2 tablespoons!) PLUS a squeeze of fresh lemon juice over the top of the cake just before it goes into the oven produces an extra lemony-flavored cake
  • Think of every delicious berry lemon loaf cake that you’ve had at your favorite coffee house or bakery, this is that cake!
  • Lemon-spiked interior is loaded with juicy blueberries in every bite
  • A one-bowl loaf cake recipe that’s mixed + baked in about 1 hour and 15 minutes (ish!)

Whether you call this a loaf cake, quick bread, bread or just plain cake, I promise you and your family will love this bouncy, delicious Lemon Blueberry Cake!

An overhead, close-up shot of a sliced blueberry lemon pound cake, drizzled with a thick white lemon glaze, arranged on a white parchment paper. The golden-yellow slices reveal a tender crumb dotted with vibrant purple blueberries and specks of lemon zest.

The Baker’s Guide to Measuring Flour

One of the biggest (and most common) mistakes in baking is how we measure flour. If you find yourself without a scale, see my top tips on how to properly measure flour for the perfect amount every time!

An overhead shot of a single slice of blueberry lemon loaf cake, topped with a white glaze, resting on a small white plate with a gold rim. The cake slice is golden yellow with visible dark blueberries and sits on a piece of white parchment paper on a light marble surface.

My Favorite Baking Pro Tips to Make 
The Best Blueberry Lemon Loaf

Below you’ll find my favorite pro baking tips and step-by-step photos for making the perfect loaf cake with blueberries and heaps of lemon!

  • Really cream the butter and sugar together for the perfect light texture
  • Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature
  • Mix in the flour until *just* barely combined for the lightest cake crumb
  • Make sure the cake is done before taking it out of the oven

That’s it! This lemon quick bread recipe comes together quickly. The biggest hardship is the long-ish bake time and waiting for this beauty to cool completely before tearing into it!

Let’s bake the most delicious lemon blueberry loaf cake!

An overhead shot of various ingredients for a lemon blueberry loaf cake, arranged in clear glass bowls and small blue bowls on a white countertop. Ingredients include: a bowl of fresh blueberries, two eggs, lemon zest, oil, flour, sugar, baking powder, cubed butter, and a measuring cup of milk.
STEP ONE: Grab your ingredients for the cake: granulated sugar, lemon juice & zest, butter, oil, eggs, baking powder, baking soda, salt, all-purpose flour, buttermilk and blueberries. For the lemon glaze, you’ll need confectioners’ sugar, milk/cream and fresh lemon juice.
STEP TWO: Massage the lemon zest with the granulated sugar…
STEP THREE: Cream the butter with the sugar…
STEP THREE: The mixture will be quite thick and *not* light and fluffy.
STEP FOUR: Mix in the oil until thoroughly combined; the cake batter will now be smooth and light. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is well combined.
STEP FIVE: Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and mix until well combined.
An overhead, close-up shot of a clear glass bowl containing a thick, pale yellow cake batter, with a large pile of fresh, dark blue blueberries poured onto one side of the batter. A white spatula is positioned to begin folding the blueberries into the mix.
STEP SIX: Alternate adding the flour and buttermilk in two batches, mixing each addition. until just barely combined.
An overhead, close-up shot of a clear glass bowl containing a thick, pale yellow cake batter, with a large pile of fresh, dark blue blueberries poured onto one side of the batter. A white spatula is positioned to begin folding the blueberries into the mix.
STEP SEVEN: Fold in the blueberries until evenly distributed throughout the batter. See Notes below recipe if using frozen blueberries.
An overhead, close-up shot of a clear glass bowl filled with thick, pale yellow cake batter, generously mixed with dark blue blueberries. A white spatula is visible, having just folded the berries into the batter, which is spattered on the inside of the bowl.
STEP EIGHT: Let the batter rest for 15 minutes.
STEP NINE: Scoop the batter into the prepared pan…
An overhead shot of a stainless steel loaf pan, lined with white parchment paper, filled with a pale yellow lemon blueberry cake batter. Dark blue blueberries are visible throughout the smooth batter, which is ready for baking.
STEP NINE: …and drizzle with fresh lemon juice, a sprinkle of sugar and a couple more blueberries if you have them (optional).
A newly baked, golden-brown blueberry loaf in a silver loaf pan, lined with white parchment paper, sitting on a white counter. The top of the loaf is risen and dotted with dark blueberries. In the soft-focus background, a white ruffled linen napkin and a white pitcher are visible against a white tiled wall.
STEP TEN: Bake in the center of the oven for 60 to 65 minutes. The top should be slightly puffed and bronzed. Check the area around the berries to make sure there is no unbaked cake batter.
A freshly baked, golden-brown blueberry loaf sitting upright on a white surface, with a white pitcher pouring a stream of white glaze onto its visible, blueberry-studded top. In the blurred background, a white tiled wall is visible, along with a white cloth and a knife handle.
STEP ELEVEN: Once the cake is completely cool, drizzle with lemon glaze and serve!
An overhead, close-up shot of a partially eaten slice of blueberry lemon loaf cake, showing its golden-yellow crumb studded with dark blueberries and remnants of white glaze, on a speckled ceramic plate with a textured rim. A silver fork with a bite of cake on its tines rests next to the slice, all on a light marble surface.

More Fresh Berry Recipes!

I hope you’ll also check out the yummiest Raspberry Lemon LoafRaspberry Jam BarsBlueberry Buttermilk Scones and find all of the berry recipes here!

A straight-on, eye-level shot of a glazed blueberry lemon loaf, showing its golden-brown crust and moist interior studded with purple blueberries. The loaf is sitting on a white surface with drips of white glaze, and in the soft-focus background, a white pitcher and a white linen cloth are visible against a white subway tile wall.
Print

Moist & Plush Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake Recipe

Bake the ultimate easy, one-bowl lemon blueberry loaf cake (quick bread) – perfectly moist, plush, and bursting with zesty lemon and juicy berries!
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword Lemon, Blueberry, Loaf, Cake, Quick Bread, One-Bowl, Recipe, Buttermilk
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Cake Batter Resting Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 1 Loaf Cake

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest about 2 lemons
  • 4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter make sure it's very soft, but not melted
  • ¼ cup (56 g) sunflower or grapeseed oil or other neutral oil
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 cups + 2 tablespoons (288 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk shaken and at room temperature
  • 8 oz (227 g) fresh blueberries see Notes below recipe
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

For the Lemon Glaze

Instructions

For the Cake

  • Preheat your oven to 350℉ (177℃). Grease a 9 x 5-inches (23 x 13-cm) loaf pan and line with parchment paper letting the excess fall over the two longer sides of the pan.
  • In an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (*This recipe can easily be made with a bowl and spatula), add the granulated sugar and lemon zest and massage the lemon zest into the sugar to infuse the lemon flavor throughout the cake (love).
  • Add in the butter and mix on medium low until it forms a thick mass. With the mixer on low, stream in the oil and mix on medium for about 4 minutes or until completely blended together and smooth and light.
  • With the mixer on low, add in the eggs, one at a time, taking care that each is well blended before adding in the next. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is well blended.
  • Add the baking powder, baking soda and sea salt and mix for about 30 seconds on low or until combined.
  • Add 1/2 the flour and mix until just barely combined. Alternate between adding 1/2 the buttermilk and the remaining flour mixture (ending with the last of the buttermilk), making sure each addition is fully combined before adding in the next.
  • Let the cake batter sit for 15 minutes.
  • Fold in the blueberries until evenly distributed throughout the cake batter (see Notes below recipe if using frozen blueberries before adding them to the cake batter!).
    Scoop the batter into the loaf pan filling until ¾ full. Drizzle 1 teaspoon lemon juice and then 1 teaspoon of sugar evenly over the top.
  • Bake in the center of the oven for 60 to 65 minutes or until the top is puffed up, golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, with the tiniest smidge of cake on it. Let cool in the tin for about 30ish minutes, then use a butter knife and the parchment overhang to help get it out of the pan to finish cooling on a wire rack.

For the Lemon Glaze

  • Once the cake is cool, whisk together 1 batch of 3-Ingredient Lemon Glaze and drizzle over the top of the cake. Let set for 15-30 minutes before serving. A big pile of fresh blueberries is pretty served over the top of the cake. Enjoy!

Notes

Blueberries

Make sure your blueberries are completely dry before adding them to the cake batter. If they are damp/wet the cake won’t bake well around them.
Make sure the blueberries are evenly distributed throughout the cake batter, this will also help with even baking of the cake.
One way to have more control over the berry placement within the cake, is to *not* add it to the cake batter. Instead, add a third of the batter to the pan and then cover it with 1/3 of the berries. Repeat this process three times. If using frozen blueberries, use this same method so that the blueberries don’t bleed into the cake batter.

Buttermilk Replacement

If you don’t happen to have any buttermilk on hand, measure out 1 cup milk, remove 1 tablespoon and replace it with 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes before using.

Mixer vs Your Beautiful Arms

I reference an electric-stand mixer with the paddle attachment in the instruction. However, this is definitely a recipe that can easily be made with a bowl and spatula (and the step-by-step photo instructions show it being made that way). Make sure you really cream your butter and sugar so that you get that awesome soft, light texture.

Resting Cake Batter

I love doing this with muffins, as well as loaf cakes and quick breads. Giving the blueberry lemon loaf batter a 10 to 20 minute period of rest (just letting it sit on the counter pre-bake) makes the cake bake better…a wee puffier (although this cake doesn’t have a super tall crown). It also helps the blueberries not sink to the bottom of the cake.

Storing Your Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake

Store at room temperature in an air-tight container. If it’s warm and humid out, wrap it tightly and store in the fridge.
For long-term storage, wrap your cooled blueberry lemon cake tightly in plastic wrap and then place in a reusable freezer-safe plastic bag (or Stasher bag) and store in the freezer.
The night before serving set the still-wrapped loaf in the fridge to begin thawing. The following day set on the counter until it comes to room temperature. Serve and enjoy!

Picking Your Loaf Pan

This Fat Daddios loaf pan is my favorite to bake loaf cakes. I find loaf pan sizing vexing, to be honest.
I have loaf pans whose packaging lists the dimensions as 9 x 5-inches (23 x 13-cm) but each varies significantly size-wise from one another (some are bigger, some are smaller).
For this recipe, I list the appropriate size as 9 x 5-inches (23 x 13-cm) as that is what most everyone owns. However, your loaf pan may be slightly larger or smaller than this.
The best rule of thumb is to fill your loaf pan no more than 3/4’s full. And if you have any doubts as to whether it is filled too full, place a rimmed baking sheet underneath to catch any cake batter that may overflow.
Don’t miss this Mega Moist Brown Butter Zucchini Bread too! 

The post Moist & Plush Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake Recipe appeared first on DisplacedHousewife.

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