Made with blueberries and topped with an easy lemon glaze, this bright lemon blueberry loaf cake makes for a great snacking cake, breakfast, or dessert. This easy loaf cake is made with just 10 ingredients and comes together in one bowl—no electric mixer required! I made this loaf with fresh blueberries, but frozen will work, too.

A dark blue bowl full of white icing is being drizzled on top of a lemon loaf cake filled with blueberries.
The lemon and blueberry flavors shine in this loaf cake recipe.

Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake Ingredients

This easy loaf cake recipe with lemon and blueberry uses just 10 simple ingredients:

  • All purpose flour
  • Baking powder
  • Salt
  • Unsalted butter
  • Sugar
  • Eggs
  • Lemon
  • Milk
  • Blueberries
A collection of ingredients arranged on a quartz countertop, with a cocktail loaf pan on the right.
This easy lemon blueberry loaf cake comes together in one bowl and requires only 10 ingredients.

Quick Tips for Prepping Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake

Room temperature butter and eggs are of the highest importance to this recipe. If the butter is too cold, it won’t cream properly with the sugar. That may result in a denser loaf.

The same goes for the eggs: Please make sure they are not cold when you mix them into the batter. I’m not usually a huge stickler for room temperature ingredients, but I have experimented with this loaf a few times and strongly recommend using room temperature eggs.

Creamed sugar, butter, and lemon zest.
For this recipe, you won’t need to use an electric mixer to get the butter creamed, all nice and fluffy like you see above.

Will This Loaf Cake Recipe Work with Frozen Blueberries?

Yes, this recipe will work with frozen blueberries. You can thaw them in advance if you’d like, but you can also add them to the batter when frozen. It may add another five minutes or so to the bake time, but the loaf will turn out delicious!

Can I Substitute Lemon Extract for the Lemon Zest?

Yes, you can. Use 1½ teaspoons of lemon extract in place of one whole lemon’s zest. I much prefer the flavor and texture of real lemon zest in this loaf, but if you’re in a pinch, just the extract will do.

Lemon cake loaf batter awaiting the blueberry mix-in.
Using real lemon zest and lemon juice makes the lemon flavor in this loaf cake pop!

Do I Need to Make it in a Cocktail Loaf Pan?

No, you can make this loaf in a regular loaf pan with no issues! Proceed with the recipe as written, just being sure to add 15 minutes or so to the bake time.

The elongated walls on this cocktail loaf pan mean more of the batter is in contact with the pan at all times. That results in a significantly faster bake time. And the nonstick coating cleans like a dream, so you spend significantly less time at the sink, too!

This pan was gifted to me by USA Pan, and I have really come to love it. Each loaf makes the ideal small bite for appetizers or desserts made to share.

Lemon blueberry loaf cake batter in a cocktail loaf pan, with staging elements around it.
This cocktail loaf pan from USA Pan makes for convenient small slices.

Quick Tips for Prepping the Lemon Glaze

The lemon glaze is easy and adds a strong lemony touch to the top of this lemon snacking cake. Each lemon naturally varies in juiciness, though, so it can be hard to get the perfect consistency right from the recipe.

If your glaze is a bit runny for your liking, add another ¼ cup of powdered sugar to the mix.

If your glaze is a little too thick (and you’ve squeezed that half of the lemon dry), add in a couple of drops of water until you reach your desired consistency.

A bowl of lemon juice and powdered sugar near a loaf of lemon blueberry cake.
The consistency of the glaze is hard to get right, since each lemon varies in the amount of juice it provides.

Other Recipes You May Enjoy

Still got a lemon kick? Try my lemon curd recipe for a delicious spread you can put on toast, berries, yogurt—the list goes on!

If cakes filled with fruit are your thing, I have a cherry almond cupcake recipe filled with fresh and canned cherries that is everyone’s favorite. Or, try my strawberry champagne cupcake recipe for a champagne-flavored cake stuffed with a strawberry champagne jam that I could eat by the spoon!

Dish Cleanup: A Lil Messy

I rate my recipe cleanups on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 is only a handful of dishes, and 5 is everything including the kitchen sink.

My lemon blueberry loaf cake recipe has a cleanup rating of a 3. This cake batter comes together quickly in just one bowl, and the majority of the dishes I had to wash were from holding ingredients I measured out in advance. The dishwasher made light work of those, and I highly recommend this recipe for anyone looking for a quick and easy loaf cake with lemon and blueberry.

A collection of dishes used to make this loaf cake.
Most of these dishes only held ingredients, so the cleanup on this recipe is hardly extensive. You’ll be out of the kitchen in no time!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
If you make this lemon blueberry loaf cake and love it, please don’t forget to leave a review to let others know how it turned out.

A cocktail-sized loaf of lemon blueberry loaf cake on a gray stoneware platter. A few slices are cut out of it, with a knife, blueberries, and lemons around it for staging.
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Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake

Author: Alyssa Adams of The Floral Apron
Made with fresh or frozen blueberries and topped with an easy lemon glaze, this bright, lemon blueberry loaf makes for a perfect breakfast, snacking cake, or dessert. Bonus: It's made without a mixer and comes together in one bowl!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time:20 minutes
Cook Time:35 minutes
Additional Time:1 hour
Total Time:1 hour 55 minutes
Course: Quick Breads
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 slices

Ingredients
 

Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake

  • 1 ½ cups (195 g) all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (113 g) one stick unsalted butter (113g)
  • ¾ cup (150 g) white sugar
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • One lemon
  • ⅔ cup (160 ml) milk
  • 1 cup (140 g) blueberries fresh or frozen

Icing

  • 1 cup (190 g) powdered sugar

Instructions

For the Blueberry Lemon Cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C with a center rack.
  2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
    1 ½ cups (195 g) all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
  3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with a whisk. (No electric mixing required!) Then zest the lemon directly over the bowl and stir to combine. Juice the lemon, but set the lemon juice aside for now.
    ½ cup (113 g) one stick unsalted butter (113g), ¾ cup (150 g) white sugar, One lemon
  4. Add in the eggs and whisk together for two minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy, with ribbons that dissolve slowly back into the batter.
    2 large eggs
  5. Add in all but two Tablespoons of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. It will be thick. Add the blueberries to the remaining flour and roll them around until they are fully coated in the flour mixture.
    1 cup (140 g) blueberries
  6. Add half of the lemon juice and all of the milk into the cake mixture and whisk together until just combined. Add the blueberries and fold them in gently with a spatula, just until large clumps of flour disappear. If in doubt, undermix rather than overmix to help the blueberries evenly disperse throughout the loaf (instead of clumped together at the bottom).
    ⅔ cup (160 ml) milk
  7. If using a cocktail loaf pan, bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If using a regular loaf pan, the bake time will be closer to 45-55 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack.

For the Glaze

  1. Once the bread has cooled for at least an hour, remove from the tin. Add the last half of the lemon juice to a small bowl with the powdered sugar. Whisk together until fully combined, then drizzle on top of the loaf.
    1 cup (190 g) powdered sugar

Notes

Store this bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days, or freeze for up to three months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 173kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 192mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 24g

Thanks for trying out my lemon blueberry loaf cake recipe! I’d love to see how it turns out: Take a photo and tag me on Instagram @floralapronblog to share with me, or use the hashtag #floralapronbakes.

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