Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
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Bursting with juicy blueberries and bright lemon flavor, this lemon blueberry pound cake is the perfect brunch treat or sweet pick-me-up any time of day.
This lemon blueberry pound cake makes a lovely brunch or anytime cake. It has a tender, delicate crumb, and the flavor is extra bright thanks to lots of lemon zest, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and a tart lemon glaze. You’ll need two large lemons for the whole recipe. Be sure to zest them before you juice them, as it is impossible to do afterwards. Also, in case you’re considering it, I don’t recommend making this cake in a Bundt pan; it releases easily from a loaf pan but tends to stick to a Bundt.
If you love lemon baked goods as much as I do, be sure to check out my lemon poppy seed muffins and lemon pound cake—both recipes are bursting with bright lemon flavor!
“Absolutely delicious! Looks stunning and tastes even better!”
What You’ll Need To Make Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
Step-By-Step Instructions
Begin by zesting the lemons.
In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Let sit for at least 10 minutes while you proceed with the recipe. (It will curdle; that’s okay.)
In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 cups flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining teaspoon of flour. Set both aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), combine the butter and sugar.
Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
With the mixer on low speed, beat in a third of the flour mixture.
Next, beat in half of the milk mixture.
Beat in another third of the flour mixture, then the remaining milk mixture, followed by the remaining flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix briefly to make sure the batter is evenly combined.
Add the flour-dusted blueberries to the batter and, using a spatula, fold until evenly combined.
Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a tester comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
When the cake is cool, transfer it to a serving platter and make the glaze. In a small bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Add more confectioners’ sugar or lemon juice as necessary to make a thick but pourable glaze (it should be a little thicker than you’d think, about the consistency of molasses or honey).
Spoon the glaze over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides.
Let the glaze set for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Slice with a serrated knife. The cake will keep on the countertop for up to 3 days; store in a covered container or wrap in plastic wrap.
Video Tutorial
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Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
Bursting with juicy blueberries and bright lemon flavor, this lemon blueberry pound cake is the perfect brunch treat or sweet pick-me-up any time of day.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, packed (see note)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 cups + 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with a knife
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup blueberries (if using frozen blueberries, do not defrost)
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
For the Glaze
- ¾ cup confectioners' sugar
- ¼ teaspoon lemon zest, packed
- 1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Spray a 9x5-inch metal loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, then spray the pan again.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Let sit for at least 10 minutes while you proceed with the recipe. (It will curdle; that's okay.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 cups flour, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining teaspoon of flour. Set both aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again. With the mixer on low speed, beat in a third of the flour mixture, then half of the milk mixture. Beat in another third of the flour mixture, then the remaining milk mixture, followed by the remaining flour mixture, scraping the bowl as necessary. Add the flour-dusted blueberries to the batter and, using a spatula, fold until evenly combined.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
- When the cake is cool, transfer it to a serving platter.
- Make the glaze: In a small bowl, mix together the confectioners' sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Add more confectioners' sugar or lemon juice as necessary to make a thick but pourable glaze (it should be a little thicker than you'd think, about the consistency of molasses or honey). Spoon the glaze over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Let the glaze set for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Slice with a serrated knife. The cake will keep on the countertop for up to 3 days; store in a covered container or wrap in plastic wrap.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cake can be frozen (without the glaze) for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, double-wrap it securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, or place it in heavy-duty freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving. (Add the glaze after the cake is thawed.)
- Note: You'll need 2 large lemons for the entire recipe. Be sure to zest them before you juice them.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 servings)
- Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 323
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 56 g
- Sugar: 36 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 97 mg
- Cholesterol: 26 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi!
Can you use whole wheat flour? Oat milk? Honey instead of sugar?
Also is it pretty lemony? Can the juice be upped?
Thanks!!
Hi Jacqueline, I’d suggest starting by using half whole wheat and half all-purpose to make sure you like the texture. If you do like it, the next time you make this, you can up the ratio of whole wheat to white a bit more. Also, you may want to consider white whole wheat as it’s lighter and milder tasting than regular whole wheat flour (yet just as nutritious). Oat milk would be fine to use here, but I’d stick with the sugar versus the lemon. And I think the cake has plenty of lemon flavor, but feel free to use more lemon zest in both the cake and the glaze if you’d like. Hope you enjoy!
Fantastic!
Hi Jenn, this recipe is divine! I would like to know if you think I could double it and make it in a pound cake or bundt pan.
Hi Marcia, I don’t recommend baking this in a Bundt pan – I’m afraid it would stick. Glad you like it though!
Hi Jenn
Tried the lemon and blueberry pound cake – delicious.
Everyone who tasted it said how lovely it is.
Thank you
Val
This is so so so good! Bursting with delicious summer blueberries, which marry beautifully with lemon, this pound cake has a wonderful texture and a delicious buttery flavor. My family loves it!
Beautiful but dry. It would be great as a morning muffin or tea cake. Next time I might add sour cream.
I recently baked Ina Garten’s lemon cake and it was dry. In the past, it was perfectly moist! I did a little research & I over mixed my batter. I had no idea over mixing could cause a dry cake. In hindsight, I thought I was being scrupulous.
Thank you for sharing the recipe with us. Such a delicious cake! It was moist and super tasty. I baked this for my friends, and they all loved it and were asking for the recipe, so I gave them your page.
Absolutely delicious! I used fat free Fairlife brand milk, King Arthur flour and fresh blueberries. Room temp on the butter and eggs, but my oven sucks so I ended up tacking on an additional 20 minutes till the pick came out clean. No biggie. It was perfect! 9 people ate the whole thing at our Father’s Day luncheon.
The pound cake has a lovely crumb and it baked up exactly as the photos show. Be sure to pack the lemon zest well otherwise the lemon flavor will be lacking.
Delicious, easy to make and incredibly moist, will definitely be making again.
Do you think the flavours would work if I swapped blueberry for raspberry? Just to try a different combination.
Thanks
Glad you liked it! Yes, raspberries should work here too. Please LMK how it turns out!
Cake tastes just ok. Directions were not as clear as they could’ve been. This is not worth the extreme effort.
I make this all the time. It is amazing. Can’t leave the loaf alone.😛
Hi Jenn,
I have made this cake before and it is delicious! Do you think I could substitute orange zest and orange juice for the lemon. I am trying to find an orange loaf, or orange poppy seed even. Do you think this cake would translate well to orange? Or do you have a suggestion for another of your loaf cakes that would be a better match for the orange flavour. Thanks for all you do for us home cooks!!
Hi Sandy, Glad you like it! Yes, this will work with orange zest and juice but definitely won’t have that same tang that the lemon provides. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try it!
Jenn,
Two quick question…Can these be made into muffins? And, I’m trying to incorporate more white whole wheat flour into my baking so am wondering if I can use that for half of the flour? I’d adjust the baking time for muffins. Thanks; I have made the loaf as is and it is a winner!
Hi Ilene, Yes, you can use half white whole wheat flour. And for muffins, I’d suggest using this recipe (it’s almost identical and for the lemony taste, you could add about 2 teaspoons of lemon zest to the batter). Enjoy!
Hi Jenn,
I am new to baking. How deep must the loaf pan be?
Kind regards
Nina
Hi Nina, 9 x 5“ loaf pans are typically between 2 1/2 and 3 inches deep. (It varies slightly based on the manufacturer.) Hope you enjoy the cake if you make it!
Just wonderful!!!! I used fresh blueberries, and it came out perfect! Thank you ❤️
This cake is delicious! I doubled the blueberries and the icing and did have to bake for an additional 10 minutes. I have made this recipe at least 5 times now and it is definitely a big hit with my family and friends. Thank you Jen for another fabulous recipe!
I had the same issue as some of the other reviewers. The inside was raw while the outside was getting way too brown after 1 hr. I tried the foil tenting, but it still was undone after 1 hr 15 min and cake was way overcooked on the outside. I used frozen blueberries (did not defrost per instructions) and I believe that was the problem. I didn’t have fresh blueberries on hand so I decided to make another loaf with frozen blueberries that I “slightly” defrosted under cold running water (not enough to where they become mushy)..I let them dry out a little then tossed with flour and that made all the difference. The result was a delicious and DONE cake! Everyone loved it! It still took about 1 hr 5 min in my oven. So I suggest either using fresh blueberries, or if using frozen, defrost them a little bit. I think the frozen blueberries throws the temperature off which results in a raw cake.
This took about 80 min in the oven for me which I was expecting based on the comments, but I was not expecting the bottom to break off when I flipped it onto a cooling rack! Oops..still tastes good though! 😂
Hi, I’m reading many comments about the cake being raw when using glass pan and I’m worried. I’ve got no metal nor glass pan, I was gonna use a silicone one, is it ok?
Hi Maya, I’ve never baked using silicone. I took a peek online and it looks like it would be fine to use with no adjustments, but because I don’t know if it behaves differently than glass or metal, I’d keep a close eye on it. I’d love to hear how it comes out!
Hi,
I recently made this cake (delicious) and wondered if 1/4 teaspoon baking soda is sufficient for rising. The cake did rise okay but my instinct/experience tells me that 1/4 teaspoon is not enough for a cake. Is this amount correct or a misprint?
Hi Donna, that is the correct amount. Is your baking soda very old or expired?
Hi Jenn! This recipe looks delicious and I’m looking forward to making it for Easter brunch this Sunday. I see that you recommend using a metal pan (vs glass) however I do not currently own one. Would a ceramic one work just as well? Thanks for your help.
Hi Kristen, it’s fine to use ceramic; it may just add a few minutes to the baking time, but keep a close eye on it. Enjoy!
This was delicious with bright flavors. I did add 1/2 teaspoon Sicilian lemon extract , 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Thank you for sharing your recipe. This is a keeper for me.
Wondered why this cake had no baking powder…..my rose about 1 1/2 inches! It’s good, though.
Hi Claire, Glad you liked it, but it definitely should’ve risen more. Is your baking soda very old or expired? Did you make any changes to the recipe?