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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This is the best pound cake I have ever tried let alone made. My family agrees. I followed the instructions step by step and it turned out perfect. Thank you!
Jen, in your comments you mention that buttermilk is needed for the Lemon Blueberry pound cake. The receipe only list milk as the ingredient.
Has the recipe been changed?
Hi Pat, That is so strange – that comment should not be posted on this recipe (it’s referring to my lemon pound cake recipe). I have removed it. So sorry for the confusion!
Didn’t whisking the milk, lemon zest and lemon juice together beforehand and letting it sit for a bit made buttermilk?
Yes, you’re essentially making your own buttermilk with those ingredients.
Hi Jenn,
Can this cake be made replacing the normal flour with a gluten free flour?
Thanks,
Camille
Sure, Camille, that should work. Please LMK how it turns out!
Hi Jenn. I have King Arthur G/F All purpose Baking Mix? Would this work for the flour, or should I use regular flour?
Thanks,
Pamela
Hi Pamela, a number of readers have commented that they’ve made this with an all-purpose gluten-free flour with success. Hope you enjoy!
I really enjoyed the glaze in this recipe. Because it’s the winter, my blueberries aren’t the sweetest, giving the cake a kind of bitter flavor. I think the lemon flavor in the cake wasn’t as strong as I liked, so I suggest putting more. But overall, a really nice tasting pound cake!
I love using buttermilk in my cakes. Could I sub the Milk and use Buttermilk instead? If so, how would I adjust the recipe?
Hi Becky, You’re basically making buttermilk with the milk and lemon juice in the recipe, so I wouldn’t recommend replacing the milk with buttermilk. Hope that helps!
I made this recipe last night for the first time and dropped it off for friends this morning! Soon after, I received rave reviews! They said it was, “award winning!”
My husband is anxious for me to make one for us now!
Can I use dried blueberries instead of frozen or fresh ones?
Hi Catherine, I’d stick with fresh blueberries here – sorry!
Does this loaf freeze well?
Yep! See the bottom of the recipe for freezer-friendly instructions. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Diana!
I froze half of mine to prevent myself from eating it all in one go. I have to say it tastes great even when just a few minutes out of the freezer, when it is still very cold and juuuuuust thawed.
I made this cake this morning and I used my Pampered Chef mini loaf pan (it makes 4 small loaves). I took the advice from Jenn and started checking the loaves at 30 minutes. I added 5 minute increments and the total baking time was 45 minutes. They are cooling right now and the lemon scent is incredible! They are a lovely brown on the bottom and sides and a light brown on top. Can’t wait to try them!
Question regarding metric units. When I use standard baking conversions of cups to grams for the specific ingredients, the amounts differ from yours. (Flour 260g vs 240g, sugar 250g vs 200g, milk 120ml vs 237ml). Can you explain why (more so with milk since it’s twice the amount). As a side I just made the cake with standard baking conversion so will see how it can out tonight).
As a side I didn’t see the metric option until I had made the batter…
Hi Anna, I have found that there’s definitely variation out there when converting imperial measures to weight/metric. The ones that I use are ones that I’ve tested out on my kitchen scale. Regarding the milk, the recipe only calls for a half cup, hence 120 ml. Hope that clarifies and that the cake came out nicely!
Well I read that wrong on the milk lol…hopefully it tastes good…and in the meantime I’ll look forward to making it again….
Update. I must’ve done the milk measurement correct because the cake turned out wonderful. Less sugar didn’t affect the overall taste and consistency. Thank you again for sharing your knowledge. Everything I’ve tried has always turned out perfect.
So glad to hear it came out well — thanks for reporting back! 🙂
Love all your recipes! Is it ok to sub canola oil for butter? Thanks!
Glad you like the recipes! Canola oil won’t work here — the only kind of oil that I think would work is (solidified) coconut oil. Keep in mind that I haven’t made it this way. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
If you are short on will power better not make this cake! I keep going back for more. Great recipe! Thank you