This Blueberry Lemon Cake is loaded with 1 pound of blueberries, and every bite has sweet pops of juicy blueberry and fresh lemon flavor. It’s not too sweet or too tangy, but just right. This is my favorite tea or coffee blueberry cake, and it’s easy, easy, easy!
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Why You’ll Love This Easy Blueberry Cake
Blueberries become juicy and jammy when baked into desserts and sweet breads. We sure love our blueberry desserts, from Blueberry Crumble to Blueberry Pie, and this easy Blueberry Cake does not disappoint.
You will love having easy and dependable recipes like this, or our easy Strawberry Cake and simple Peach Cake – they come together quickly and are perfect for unplanned company and my evening sweet-tooth cravings. Bite into this while it’s still a little warm and you’ll have no words, only sound effects… mmm.
It is moist and fluffy and tastes like a decadent Blueberry Muffin from a fancy bakery. Seriously though, it’s really good. Watch the blueberry lemon cake video tutorial to see just how easy it is.
Lemon Blueberry Cake Video
This cake is fluffy, moist, and bursting with sweet blueberry flavor. I hope you love every bite of this lemon blueberry cake. This is one of those cakes you will make on repeat.
Blueberry Cake Recipe
This lemon blueberry cake is so quick and easy to make. It is our go-to for unexpected company and it always disappears fast! You can use fresh or frozen blueberries (see my note on substituting frozen blueberries below).
Tips for Success
- Measuring Ingredients – Click here for an easy video tutorial on how to measure dry and wet ingredients correctly.
- Room-Temperature Ingredients – Ensure your liquid ingredients and even your blueberries are at room temperature for an even bake time and smoother batter.
- Don’t overload blueberries – adding more than 16 oz of blueberries can weigh down the cake and prevent it from rising properly.
- Do Not Overmix – overmixing the batter can make the cake dense.
Can I Substitute Sour Cream?
Several of our readers have reported great results using whole milk yogurt and whole milk Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
Can I Substitute Frozen Blueberries?
If using frozen blueberries, you can add them frozen, but as I learned from King Arthur Baking, it is recommended to rinse them to help prevent your batter from discoloring and turning an ugly purple-green tint. Here’s how:
- Rinse your frozen blueberries a couple of times in cold water before you use them.
- Drain well and gently pat dry with several layers of paper towels.
- Gently toss with a full 1 Tbsp of starch, and do not add lemon juice to blueberries.
How To Make Lemon Blueberry Cake
Prep: This cake is easiest to remove when using a springform pan. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. This ensures an easy release after baking. Preheat the Oven to 375˚F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or using an electric hand mixer, beat 2 eggs and 1 cup sugar with the whisk attachment on high speed for 5 minutes or until lightened in color and thick.
- Add 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup oil, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt, and whisk on low speed until well combined.
- Whisk together the 2 cups flour with 2 tsp baking powder then add to batter 1/3 at a time, whisking to incorporate between each addition (DO NOT OVERMIX, or the cake will be dense). Finally, use a lemon zester to add the lemon zest then squeeze in the fresh lemon juice.
How to Assemble and Bake
- Rinse blueberries and drain well. Transfer to a medium bowl add 1/2 Tbsp corn starch and 1 tsp lemon juice. Stir until well combined and no dry white cornstarch remains. If using frozen blueberries, see the substitution note above.
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared springform pan and even out the top with a spatula. Top with half of the blueberries. Spread with the remaining batter then sprinkle the rest of the blueberries evenly over the top, pushing them about halfway into the batter.
- Bake at 375˚F for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (mine was perfect at 55 minutes). Let cake rest in the pan for 15-20 minutes then remove the springform ring and cool until room temperature or just warm.
How to Serve Blueberry Cake
This blueberry lemon cake is perfectly satisfying on its own without any kind of frosting. A generous dusting of powdered sugar is all you need. It does pair well with vanilla ice cream.
If you really want things to get excited, you can also make a Blueberry Sauce for a topping.
Can I turn this into Muffins?
Because so many of you have asked, we (finally!) have a recipe for blueberry muffins.
Also, if you’d like to bake this in a loaf pan, I highly recommend following our Blueberry Loaf Recipe.
Can I Bake this in a Bundt Pan?
Reader Kelly, writes: “I did this in a tube pan and upped all the ingredients by half. I was feeding 2 families :). I used the “Baking Happy” Pam nonstick spray with flour and it popped out beautifully. It baked for 55 mins, and was perfect! Since the pan is larger, upping the ingredients by half was a perfect fit for the pan- once baked, the cake right to the top. I sprinkled with powdered sugar. Delicious recipe…everyone loved it! Thanks so much!”
More Blueberry Desserts
There’s something about cooking with blueberries, which makes them so juicy and brings out their best flavor. If you haven’t tried making Blueberry Pierogi, you should put them on your list. Here are our favorite blueberry desserts:
- No-Bake Strawberry Blueberry Trifle
- Pavlova Recipe
- Fruit Tart
- Blueberry Ricotta Cake
- Blueberry Scones
- Berry Cake
Go ahead and print a few extra copies of the recipe since you will likely receive some requests for this blueberry cake.
Lemon Blueberry Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup sour cream, (8oz), preferably at room temperature for 1 hour
- 1/2 cup light olive oil , or vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, *
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 medium lemon, zest and juice, divided
- 1/2 Tbsp corn starch
- 16 oz fresh blueberries, **
- Powdered sugar to dust the top, optional
Instructions
Prep:
- Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment. Preheat Oven to 375˚F.
How to Make Lemon Blueberry Cake:
- Beat 2 eggs and 1 cup sugar with whisk attachment on high speed 5 min, or until light in color and thick.
- Add 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup oil, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt and whisk on low speed until well combined.
- Whisk together the 2 cups flour with 2 tsp baking powder then add to batter 1/3 at a time, whisking to incorporate with each addition (DO NOT OVERMIX). Finally, add 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 1/2 Tbsp zest.
- Rinse blueberries and drain well. In a medium bowl, toss blueberries with 1/2 Tbsp corn starch and 1 tsp lemon juice, stirring until well combined and no dry white cornstarch remains.
- Pour half of batter into prepared springform pan and spread evenly. Top with half of the blueberries. Spread with remaining batter then sprinkle the rest of the blueberries evenly over the top, pushing them slightly into the batter (about halfway). Bake at 375˚F for 45 to 55 min (mine was perfect at 55 min), or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake rest in the pan 15-20 min then remove ring and cool until room temp or just warm. Serve dusted with powdered sugar.
Notes
or they weigh down the cake.
*Measure flour by spooning it into measuring cup then scraping off the top.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Hi can you use self raising flour
Hi Frances, I haven’t tested that so it will have to be an experiment. Maybe someone else has tried. Thanks in advance, friends! 🙂
How do you think it would work if I used cake flour instead?
Hi Claudia, I have not tried with cake flour, but my concern would be that it may be too soft of a crumb to hold that much blueberries. Again, I have not tested it so I can’t say for sure.
What can I use in place of sour cream? I’m lactose intolerant.
Hi Carolyn, I haven’t tried this but one of my readers, Nik, shared their experience with making it dairy free, writing: “I completely replaced the sour cream, with whole fat coconut milk from a can. I mixed it completely before measuring, and to compensate for the added wetness I reduced the oil to about 1/3 Cup. It was still a little runny, but the bake was perfect.”
Nice thanks so much!!
Recipe looks yummy. Going to make it this weekend. Should you store it in the refrigerator? Thanks
Hi Barb, you can keep it loosely covered with plastic wrap at room temperature for a day, but cover and refrigerate after that.
How many pints can I use to equal 16 oz. Thanks
Hi Barb, 1 pint of blueberries weighs about 12 oz so it would be 1 1/4 pints. You could probably make 1 pint work also if that is what you have on hand 😉
Can I use a square baking pan? What size should it be? I don’t have a round spring loaded pan. But, I do have a bunt pan, but done know if this would work.
Hi Marlene, a square pan would work fine – probably a 9″ square or 10″ square (although the larger 10″ square pan probably would not rise as tall and may be done baking a little sooner). Also, I haven’t tried it in a bundt pan, but a couple of readers reported great results in a bundt – they did mention baking at the lower end of the time range (45-47 mins).
I want to make this Tuesday (its Sunday); I live at 7500 feet- are there any special instructions for high altitude? Thanks
I really haven’t tested it at high altitude – maybe someone else has some insight into this? Thanks in advance!
I am at high altitude and have a recipe similar to this. I usually increase the sour cream by 1/2 cup and add an extra egg. I am going to try your recipe tomorrow and do the same. I will try to let you know how it goes. Baking at high altitude is tricky. I also use high altitude
flour.
Yes, please let me know how it turns out Kay!
I made it today. It was very good but think I might add a little cinnamon and a sprinkle of sugar to the blueberries and on top of the cake before baking.
Do you have to use springform pan or can you use a bunts pan???
Hi Sharon, I have not tried it in a bundt pan personally, but readers reported great results in a bundt – they did mention baking at the lower end of the time range (45-47 miutess).
Can you use just a plain electric beater. Don’t have one with whisk Attachment.
Hi Jill, yes that would work fine to use an electric hand mixer with a standard egg beater attachment 🙂
I just realized I’m out of all purpose flour. I have whole wheat and bread flour… are either of those a good substitute ?
Hi Jaine, I haven’t tried either one to be honest so I can’t really say. Bread flour has a higher gluten content but that would probably be a better option than whole wheat. I just haven’t tested it to say how it would affect the texture of the cake. You may need slightly less flour if using bread flour.
Why do I need to use a whole lemon if I only need a few tablespoons????
Depending on how large your lemon is, that is about how much lemon juice can come out of a smaller lemon, plus you will need the zest from the lemon for the cake.
Can I substitute something for the sour cream to make it dairy free? Sounds yummy!
Hi Jill, one of my readers, Nik, shared their experience with making it dairy free: “I completely replaced the sour cream, with whole fat coconut milk from a can. I mixed it completely before measuring, and to compensate for the added wetness I reduced the oil to about 1/3 Cup. It was still a little runny, but the bake was perfect.”
What can I possibly use to make this dairy free? Everybody here loves it, I use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Thank you for all your recipes.
Hi Ailuy, thankfully one of my readers, Nik, shared their experience with making it dairy free. They wrote: “I completely replaced the sour cream, with whole fat coconut milk from a can. I mixed it completely before measuring, and to compensate for the added wetness I reduced the oil to about 1/3 Cup. It was still a little runny, but the bake was perfect.”
I don’t have a springform pan, but this looks so good I want to try to make it…Can I do this in a pyrex, or loaf pan? Or split the batter into 2 round pie pans?
Hi, I have had several readers report great results in a loaf pan. One of my readers shared a photo of her beautiful bread on my facebook page, saying that she used the full recipe for 1 loaf and baked for approx 50 minutes and adding: “it started to get dark on the edges so I lowered it to 350 and put foil on the top of the cake.” I hope that helps! 🙂
Hi! This cake looks so amazing! We wanted to enjoy this tomorrow afternoon. Is it better to make it the day of or would it be ok to make a day ahead? Also, if I can make a day ahead do I store in refrigerator or room temp. Thanks so much!
I used a lemon glaze. The cake is perfectly moist. I love cherries too. I am going to improvise and try cherries.
Has anyone one else tried different fruit?
Hi Paula! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake! Your idea for cherries sounds wonderful! I’ve had several readers report great results using a variety of different berries so I do think there is room to experiment wit this one 🙂
Can you use coconut oil? Bake as muffins?
Candy-
When I made this cake a few weeks back I used coconut oil, the batter was extremely thick but the cake came out perfect and moist. I will use coconut oil every time I make this now!
Could you use coconut oil? Bake as muffins?
Hi Candy!! I had one person say theirs came out to be a thicker batter while raw but super moist results with coconut oil while another said theirs came out dense (but maybe coconut oil wasn’t the only factor?) It’s so hard to say! I haven’t tested it with coconut oil personally so I can’t really say for sure. One of my readers, Kate, shared the following: “They came out very nicely as muffins, there was enough batter for 14 muffins and they took exactly 30 mins to cook in my convection oven. I then cooled in the pans on top of wire racks for another 10 mins before removing to wire racks to completely cool.” – Note, she used a convection oven so I would suggest baking until a toothpick comes out clean of wet batter. I hope that helps!
How much lemon zest do you add?
Hi Natalie, it is the zest of 1 lemon, or about 1 tsp.
I am taking this for a trip. How long between making it and eating the cake will it last
Hi Judy, you can keep it at room temperature (out of the sun and heat) for a day without needing refrigeration. I hope you love it! 🙂
I see you didn’t add additional sugar to the blueberries. I’m a sugar nut so was it sweet enough for you. I was wondering how a little additional conf sugar would work.
Hi Donna, the sweetness of this cake is pretty close to a blueberry muffin – more of a breakfast cake than a very sugary dessert cake but it could work both ways. You can definitely dust with additional powdered sugar. I’ve even had a couple of readers report great results using a homemade lemon glaze. I hope that helps! 😉
I only have a hand mixer without whisk attachments. Will that work?
Hi Helen, yes that will work fine with an electric hand mixer – I am assuming it has the egg beater attachments 😉
Thanks! Yes, it’s just your ordinary hand mixer.