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
Made this blueberry !lemon cake today. Thought it to be dense than light. Did I do something wrong?
Hi Steffie. Be sure to measure your ingredients correctly as this is often due to using too much flour.
Just made this tonight and was so happy with it. Was a bit worried because I didn’t have sour cream, so I substituted homemade Crème Fraiche. The batter was thicker than yours but it came out so light and delicious!!
PS: Love, love, love your recipes!!!
Hello Cindy, nice to know that it worked well in this recipe. Thanks a lot for sharing that with us!
Good morning are we able to freeze this cake it looks so good and can you put some lemon zest
Hi Theresina, I haven’t tried freezing it, but I think it would work fine to make it ahead and freeze the cake. Most desserts can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months, be sure to cover it well.
Lemon blueberry cake was easy to make. So delicious and moist.
So glad to hear that, John! Thank you for the review.
I loved this recipe it was supper easy and delicious. Thank you
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Ella!
I have always loved your recipes and the streak continues! This berry cake was delicious and easy (although it looked like a professional baked it). Posted a picture of it on my FB feed and friends all wanted the recipe (or more to the point, a slice).
Thanks for sharing, Jeannine and I appreciate you sharing the recipe with your friends, we appreciate it!
Made this cake this morning for the first time. I used olive oil and greek yogurt because that’s what I had on hand. Turned out great. A moist cake with the right amount of lemon flavor complimented by the blueberries and sprinkling of powdered sugar. I’ll make this again.
Hi Maria, happy to hear that the cake was lovely and you loved it! Thank you for sharing your experience trying out this recipe.
Made this cake this morning for the first time. I used olive oil and greek yogurt because that’s what I had on hand. Turned out great. A moist, light cake with a nice lemon flavor complimented by the blueberries and sprinkling of powdered sugar. I’ll make this again.
That’s great, Maria! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for the feedback.:)
I’m thinking about just stirring all the blueberries in and not putting any on top so I’ll have a smooth top to decorate a birthday cake.
Wondering if the blueberries will just sink to the bottom.
Hi Kathy. I have not made this cake that way. Coating the blueberries with flour is what helps them not sink to the bottom. When they are not coated, they tend to sink to the bottom so I would assume the results would be the same if you mixed them in the batter.
Thank you Natasha, this cake was easy and delicious. I love all your recipes.
So glad to hear that, Tina!
Hi Natasha, I am a big fan of your Natasha’s Kitchen, and I enjoy taste of this Lemon Blubbery Cake. However I used exactly same amounts and ingredients (except I switched oil to melted butter) and I found mixture to be denser then in your video. What did I do wrong?
Hi Tamara, so sorry to hear that. I suspect your baking powder may be the other culprit; might it be old? It might be the culprit of the cake being dense since it relies on the baking powder to rise.
Hi Natasha, thanks for your reply. It was not the baking powder as actually baked cake rised well enough, it was quite moist and slightly denser, but good. So I am wondering if the reasons for the denser mixture could be that sour cream was too dry or eggs too small ? Your mixture in the video when you poured into spring form was more liquid then mine and the baked cake was definitely more fluffy. I used same amounts of ingrediences , but I used melted butter instead of oil. If that was a case can I add some milk? Also what vegetable oil you would reccommend for baking?
I see that your question didn’t get addressed– mine is the same as yours, really thick batter (no substitutes). I also see comments about more than 55 minutes. I experienced the same. I looked at the King Arthur recipe for lemon blueberry cake, and believe that would be a moister cake/better recipe. I am disappointed in this recipe from Natasha.
I changed it up to have a thinner cake batter it was too thick. I added 3 eggs instead of 2 & mixed 1/4 cup of whole milk with the sour cream. Also baking time for my oven was 70 minutes. Hope that helps.
Hi Tamara! I’m so sorry that your comment was overlooked and not responded to several months ago. I have not tested this with butter, so I am not sure if that was the cause but a couple of readers have also reported a dry cake when using butter in this recipe instead of oil. In general, cakes made with oil tend to be moister because the oil doesn’t solidify. Another cause could be that you used too much flour which made the batter too thick. Watch my tutorial here on how to measure ingredients to see how I measure my flour. I hope that helps if you make this cake again and if you do, please let us know if that resolved the issue.
Delicious. I added a tablespoon of granulated sugar to the blueberries because I know my hubby prefers sweet to tart. Other than that I followed it exactly. It got even better after a few hours! Looks beautiful like yours too! Thank you Natasha!
It’s my pleasure, happy to know that you loved it!
I’ve made this cake before and it’s always such a hit! I just made it again for a party tomorrow. Should I keep it in the fridge or just covered on the counter until tomorrow? Thanks so much!
Hi Marisa, you can store the cake at room temperature for a day. For any longer, I would put it in the fridge.
Can you make a blueberry sauce like you did for your strawberry cake?
Hi Joan, blueberries work great using the same strawberry sauce recipe.
Can you make this in a 9×13 baking dish? How long would you bake it and any adjustments with ingredients?
Hi Lynn, I haven’t tested that in a 9×13 but I imagine you will need to double it since it will be a very short cake if not. I hope that helps.
Hi Natasha,
This recipe looks gorgeous. Cant wait to make it this weekend.
Can you share me the measurements for making this cake in a 6inch cake pan?
I am planning to make this cake for my hubby’s birthday, its just the two of us. So needed something a little smaller.
Thank u so much. – Ankita
Hi Ankita! I’m exxcited for you to try this recipe. I have not tested it in a 6” pan to advise. I would reference a cake pan conversion sheet to help with this.
Hi Natasha: I made the Blueberry Lemon Cake today. Looks and smells beautiful! Can’t wait to try that first piece with a cup of hot tea. after dinner tonight. Only substitution I made was Canola oil in place of Light Olive Oil, which I didn’t have.
Hi Susan! I hope you love this recipe. Let us know what you think. 🙂
This is a great recipe! I would however make the following comments: I’ve made this recipe twice and my prep time is more in the neighbourhood of 60 minutes vs the 15 stated (I’m a ham n egger baker!). Following the suggestions made in the Red Velvet cake recipe (which is also very good), I used an electronic scale to equally divide the batter and blueberries. Finally, after washing the blueberries, take the time to ensure they are reasonably well dried before adding the lemon juice and corn starch. Thanks again for sharing such a great recipe and Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s!
Thanks a lot for sharing that with us, so glad to know that you enjoyed this recipe. We appreciate the tips!
A question on storage: if making a day before, should it be stored at room temperature or in the fridge? Also, does it freeze well?
Hi Cheryl, this cake is best when it is enjoyed the same day it is made, but it will cover and refrigerate. To liven it up on the day you are serving it; you might drizzle the top with the lemon glaze from our blueberry muffins.
Made this tonight for a party tomorrow. Can’t wait to try it. Arw the sides and bottom supposed to be brown? I only baked for 45 mintues.
Hi Stacy, it shouldn’t be overly dark but golden. It could be a couple of things if it is, darker metal pans or glass pans will cause the sides and bottom to be darker. Light metal pans are best to help minimize this. Make sure your oven rack is in the middle and not too low as this will cause the bottom to bake faster. Lastly, if your oven temperature runs hot, this will cause the outside of the cake to bake faster than the rest of the cake and be darker. I recommend getting an internal oven thermometer to help.
BLUEBERRY LEMON hands down the best cake to bake when you have company over. Thanks for posting this recipe
Thank you for the awesome feedback, Ann!
Y’all, this was divine! Even though, I apparently can’t eyeball half the batter into a pan… I probably put 2/3 in first on accident, then smeared a very thin level of batter for the second layer. It was still amazing and I think Natasha should rename this to “foolproof” because I’m no baker/chef and my family loved it.
So glad it turned out great, Rachel! Thanks for the review.
Made this for a luncheon at church, it was a huge hit. I came and sent everyone a copy. Thank God for email. In years past I would have been making copies and mailing them.
This was the perfect dessert for a beautiful Spring day.
It sounds like this was a hit with the crowd! I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you for sharing that awesome review with me, Joy!