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Lemon Blueberry Loaf
Maggie Banko

Lemon Blueberry Loaf

Who doesn't love the lemon blueberry combo for Spring? This loaf cake recipe is packed with flavor from the fresh lemon zest to the colorful blueberry glaze on top.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 8 slices
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Loaf Cake
  • 10 tbsp unsalted room temperature butter 1 stick + 2tbsp or 141g
  • 1 cup granulated sugar 227g
  • 2 room temperature eggs MUST be room temperature
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon zest
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice You can substitute 2 tsp lemon extract if you would prefer.
  • ⅛ tsp fine salt
  • 1 ½ cup cake flour 216g
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ cup room temperature buttermilk 128mL (If you don't have buttermilk, add ½ tbsp of lemon juice to ½ cup of whole milk)
For the Blueberry Filling
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries 170g
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar 30g
For the Blueberry Glaze
  • ⅓ cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar 52g
  • 1 tbsp heavy cream
  • ¼ cup remaining blueberry compote You will only use ¾ of the blueberry compote in the loaf cake. Save the remaining ¼ for the glaze!
  • OPTIONAL: Lemon zest for topping

Method
 

For the Loaf Cake
  1. Preheat your oven to 350℉ and prep a loaf pan with butter and parchment paper.
  2. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (you can also use an electric hand mixer), cream together the room temperature butter and sugar on medium speed for about 5 minutes (this is speed setting #4 on the KitchenAid). Scrape the bowl down with a rubber spatula to ensure all of the butter is mixed in well.
  3. Add the room temperature eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest to the bowl. Mix on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until incorporated. Scrape the bowl again to ensure it is all combined.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture along with the room temperature buttermilk.
  5. Mix until well incorporated and scrape the bowl down one more time to ensure it is all combined.
For the Blueberry Filling
  1. In a small pot over medium heat on the stove, add 1 cup of blueberries and 2 tbsp of granulated sugar. Stir and squish the blueberries down as they warm up until all of the sugar is dissolved and you are left with just a handful of blueberry pieces.
Fill the Pan
  1. Add ½ of the lemon batter to your loaf pan.
  2. Add ¾ of the blueberry mixture on top of the batter. Next, add the remaining lemon batter on top.
  3. With a butter knife, begin to swirl the batter and blueberry filling together to create a nice pattern on top of the loaf (there is no rhyme or reason to this step, we are just making it look pretty!)
  4. Bake the lemon blueberry loaf at 350℉ for 45-50 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs on it (typically you want the toothpick to be perfectly clean when it comes out, but I find that a few crumbs means that you have a perfectly moist cake that is not over-baked!)
For the Glaze
  1. In a small mixing bowl, sift the powdered sugar.
  2. Strain the remaining ~¼ cup of the blueberry compote into the bowl to ensure that you do not have any lumps in your glaze.
  3. Add the heavy cream and mix until well combined.
  4. Once your loaf is baked, let it cool for ~30 minutes before adding the glaze on top so that it doesn't melt right off!
  5. When you are ready to add the glaze, just pour it over top of the loaf and finish it off with fresh lemon zest.

Notes

  1. In this recipe, we are using cake flour and buttermilk which I find to be two ingredients that greatly help loaf cake recipes stay moist. The cake flour will give the loaf a perfectly soft texture (not dense) while the buttermilk helps bring out so much flavor that whole milk does not (in my experience). 
  2. My top recommendation for cake flour is Swans Down. I have been using it for years and it gives wonderful results! 
  3. When creating the blueberry filling, I like to really squish the blueberries as they simmer on the stove to ensure that I can get as much juice out of them as possible. Be sure to leave a handful of blueberry pieces though as it does create a nice texture for the loaf cake. 
  4. When baking this loaf cake, be sure to keep an eye on it around the 35-minute mark to ensure that you do not over-bake it! It is very easy to assume that a 50-minute baking time is universal for loaf cake recipes, however, every oven is different and yours may be ready to take out at 40 minutes!
  5. Having a few crumbs left on the toothpick when you are checking to see if the loaf is done is actually a good thing! I find that when the toothpick comes out completely clean for a loaf cake, it will actually be a little dry.