This easy lemon blueberry loaf is soft, moist, bursting with fresh blueberries, with a bright citrus flavor. It is made with simple pantry ingredients and topped with a sweet lemon glaze.
1½cupsall-purpose flour(plus a few Tbsps to flour the blueberries)
1½tspbaking powder
½tspsalt
1cupwhite granulated sugar
1Tbspfresh lemon zest(from 1 large lemon or 2 medium lemons)
¾cupunsalted butter, softened
3large eggs
¼cupmilk
3Tbsplemon juice(from 1 large lemon)
1tspvanilla extract
1½cupsfresh blueberries(divided)
Lemon Icing or Glaze
½cuppowdered sugar
¾Tbsplemon juice(or to taste)
½Tbspmilk(add more to thin it out)
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Instructions
To Make the Crumble:
Mix all of the ingredients for the crumble in a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate until just before baking.
To Make the Lemon Blueberry Loaf:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and prepare a 9×5-inch (23×13 cm) loaf pan by greasing and flouring it or by spraying it with cooking spray and covering it with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
In a separate bowl, rub the sugar with the lemon zest using your fingers to release the oil from the lemon zest. This will intensify the lemon flavor in the cake.
With the mixer running on medium-low speed, cream the butter. Then add the sugar and lemon zest mixture and mix until well combined.
Incorporate the eggs, one at a time, while you continue mixing.
Add the milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix to incorporate. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is well blended.
Toss the blueberries with a few tablespoons of all-purpose flour and then fold in 1 cup (148 g) of the blueberries into the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Top with the remaining ½ (74 g) cup of blueberries, followed by a layer of the chilled crumble.
Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the loaf cool on a wire rack before drizzling it with the lemon icing.
To Make the Lemon Icing:
In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients for the icing, then drizzle it over the cooled lemon blueberry loaf before serving.
Notes
Swap the blueberries with raspberries or blackberries, or a combination of both, to give this loaf a different flavor.
Make sure the ingredients are at room temperature so they incorporate well with the batter.
Skip the hand mixer and whisk everything with a whisk or a spatula, if you prefer.
Refrigerate any leftover lemon blueberry cake slices in an airtight container for up to 3-5 days.
Freeze this lemon blueberry loaf inside a resealable freezer bag or container for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
To make things easier, you can cut the loaf into slices before freezing it and wrap each slice with plastic wrap. That way, you can thaw and enjoy a single slice without having to defrost the entire loaf! 😉
Nutritional values are approximate and calculated per serving.