Lemon and blueberry loaf cake

This lemon and blueberry loaf is deliciously light and moist. The zingy lemon goes perfectly with the blueberries to make a great, summery, tea-time treat.

This lemon and blueberry loaf is one of my favourite tea time treats. I love the zingy lemon flavour with the pop of sweetness and colour from the blueberries. It’s the perfect lighter bake for spring or summer.

The sponge it light and moist and the lemon glaze on top not only adds an extra zing of flavour but uses up the remaining lemon juice as well.

How can kids help to make the lemon blueberry loaf?

The great thing about this bake is that it’s really easy to make, so perfect for kids or beginner bakers. There are lots of simple tasks kids can help with.

Even young children will be able to help measure out all the ingredients and mix them together. My kids also enjoyed zesting and juicing the lemon (although be very careful of small fingers on a grater).

The very simple lemon glaze is an easy decoration kids can take charge of. Mixing it together and drizzling it on top is a very easy way of decorating the loaf that anyone can make look good.

Can you use frozen blueberries?

Yes. You can use either fresh or frozen blueberries in this loaf. If you use frozen blueberries (like we did), you might find the colour seeps into the batter when you mix them in and it might take a little longer to bake, but it will be equally delicious.

There’s no need to defrost the blueberries before you add them. In fact if you do, your sponge may well turn purple as you stir them in.

What can I use if I don’t have self raising flour?

If you don’t have any self raising flour, swap it out for an equal amount of plain or all purpose flour and add 1 ¼ teaspoons of baking powder.

What is baking spread/ baking margarine?

Baking spread or margarine, (Stork is a well known brand that you can find easily here in the UK), is just a non-dairy margarine. It’s perf for baking as it can make cakes and cupcakes lighter and fluffier than if you use butter. It’s also often cheaper than butter so a great cost effective alternative.

How do I store the lemon blueberry loaf?

The loaf will store in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days. It won’t keep for longer than this because of the blueberries. If you want to keep it for longer, wrap it well in cling film, put it in a freezer bag and pop it in the freezer. It will keep for a few months in the freezer.

How do I stop the blueberries from sinking to the bottom?

Before adding the blueberries to your mixing bowl, mix them in the flour. This should stop them sinking to the bottom of your loaf. You can also add a few blueberries to the top of your batter in the tin before you bake it.

What size is a 2lb loaf tin?

I find that dimensions of a 2lb or 900g loaf tin will vary slightly from tin to tin, but are generally around 24cm x 14cm x 6.5cm (9.5 x 5.5 2.5 inches). If you want to check the size of your tin, but don’t have a ruler you can fill it with water then pour the water into a measuring jug. A 2lb tin should hold at least 1.2 litres.

What can I make with leftover ingredients?

Other recipes that use blueberries
Blueberry muffins
Blueberry crumble bars
Berry yogurt parfait
Blueberry pancakes
Lemon blueberry muffins
Blueberry cookies
Blueberry crumble
Blueberry scones

Other recipes that use lemons
Lemon biscuits
Lemon bundt cake
Lemon drizzle cake
Iced lemon traybake
Lemon drizzle cupcakes

Useful equipment

You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make this lemon and blueberry loaf

Digital scales
Freestanding mixer
Hand held mixer
Mixing bowl
Measuring cups
Lemo n juicer
Lemon zester
Spatula
2 lb loaf tin
Wire rack
Cake storage

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Ingredients

For the blueberry loaf cake
225g self raising flour* (1 cup)
175g (3/4 cup) butter or baking spread
175g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Zest of one lemon
2 eggs
4 tablespoons milk
150g (1 cup) blueberries

For the lemon glaze
Juice of 1 lemon
100g (1 cup) approx icing/confectioners sugar

How to make a lemon blueberry loaf

Preheat your oven to 160C /140C Fan / 320F and grease a 2lb loaf tin then line with baking or greaseproof paper.

We find the easiest way of lining the tin is to cut a strip of baking paper the width of the tin and lay it in the tin, then do the same the other way. Leave a bit of baking paper overhanging the tin to make it easier to remove the loaf later.

Add the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl

Get your kids to measure all the dry ingredients and pop them in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your freestanding mixer.

If you’ve forgotten to take you butter out the fridge, like we always do, and it’s still hard, pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it (but be sure not to melt it). If you’re using baking margarine like we did, there’s no need to soften it as it’s normally fine as it comes out of the fridge.

Using a hand held whisk or the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy. If you need to, scrape down the sides of your bowl with a spatula.

When measuring the baking powder, make sure your kids use their fingers to level the teaspoon so that you add just the right amount.

Add the wet ingredients to the bowl

Crack the eggs into a small bowl (in case you get any shell in – if you do simply fish it out with a larger piece of shell or a teaspoon), then add them to the mixing bowl.

Finally, use a zester or the small side of a grater zest your lemon (be careful with small fingers an graters).

Mix all the batter ingredients together with a hand held mixer, the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer or even wooden spoons until the batter is nice and smooth.

Add the blueberries

Weigh the blueberries out and add a tablespoon of flour. Mix the blueberries so they’re well coated in flour. Add them to your cake batter and stir them through so they are well distributed.

Bake the lemon blueberry loaf

Pour the batter into your prepared loaf tin then smooth it down with a spatula. If you have any extra blueberries add a few on top.

Bake the loaf in the oven for 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes. It’s ready when it’s risen, turned golden and a cocktail stick or skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Remove it from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin.

Decorate the lemon blueberry loaf

Get the kids to juice the lemon. If you pop in the microwave for 15 seconds or so and roll it on your worktop you should get more juice from your lemon.

Add the icing sugar and mix to together until you have a nice runny glaze. We used about 100g of icing/confectioners sugar but you might need a little more/less depending on how much juice you get from your lemon.

Drizzle the icing over the top of your loaf.

Serve and enjoy!

lemon and blueberry loaf cake on a purple plate.

cookingwithmykids