Guest Recipe: Amy's Lemon & Blueberry Loaf Cake

When life gives you lemons, make a lemon and blueberry loaf cake! It’s all things sweet, tangy, and nice - the perfect pick-me-up when you’re in need of some home-comfort baking.

This lemon loaf cake is one for sharing, and it is the ideal balance of fruit and sugar. As much as it gives summer vibes, its indulgent, spongey texture is just what you need in the colder months.

Enjoy whilst you pop your feet up, put your favourite baking show on, and get out of the special pot of tea. This is a treat to be enjoyed on a simple Sunday, but it’s also one your family will love on a special occasion, too.

• Prep Time: 20 min
• Cook Time: 50 min
• Total Time: 70 min

Serves: 8-10 slices

Category: Dessert,Cakes

Ingredients

For the loaf cake
• 120ml semi-skimmed milk
• 1 lemon, zested
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 260g all-purpose flour and a little extra to coat the blueberries
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 200g blueberries
• 115g unsalted butter
• 250g granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs

For the drizzle

• 90g icing sugar
• ¼ tsp lemon zest
• 1½ tbsp fresh lemon juice

Method

For the loaf cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C and grease a loaf tin with butter, ready for when your cake goes in later!
2. Grab a small mixing bowl and combine the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice. You can use a whisk or a spoon to do this. Don’t worry about the mixture curdling, this is the result you want to see! Then, leave the mixture to rest for around 10 minutes.
3. Next, use a medium-sized mixing bowl and mix 260g of flour, baking powder, and salt. At the same time, use another small bowl and pop your blueberries in there with the remaining 1g of flour. Leave them both to the side for a moment.
4. Then, use a medium-sized mixing bowl or stand mixer to cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Scrape down the sides and continue mixing to keep your ingredients together.
5. After the butter and sugar have been mixed, incorporate a third of the flour mixture and half of the milk mixture. Then add in the rest of the milk mixture before adding the remainder of the flour mixture.
6.  Toss in the blueberries and fold into the mixture until all is combined.
7.  Spoon the mixture into the pre-prepared loaf tin.
8. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean! Then you know it’s ready.
9. Leave the cake to cool for 10 minutes whilst you get ready to make your drizzle!

For the drizzle:

1. Grab a small bowl and mix the icing sugar, lemon zest, as well as lemon juice. Feel free to get generous with the icing sugar and lemon juice to thicken up the drizzle to your liking (it should look thick and luxurious like syrup or honey).
2. Cover the cake with the drizzle, letting it drip all down the sides! I’d recommend letting the drizzle soak in and set for around 10 minutes before serving!

This recipe is highly adaptable. If you’re after a tempting vegan recipe, you could always swap out the eggs for silken tofu and change the milk for a soy or similar alternative.

Have a play with the ingredients, too. You could always swap out the lemon for orange or blueberries for raspberries depending on the season or what you have left in the fridge.

If you’re also looking for marginally healthier alternatives, you could also replace the granulated sugar with honey. 

Amy is a Lifestyle Blogger, Copywriter, and Social Media Community Manager. You can check out her Instagram for dreamy lifestyle shots, aesthetic cocktails, and an iced coffee or two.