Delicious lemon blueberry loaf with a hint of almond.
Sometimes things don’t turn out quite the way you plan, no matter how hard you try or what precautions you take. You can choose to view these things as failures, or focus on the positive aspects instead. The latter is not an easy thing to do if you’re a perfectionist.
I did not intend for the blueberries to sink like a ton of bricks *both* times I baked this loaf. As striking as that deep purple strip along the bottom is, the blueberries were supposed to be scattered perfectly throughout. I hesitated in posting this recipe at all because of that, but this loaf tastes so good that it just had to be shared.
My first attempt at this loaf truly was an epic fail. Not only did the blueberries sink, but the entire loaf did too. No joke, a huge crater right down the middle. Did you know that if you use too much baking powder/baking soda, it can cause your cake to sink?? Apparently. This is counterintuitive to me, since baking powder/soda are leavening agents that cause baked goods to rise. At any rate, trust me when I say that too much is not a good thing.
Thankfully, loaf #2 baked up perfectly, except for the damn blueberries. I coated the blueberries in flour (liberally), but this didn’t stop them from sinking (it usually does). I think if the batter was a bit thicker they would have been fine, but then the cake would have been more dense, and I didn’t want a super dense loaf.
I added almond flour to the batter which, to me, makes a huge difference. The almond flour I had was a bit coarse, so it added both flavor and texture to this loaf.
I love the texture of this Lemon Blueberry Almond Loaf and wouldn’t change a thing about the recipe. If you’re not keen on having blueberries on the bottom, you can easily omit them and have a delicious Lemon Almond Loaf instead. And the sweet/tart lemon glaze on the top compliments this loaf perfectly.
Lemon Blueberry Almond Loaf
Ingredients
Loaf
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 cup blueberries tossed in 1 Tbsp flour
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 5 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F, grease and flour a 9″x5″ loaf pan (I use cake release).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, almond flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- Rinse blueberries and toss in a bowl with 1 Tbsp flour until coated. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar on med-high in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Approx 5mins.
- Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition.
- Turn speed to low and alternate adding flour and sour cream (2 additions of flour, 1 of sour cream).
- Add lemon juice, zest, and vanilla. Mix until just combined.
- Gently fold in blueberries with a spatula.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly with spatula.
- Bake for 50mins or until cake tester comes out mostly clean.
- Cool in pan on wire rack for 10mins, turn out and cool completely on wire rack.
Glaze
- In a large measuring cup, combine icing sugar and lemon juice. Mix until smooth (I use a fork to do this).
- Drizzle over cooled loaf.
Cynthia Marinelli says
This recipe is perfect as is! I made it and brought it work for the girls and they loved it. I used frozen blueberries, coated in flour, and they did not sink. The loaf looked beautiful when cut open. Thank you for another great recipe ❤️
Rosana says
Another delicious recipe! I used 1/2 cup of dried 🫐 to avoid the sinking problem, not a complete success, some of them sank …. I will try next time with fresh blueberries. I added the lemon 🍋 zest during the butter cream process to enhance the lemon flavor , a tip from Tessa Huff. It is a delicious and moist cake. It has the right amount of sweetness. My husband enjoyed it with vanilla ice cream. I didn’t prepare the glaze, sorry not a fun of them. THANK YOU OLIVIA!
Olivia says
Hi Rosana! So happy to hear you loved it 🙂 Thank you!
Peggy says
Thank you for this recipe. I made this tonight for a potluck dinner dessert. It was a big hit!! The recipe was easy to follow and went together quickly. Knowing that the blueberries would sink to the bottom while baking, when I removed the cake from the pan, I inverted the pan and released it onto the serving plate so that the bottom was on top. Having the icing on top of the blueberries worked really well. This is a perfect summer dessert and the flavors are wonderful. I also loved the texture of the cake. I will definitely be making this again!
Olivia says
Hi Peggy! So happy everyone loved this one, and that you found it easy to make 🙂 Thanks for the feedback!
audrey says
Is there a gluten free version of this???
Olivia says
Hi Audrey! I don’t have one myself, but you could sub in a GF flour blend for the flour.
The Speeding Turtle says
Thank you for this recipe! I made it with raspberries and it was so delicious.
Olivia says
So glad you liked it!! 🙂
Cakes says
This chef tosses in ….corn starch. I’ve never heard that trick before. Has anyone else ever tried this coating? I’ll be interested to learn of anyone’s results if they use cornstarch instead of AP flour.
Olivia says
Interesting! I will have to try that and see if it works better than flour!
crystal says
Can this be made dairy-free with df butter and sour cream?
Olivia says
Hi Crystal! I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why not!
Mary @ StrawmarySmith says
Omg my mom would LOVE this! I saw it on TasteSpotting and had to click and ended up back on your blog again – of course! Love love love lemon & blueberry together <3
Olivia says
Haha too funny! Welcome back! 😀 This loaf turned out super yummy, I hope your mom tries it!
Homemade & Yummy says
This sounds soooo freaking good!! I LOVE lemon anything….and blueberries are my fav of all the berries. Will be pinning and baking for sure!!
Olivia says
It’s SO good, you will love it Gloria!
Amanda | The Cinnamon Scrolls says
I wouldn’t worry too much about the berries — I’m sure it still tastes lovely! Funny enough, I had a similar cake-sinking experiment a few days ago. I was trying to make an upside-down cake and it looked good when I took it out of the oven, but as soon as I flipped it out of the skillet it began to sink. Aaaand kept on sinking as it cooled. Like, we’re talking crater proportions when it was finally done, haha! I’m so glad you decided to post this despite the sunken berries. It sounds delicious!
Olivia says
Crazy!! I haven’t attempted an upside-down cake yet, and now I’m not sure I want to! haha. I bet it still tasted delicious :).
suki says
I truely love it and i bookmarked it! I will surely make it someday 🙂
Olivia says
Thank you Suki! 😀
Lynn @ Fresh April Flours says
Solution: cut a slice in half, flip one half so the blueberries are at the top, and make a sandwich sans filling. BOOM. Beautiful!
Olivia says
Genius!! Haha <3
janet @ the taste space says
We all have recipes like these that don’t work out so well but at least your are still super pretty and tasty. 🙂 I had the same problem with a hand-churned ice cream once. I don’t think anything would have saved my chocolate chunks from sinking other than an ice cream machine.
Olivia says
Thanks Janet! 🙂
Jacquee | I Sugar Coat It! says
Sadly, I know all too well the adverse effects of too much baking powder/soda. 🙁 I’ve never had berries sink, but there are so many variables that might be at work, as I am sure you know. It looks great as it is and I’m sure it tastes amazing – there is almond flour and blueberries, after all!
Olivia says
It did taste amazing, and that’s what matters! 😀
Janice @ kitchen heals soul says
It sounds delightful! Baking with berries can be so frustrating, and I’m surprised that even though you coated them with flour, they still sank. I wonder if it’s an issue with the fact you used almond flour, therefore there’s less of a gluten-network to hold up the berries? I don’t know… it’s just a thought because I once made a GF berry cake where the berries were placed on top of the cake batter in the pan, and by the time I pulled the cake out of the oven, all the berries had disappeared to the bottom, but if I bake the same cake with regular AP flour, the berries don’t sink, and I guess that’s because the gluten network supports them.
After 2 attempts, I’d give up too! Sometimes, it’s just too frustrating and I’m sure, when you’ve gotten past this, you’ll revisit the cake recipe with new eyes, and see what to do next. For now, let’s all just enjoy the cake 😉
Olivia says
You may be right Janice. I was thinking it might have been the almond flour as well, interesting to hear about your results! The almond flour is so good in here I’d prefer to cut the blueberries than that!
More testing will ensue, eventually 🙂
Julia (@imagelicious) says
Oh my, what a beautiful cake! I love baking with ground almonds and I’m sure this cake is absolutely delicious. I bet it would be delicious with peaches too!
Olivia says
Thanks Julia! 🙂