Moist Lemon Blueberry Loaf With Sour Cream
“I made this loaf for a meeting; I received so many compliments! The loaf was moist, kept its shape when I precut slices and had a beautiful presentation” Diane
Moist, lemony and bursting with juicy blueberries, this lemon blueberry loaf is perfect for brunch, showers or a make-ahead treat with coffee and tea. It’s bright and packed with flavor without being heavy.
I first made this loaf to serve after a big Thai meal and wanted something lighter to finish.
We devoured most of the loaf, but I froze a few slices for later. A few days later, I warmed one in the microwave (too impatient to wait for defrosting) and discovered that a warmed-up lemon and blueberry loaf is even better – soft and fragrant!
The recipe below is inspired by versions from Ina Garten, Jo Cooks and Nagi from TinEats with a couple of minor tweaks.
What to expect
- No stand mixer or hand mixer needed. Just a bowl and a whisk.
- A moist, tender lemon blueberry loaf that slices cleanly.
- Bright lemon flavor balanced with juicy blueberries.
- Not low-calorie, but reasonable as desserts go and perfect with coffee or tea.
Ingredients – tailored to your taste
- Cake ingredients – We start with classic loaf ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, oil and vanilla. We add 3 more ingredients – sour cream (for extra moistness), lemon zest (for brightness), and fresh blueberries (for a juicy flavor contrast).
- Lemon syrup (optional) – a mix of lemon juice and a little sugar drizzled on the warm loaf adds extra moisture and a deeper lemon flavor.
- Lemon Glaze (optional): A simple glaze of icing sugar, lemon juice and vanilla adds a nice finish, but you can skip it if you like.
Substitutions
- Blueberries: Try blackberries or raspberries instead of blueberries. Or leave out the blueberries – but you will then have to call it lemon loaf 🙂
- Sour cream: Swap with Greek yogurt or plain lower-fat yogurt
Variations
- To make a lower-calorie loaf:
- Leave out the lemon syrup. Or alternatively, use the syrup and leave out the glaze.
- Use lower-fat sour cream or yogurt.
- Replace half the oil with applesauce (but note the texture of the loaf will be denser).
- Just eat half a slice 🙂
- Garnish the loaf with lemon zest if you like.
Step by step instructions
Tips
- To correctly measure flour in cups, scoop it into a measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. Don’t scoop directly from the bag, which can pack in too much flour and lead to a dense loaf.
- Don’t overmix: Stif just until combined. Overmixing will make the loaf dense.
- Toss the blueberries in flour before adding them to the batter. This will prevent them from all sinking to the bottom.
- Loaf pans and doneness: Glass loaf pans don’t conduct heat as well, so the loaf will take longer to bake than in a metal pan. Regardless of the pan type, insert a toothpick or cake tester in the loaf to check if it is done. If it comes out clean or with a few crumbs, your loaf is ready.
- Adjust the glaze consistency as needed: If too thick, add a bit more lemon juice or water. If too thin, add a bit more icing sugar.
- Warm it up: This lemon blueberry loaf is especially good warmed in the microwave for a few seconds.
Troubleshooting FAQs
A sunken center usually means the loaf is underbaked. Ensure you bake it until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, and avoid opening the oven door.
Overmixing the batter can cause a dense loaf. Mix just until the ingredients are combined.
Ensure your baking powder is fresh. Also, properly whisk the oil and sugar to incorporate enough air into the batter.
Yes, you can use frozen blueberries straight from the freezer (don’t thaw). Toss frozen blueberries in flour to prevent them from bleeding too much into the batter.
The outside of the loaf cooks at a faster rate than the inside, so the inside of the cake continues to cook and rise, cracking the top crust. You can try lowering the temperature of the oven next time (especially if using a glass loaf pan). Cracking is normal and doesn’t affect the texture.
Yes. This lemon blueberry loaf keeps well and can be made a day ahead. It also freezes nicely for longer storage.
Other fruit-based cakes you might like
- Super moist banana bread (also no equipment needed and one of our top 3 most popular recipes)
- Best banana cake with chocolate icing (my fave)
- Carrot and pineapple cake
- Berry cake (with frozen or fresh berries)
Please leave a 5-star rating ***** with a comment in the recipe card below if you like the recipe. Thank you so much!
Moist Lemon Blueberry Loaf
Video
Ingredients
For Loaf
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (Note 1)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream or plain or Greek yoghurt
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from 1 large lemon)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (or frozen), dusted in 1 tablespoon flour flour will prevent them from sinking to bottom of the pan
Lemon Syrup (optional)
- juice of 1 lemon mixed with 2-3 teaspoons sugar
Simple Lemon Glaze (optional)
- 1/2 cup icing sugar also called confectioners sugar or powdered sugar
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- dash of pure vanilla extract
- Optional Garnish: Lemon zest to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- GET ORGANIZED: Preheat oven temperature to 350F/176.7C. Spray an 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inch loaf pan (21 x 11 x 6 cm) with cooking spray (or grease with butter) and dust with flour. Zest one large lemon and set aside (and a zest a second lemon to sprinkle on the finished loaf if you like).
- COMBINE DRY INGREDIENTS: (except sugar) Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in large mixing bowl.1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (Note 1), 2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- COMBINE WET INGREDIENTS AND SUGAR: In a medium separate bowl, whisk sour cream eggs, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla and oil until smooth.1 cup sour cream , 1 cup sugar, 3 large eggs, 1 tablespoon lemon zest , 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- COMBINE INGREDIENTS FROM BOTH BOWLS: Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and combine with whisk just until flour disappears. Don't overmix or the loaf will be dense. Gently fold in the blueberries dusted in flour with a spatula.
- BAKE: Pour batter into greased/floured prepared pan. Bake on middle rack for about 50-70 minutes. A glass loaf pan will take longer than metal. Since ovens vary, start checking at 50 minutes. If toothpick or tester inserted into center of loaf comes out clean, it's done. Cool cake for 10 minutes on rack, then remove cake from loaf pan and place it on rack, top facing up, over a pan or cutting board (something to catch any drips if you are add the lemon syrup).
- MAKE AND ADD LEMON SYRUP (OPTIONAL): For an even moister, more lemony loaf, poke holes in top of cake with tester or toothpick. Pour on lemon syrup to soak in. Let loaf cool completely on a wire rack.
- MAKE AND ADD GLAZE: Mix together icing sugar and fresh lemon juice in a small bowl. After the loaf cools, drizzle glaze over cake. Sprinkle with lemon zest if desired. Slice and serve.
Recipe Notes
- To measure flour: Scoop it into a measuring cup, then level if off with a knife. Don’t just dip the scoop into the flour as this packs it in too much.
- Variations
- Try blackberries or raspberries instead of blueberries.
- Leave out the blueberries
- To reduce calories in the loaf:
- The recipe has an option for a lemon syrup which adds extra moistness and lemon taste, but you can leave that step out if you want. Or alternatively, use the syrup and leave out the glaze.
- Substitute Greek yogurt or plain [lower fat] yogurt for the sour cream.
- Replace half the oil with applesauce (but the loaf will be a little denser)
- Just eat half a slice 🙂
- Store, Freeze: Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge. It also freezes well, well wrapped in plastic wrap, tin foil or a ziplock bag, for up to 3 months. Microwave for a few seconds to defrost/warm it up (delish)
Nutrition
Lemon Blueberry loaf, originally published in 2018, has been updated for our readers.
Love lemon blueberry bread! ! I used 1/2 cup of granulated stevia & 1/2 cup of sugar to lower sugar content and it turned out great! Also used lemon juice instead of vanilla
I happy it worked so well with the partial stevia substitute. That might be helpful to other readers. Thanks for sharing Jeanne.
I just made this yesterday for a potluck brunch I was attending. Everyone loved it! I made mine with gluten free flour and non fat Greek yogurt, no soak did the glaze. I will make again!
Thrilled to hear it was a hit! Thanks for sharing your method Patty 🙂
I lightly floured the blueberries as instructed in order to keep them from settling at the bottom but they still did which was somewhat disappointing. The bread was delicious but the look of it fell short.
Hi Mary Ann. Glad to hear you found the loaf delicious, but sorry to hear your berries sank to the bottom even after flouring them. A couple of possible reasons are: the berries were on the larger heavier side and very juicy, or you didn’t pat them dry before flouring. Small to medium and slighter firmer berries might work better. I hope you’ll try again with better success. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I totally love this recipe, I did add lemon juice instead
Of Vanilla. Give the recipe a ten
Thank you Dianne! Much appreciated!
Looking foward to trying this recipe. Would the lemon syrup make the loaf sticky?
Hi Susan, The lemon syrup doesn’t the loaf sticky as it sinks into the loaf, making it moister and more lemony. I hope that helps.
This is my go to blueberry loaf recipe. Flavour and texture is perfect every time.
Thanks for the shout out Donna!
If I wanted to make in mini loaf pans – how would I adjust the cooking time and/or temp?
You can keep the temperature the same at 350F/176C. If your pans are 5.75 x 3 inches, start checking at around 22-28 minutes. If using even smaller pans, check at 18-20 minutes. Bake times can vary slightly, so you will have to keep an eye on them. Let us know how they work out!
Really dumb question..
When poking holes in loaf for the lemon syrup, did you use the end of a wooden spoon, a toothpick, a skewer??
No worries – you just missed it! Use a cake tester or toothpick. The end of a wooden spoon would be a bit too thick 🙂
Absolutely delicious!! I used Greek yogurt. Yum!
Perfect ! Used 2% Greek yoghurt and a small applesauce along with 1/2 cup oil as I had doubled the recipe. Also added 2 tbsp lemon juice as I like it super lemony.