This easy blueberry cake recipe is stunning: it’s fluffy, lightly sweet, and scented with lemon. Perfect for dessert or brunch!
Growing up, my mom this “magic” blueberry cobbler dessert in the summer. It became a famous family recipe that she makes to this day. My sister and I once even made it with mountain blueberries we had picked in the Pacific Northwest. (Pretty ideal!) So when I say we have a new blueberry dessert to compete with the cobbler: it’s major. Meet this blueberry cake! It’s fluffy, just sweet enough, and with a hint of lemon. It’s light and fresh, perfect for a light summer dessert or midday brunch. Keep reading for the recipe!
Why make this blueberry cake?
There are lots of variations on blueberry cake! What’s great about this one? This blueberry cake:
- Is fluffy, moist, and scented with lemon. This one is a round cake, fluffy and moist, topped with a layer of purple-blue ripe blueberries. It’s lightly sweet and has a hint of lemon.
- Has a healthy spin. This blueberry cake also has a bit of a healthy spin! It’s made with olive oil, Greek yogurt and applesauce instead of rich butter.
- Works for both brunch and dessert. This cake tastes light and fresh instead of indulgent. So it works as a blueberry breakfast cake or at a baby shower or bridal shower brunch. Or, serve it for dessert topped with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!
How to make blueberry cake
How to make blueberry cake? This is a one-bowl cake recipe that’s seriously easy to whip up! Here are the basic steps (or scroll down to the recipe):
- Mix the dries: Mix the dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar and spices.
- Mix the wets: Mix together an egg, olive oil, Greek yogurt, and applesauce, then add them to the dries. The applesauce helps to add moisture and substitutes in for a bit of the fat that would be present in a standard cake.
- Top with blueberries: Once you’ve mixed up the dough, you’ll pour it into a prepared pan and spread a layer of fresh blueberries on top. They will settle into the cake and provide a beautiful topping.
- Bake! Bake 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown. That’s it!
Got leftover applesauce? Make Easy Applesauce Cake.
What pan to use?
There are a few options for pans here! Here’s what we’d recommend:
- Springform pan (best option): If you have a springform pan, it’s great to use for this blueberry cake because you can remove the sides after baking and don’t have to bother getting it out of the pan.
- Round cake pan: Or, you can use a round cake pan with parchment paper instead. After baking and cooling, remove the cake from the pan and place it blueberry-side up on a platter. Or if you’re lazy like us, serve it right from the pan!
How to serve this blueberry cake
This blueberry cake with lemon works for so many different occasions! It tastes fresh and light, and would be perfect for a brunch or as a breakfast cake. It also works perfectly as a dessert, with or without a topping. If you’d like to make it more decadent, here are a few toppings for this blueberry cake that would work well:
- Vanilla ice cream: A natural choice
- Homemade whipped cream: Try our classic whipped cream, tangy yogurt whipped cream, vegan coconut whipped cream, or bourbon infused whipped cream
- Blueberry glaze: Wouldn’t this cake look lovely with a purple glaze like this blueberry glaze?
- Lemon glaze: Bring out the lemon more with a lemon icing glaze! Here’s an easy lemon glaze.
Want to freeze blueberries?
Got a load of berries and want to freeze them? When we go blueberry picking, we usually bring home a huge haul and can’t use them all at once. Or, are you wondering if you can use frozen berries in a baking recipe? (We wouldn’t recommend them here since they might bleed into the batter!) Head to our resource: How to Freeze Blueberries.
More blueberry recipes
This blueberry cake is so easy to make at home! Here are a few more of our favorite easy blueberry recipes:
- Try simple Blueberry Pie, Blueberry Bars, or fan favorite Blueberry Cobbler
- Mix up an appetizer of Blueberry Goat Cheese
- Start the day with Lemon Blueberry Pancakes, Blueberry Waffles, Blueberry Baked Oatmeal or Blueberry French Toast Casserole
- Make Blueberry Banana Muffins, or whip up Blueberry Sauce or Blueberry Compote
- Go for the Best Blueberry Smoothie or try Blueberry Cocktails
This blueberry cake recipe is…
Vegetarian.
Print
Easy Blueberry Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
This easy blueberry cake recipe is stunning: it’s fluffy, lightly sweet, and scented with lemon. Perfect for summer evenings or brunch!
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour, divided
- 2/3 cup firmly packed cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups blueberries
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Powdered sugar (optional), for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Butter an 8 or 9-inch springform pan or round cake pan, then dust it with flour. If using a cake pan, line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Place the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and use a fork to thoroughly mix the ingredients together.
- Use your hands to make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients. Into the hole, crack the egg and add the olive oil, yogurt, applesauce, vanilla, and lemon zest. Use a fork to mix the ingredients together until smooth and blended.
- In another bowl, mix the blueberries with the lemon juice and 1 teaspoon flour.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the blueberries in a single layer on the top (no need to press them down).
- Bake until the cake 35 to 40 minutes (ours took 37 minutes), until golden brown on top and a toothpick in the enter comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and leave on the counter to cool completely, 1 hour. If using a springform pan, remove the sides (if using a cake pan, you can leave in the pan or remove it). If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into pieces and serve. If desired, serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Blueberry cake, Lemon blueberry cake, Blueberry breakfast cake
Last updated: March 2020
I only have frozen blueberries. Would you suggest thawing them before adding them to the top of the cake?
Hi! We have not tried it, but I think keeping the blueberries frozen would be best!
Can you store room temp?
Any suggestions for making this vegan? Sounds delicious!
Can you use almond flour? Would it be equal amounts to the all-purpose flour?
Sorry, you can’t sub almond flour for this one!
This cake was moist, delicious, and easy to make. I subbed peach yogurt because that’s what I had and topped with a lemon glaze. fantastic!
Can I sub canola oil for the olive oil?
Yes!
Hi, thanks for responding about the canola oil. I made the cake yesterday using canola oil, whole wheat pastry flour and frozen blueberries. Since I didn’t have a lemon on hand, I just put the frozen blueberries on top, skipping the 1 tsp. of flour. I also love almond extract with anything blueberry, so I used 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 tsp. almond extract. I also used Splenda brown sugar baking blend. I rarely make desserts anymore, since my husband is diabetic, but the use of whole wheat pastry flour and the Splenda product plus the fruit made it a good choice for him. This was such a delicious cake. Thanks so much!
i added a little bit more sugar than what the recipe called for and i used to two egg whites rather than one egg because someone in my family cannot have yolks. this cake was so moist and tasty! definitely a fan favorite! will be making this again and again
Made this today with the lemon glaze, and it was a big hit with our guests! Tastes like summer!
★★★★★
Love to hear that! Thanks for making :)
It looks delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe.