Serve this lemon and blueberry cake for afternoon tea or your next special celebration and we’re certain everyone will love it.
This twist on a simple lemon drizzle cake tastes as good as it looks. The blueberries add a gorgeous deep purple colour to the sponge and bring additional moisture for a wonderful overall cake texture. Decorate with edible flowers or a scattering of sliced blueberries if you prefer.
Ingredients
- 125g butter
- 125g caster sugar
- 3 medium free-range eggs
- 175g self-raising flour, plus an extra 1tbsp for the blueberries
- 1tbsp extra
- zest of 1 lemon
- 100g blueberries
For the syrup:
- 50g caster sugar
- 4tbsp lemon juice
For the icing:
- 125g icing sugar
- 1tsp blueberry conserve
- lemon juice, optional
- sugared edible flowers (or blueberries), to decorate
WEIGHT CONVERTER
Method
- Heat oven to 170C (150C fan, Gas 3). Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, sugar, eggs, flour and zest for 3-4 minutes until light. Toss the blueberries in the extra 1tbsp flour, then fold in. Spoon into the tin, smooth the surface and bake, covered with a sheet of foil, for 40 minutes. Uncover and cook for a further 10 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch.
- Meanwhile, gently heat the sugar and lemon juice until dissolved, bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Spoon the syrup over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, and leave to cool for 30 minutes. Remove from the tin and leave to cool completely.
- Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, then press the conserve through the sieve, scraping it off the underside. Stir to combine, adding a little water (or lemon juice), a few drops at a time, until you have a just-runny consistency. Drizzle over the cake, leave to set for a few mins and decorate with flowers.
Top tips for making lemon and blueberry cake
For more ideas on how to decorate your lemon and blueberry cake, continue reading below. We also have tips for boosting the flavour of the cake and how to freeze it.
Can I freeze a blueberry cake?
Yes you can freeze this cake whole or in slices without the icing top. The iced cake will keep for a couple of days if stored in an airtight container.
How to decorate a cake with blueberries?
Scatter blueberries on top of the cake while the icing is still wet to help them stick. Food writer Jessica Ransom says: ‘It also looks attractive if you slice some of the blueberries in half or into thin slices. The variety of shapes and sizes will look very pretty on your cake. You could brush the berries with a little honey or warmed apricot jam if you want them to have a shiny glaze.’
How do you make edible sugar flowers?
To ‘frost’ edible flowers, brush gently in egg white, then dip into caster sugar and leave to dry. We’ve just used fresh violas but you could use other edible flowers if you like.
We decorate the cake with edible flowers and think it gives a wonderful, professional finish. While fresh ones are ideal, we think these dried ones from SousChef are another fantastic option and any leftovers can be used for future bakes.
Our lemon and peach cake is another wonderful fruity bake. If you want a new summer dessert then you should try our lemon ice cream cake recipe. This lemon cake with olive oil makes a sophisticated choice and can be served with yogurt or clotted cream for something more indulgent.
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