Zesty & Moist Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake: A Perfect Recipe for Every Occasion
Indulge in a delightful slice of pure sunshine with this exquisite Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake! This recipe elevates a classic buttery cake to new heights, infusing it with an abundance of bright, tangy lemon flavor and a joyful burst of juicy blueberries in every single bite. Designed to be incredibly moist and tender, this stunning bundt cake is perfectly crowned with a delicate, sugary vanilla glaze that adds just the right touch of sweetness without overwhelming the vibrant citrus and berry notes. It’s truly a cake that promises a luxurious experience for your taste buds, making it ideal for everything from a festive brunch to an elegant dessert or a comforting afternoon treat.
Do you find yourself with an abundance of fresh, ripe blueberries, or perhaps a stash of frozen ones you’re eager to transform into something spectacular? Look no further! This Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake is not only exceptionally flavorful but also surprisingly simple to prepare. It calls for common baking ingredients, readily available in most pantries, perfectly complemented by a generous amount of zesty lemon and sweet-tart, juicy blueberries. The result is a cake that tastes complex and gourmet, yet is entirely achievable for bakers of all skill levels.
As a trained pastry chef, I’ve had the pleasure of creating numerous varieties of bundt cakes throughout my career. Among them, this Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake stands out as the quintessential expression for true lemon aficionados. Its vibrant flavor profile makes it an absolute delight to enjoy. Imagine starting your morning with a slice alongside a steaming cup of coffee or a soothing tea, or treating yourself to this sweet perfection during a relaxing late afternoon break. It’s a versatile dessert that brings joy to any moment.
What truly sets this moist Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake apart is its incredible texture – wonderfully fluffy yet supremely moist. Much like my popular lemon blueberry cupcakes, this bundt cake is generously studded with fresh blueberries and fragrant lemon zest, ensuring a burst of flavor in every bite. After baking to golden perfection, it’s finished with an effortlessly prepared sweet glaze, then often garnished with extra fresh blueberries and delicate lemon zest. The harmonious combination of colors and flavors not only tastes amazing but also makes for an incredibly beautiful presentation, making it a showstopper at any gathering.
If your heart truly sings for the glorious pairing of lemon and blueberry, then you simply must try these irresistible lemon blueberry scones. And while you’re exploring delightful citrus-infused treats on our site, don’t miss out on this fantastic lemon pudding bundt cake – it’s consistently one of my highest-rated and most beloved recipes! For those who love this particular bundt cake but fancy a different berry, our lemon raspberry bundt cake offers the same wonderful base with the tart sweetness of raspberries.
Looking to explore beyond lemon? You can also whip up this refreshing orange bundt cake for a different kind of citrus burst. Or, for a unique lemon-lime twist, try this classic 7 Up cake, and feel free to toss in some blueberries for an extra layer of fruity goodness and fun!
Why You’ll Love Baking This Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
There are countless reasons why this Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake recipe should become a staple in your baking repertoire. From its straightforward preparation to its irresistible flavors, this cake offers everything a home baker could wish for:
- Effortless Baking, Stunning Results: This is a wonderfully low-fuss bundt cake with glaze recipe, making it absolutely perfect for baking beginners or seasoned pros looking for a reliable, impressive dessert. You don’t need fancy techniques to achieve bakery-quality results.
- Pantry-Friendly Ingredients: The ingredient list is refreshingly simple. Most items are common baking staples you likely already have in your kitchen, meaning you can often decide to bake on a whim!
- A Match Made in Heaven: The pairing of bright, tangy lemon with sweet, juicy blueberries is truly heavenly. It creates a perfect balance of tart and fruity flavors that are particularly delightful during the warmer summer months but also bring a ray of sunshine to any special occasion, year-round.
- Fresh or Frozen, Always Delicious: Whether blueberries are in peak season or not, you can enjoy this cake anytime! Fresh blueberries offer a vibrant pop, but frozen blueberries work with the same fantastic success. Just a quick rinse and pat dry, and they’re ready to go.
- Versatile Topping Options: While the simple sugary glaze is pure bliss and beautifully complements the cake’s flavors, feel free to get creative! A dusting of powdered sugar offers an elegant, minimalist touch, while a rich, fluffy cream cheese frosting or even a dollop of whipped cream can transform it into an even more decadent treat.
- Impressive Presentation: Bundt cakes inherently possess a beautiful, intricate shape that makes them look sophisticated with minimal effort. This cake is guaranteed to impress your guests without requiring hours of decorating.
Essential Ingredients for Your Moist Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
Each ingredient in this recipe plays a crucial role in creating the ultimate moist and flavorful Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake. Understanding their purpose will help you achieve the best possible results.
- Unsalted Butter: Softened butter is absolutely key for creating an extra rich, tender, and fine-crumbed cake. Creaming butter incorporates air, which contributes to the cake’s light and fluffy texture. If your butter isn’t soft enough, learn how to soften butter quickly for optimal results.
- Lemon Zest & Granulated Sugar: This dynamic duo is where the magic begins for intense lemon flavor. By mixing fresh lemon zest directly with the sugar before creaming it with butter, you help release the essential citrusy oils and potent aromas from the zest, infusing the sugar (and subsequently the cake) with bold, unmistakable lemon goodness. This technique ensures maximum flavor extraction.
- Vegetable Oil & Large Eggs: This essential pair of wet ingredients plays a significant role in enhancing the cake’s moisture and establishing its structure and stability. The vegetable oil contributes a velvety tenderness, while the eggs bind the ingredients and add richness. For the best results, ensure your eggs are at room temperature. Cold eggs can cause the batter to curdle and affect the final texture, leading to a less evenly baked cake.
- All-Purpose Flour: The foundational element, all-purpose flour provides the necessary structure, holding all the ingredients together to form a sturdy yet tender, cohesive cake crumb.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: These are your crucial leavening agents. They work concurrently, reacting with the acidic buttermilk and other ingredients to produce carbon dioxide bubbles. This reaction causes the batter to expand and rise beautifully, transforming into a wonderfully soft and fluffy cake.
- Salt: A small but mighty ingredient, salt doesn’t just enhance the overall flavor by balancing sweetness; it also contributes to the cake’s structural integrity and aids in the leavening process, ensuring a well-risen and delicious result.
- Lemon Extract: For an unmistakable, intense burst of bright, tart citrusy flavor, a touch of lemon extract is added. It amplifies the natural lemon zest, ensuring the lemon notes truly shine through the cake.
- Buttermilk: The secret to exceptional tenderness and a delightful tang! The acidity in buttermilk reacts with the baking soda, creating a super moist, delicate crumb and a subtly tangy flavor that perfectly complements the lemon and blueberries. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can easily make a substitute at home.
- Fresh or Frozen Blueberries: Both options work wonderfully! While fresh blueberries offer a slightly firmer texture and vibrant appearance, frozen blueberries are a fantastic substitute, especially when fresh ones are out of season. If using frozen, a quick rinse with cold water will help remove excess ice crystals and prevent them from bleeding too much color into the batter. Always pat them thoroughly dry before gently folding them into the batter.
- Simple Sugar Glaze: For a classic finish, a simple mixture of confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar) and milk creates a light, sweet drizzle. Alternatively, for an even simpler approach, a delicate dusting of powdered sugar over the cooled cake is always elegant. See below for more elevated frosting and topping ideas if you desire a different flourish.
Yield
The exact yield of this generously sized Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake can vary slightly depending on how thinly or thickly you slice it. However, this recipe is designed to comfortably serve up to 15 people, making it an excellent choice for family gatherings, potlucks, or entertaining guests. Each slice offers a satisfying portion, packed with flavor.
How to Bake Your Perfect Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake: Step-by-Step Instructions
Creating this delicious Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake is a straightforward and rewarding process. Follow these detailed steps to ensure a beautifully baked, incredibly moist, and flavorful cake every time.
- 1. Prepare for Baking: First, ensure your oven is preheated to 350°F (175°C). Then, prepare your bundt pan. It’s crucial to spray a 10-cup bundt pan very generously with baking spray (the kind with flour in it works best, or you can butter and flour the pan thoroughly yourself). A well-greased pan is the secret to getting a bundt cake out cleanly. For more detailed guidance, learn how to bake and easily remove a bundt cake from its pan.
- 2. Infuse the Sugar with Lemon: In a separate, small bowl, zest your lemon directly over the granulated sugar. This technique helps capture all the flavorful oils released from the zest, ensuring they infuse directly into the sugar rather than being lost on a cutting board. Mix the lemon zest thoroughly with the sugar using a spoon or your fingers until the sugar is wonderfully fragrant and “lemony.” This step is key for a robust lemon flavor in your cake.
- 3. Cream Butter and Lemon Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, using either a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened unsalted butter on medium speed for about 1 minute until it’s light and smooth. Next, add your prepared lemony sugar to the butter mixture. Continue to cream on medium speed for another minute, until the mixture is light, fluffy, and well combined.
- 4. Incorporate Wet Ingredients: Pour in the vegetable oil and mix again on medium speed until it’s fully incorporated into the butter and sugar mixture. Then, add the large eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly on medium speed after each addition until just combined. This ensures proper emulsification and a smooth batter.
- 5. Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Mixing these dry ingredients separately ensures they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- 6. Prepare Buttermilk with Lemon Extract: In a liquid measuring cup, combine the buttermilk and the lemon extract. Give it a quick stir to ensure the extract is evenly distributed.
- 7. Mix the Bundt Cake Batter: Now, you’ll alternate adding the dry ingredients mixture and the buttermilk mixture to your wet ingredients. Begin by adding about one-third of the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined. Follow with about one-third of the buttermilk mixture, mixing until incorporated. Repeat this process, adding the dry and wet ingredients in thirds, always starting and ending with the dry ingredients. This method helps prevent overmixing and ensures a tender cake.
- 8. Gently Fold in Blueberries: In a small bowl, lightly coat your fresh or dried blueberries with about 1 teaspoon of the reserved flour. This simple trick helps prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the cake during baking. Gently fold the floured blueberries into the batter by hand using a spatula, being careful not to smash the delicate berries.
- 9. Bake and Cool: Pour the finished batter evenly into your generously prepared bundt cake pan. Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes, or until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, and the edges of the cake begin to pull away slightly from the sides of the pan. Once baked, let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes. This allows the cake to firm up slightly before you invert it. After this initial cooling, invert the cake onto the wire rack to finish cooling completely before decorating.
- 10. Decorate and Serve: Once the lemon blueberry bundt cake is entirely cool, it’s time to decorate! For a simple yet elegant aesthetic, you can dust powdered sugar generously over the top. Alternatively, prepare a quick glaze by mixing confectioners’ sugar and milk until smooth, then drizzle it over the cooled cake. Garnish with additional fresh blueberries and lemon zest for an extra touch of beauty and flavor. Slice and enjoy your delightful creation!
Expert Baking Tips for Bundt Cake Success
To ensure your Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake turns out perfectly moist, flavorful, and beautifully presented every single time, keep these expert tips in mind:
- Maximize Lemon Flavor with Zest-to-Sugar Method: Always zest your lemon directly into the bowl containing your granulated sugar. This ingenious technique ensures that all the aromatic and flavorful oils from the lemon zest are immediately absorbed by the sugar, rather than evaporating on a cutting board or counter. This maximizes the bold, bright citrus flavor infused throughout your cake, giving it that irresistible lemon kick.
- Room Temperature Ingredients are Non-Negotiable: It cannot be stressed enough – for an evenly baked, tender, and perfectly emulsified cake batter, all your refrigerated ingredients (butter, eggs, buttermilk) MUST be at room temperature. Cold ingredients don’t combine smoothly with warmer ones, leading to a lumpy batter, inconsistent texture, and potentially a denser, less fluffy cake. Plan ahead and take them out of the fridge at least 30-60 minutes before you start baking.
- Prevent Blueberries from Sinking: The dreaded “sinking fruit” phenomenon can be easily avoided! Coating your fresh or frozen blueberries lightly in a small amount of flour before adding them to the batter creates a barrier that helps them suspend evenly throughout the cake as it bakes. This ensures you get juicy blueberries in every slice, rather than finding them all clustered at the bottom. This trick works wonderfully for any fresh fruit you incorporate into cakes or muffins.
- Choose the Right Bundt Pan: This recipe was meticulously developed and tested for perfection using a standard 10-inch, 10-cup bundt pan. Using a pan of a different size or shape will absolutely work, but be prepared to adjust your baking time accordingly. A smaller pan might require slightly longer baking, while a larger one could bake faster. Always rely on the toothpick test for doneness.
- Glaze or Dust: The Choice is Yours: While the simple, sweet glaze is highly recommended as it adds moisture and a lovely sheen, it’s entirely optional. If you prefer a less sweet or more elegant finish, a light and even sifting of powdered sugar over the cooled cake provides a sophisticated and beautiful presentation that allows the cake’s natural beauty to shine. Alternatively, consider a light lemon-cream cheese glaze for an extra decadent touch.
- Don’t Overmix the Batter: Once you start adding the flour, mix only until the ingredients are just combined. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour, which can lead to a tough and dry cake. A light hand will ensure a tender, moist crumb.
Serving Suggestions and Delicious Variations
This Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake is incredibly versatile and delightful on its own, but you can elevate the experience even further with a few serving suggestions or creative variations:
- Classic Pairing: Serve a slice with your morning coffee, afternoon tea, or as a light dessert after dinner.
- Summer Fresh: During warmer months, a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or a dollop of fresh whipped cream alongside a slice of this bundt cake is simply divine.
- Berry Bliss: Garnish with extra fresh blueberries and a sprinkle of lemon zest for an extra burst of freshness and visual appeal.
- Custom Glazes: While the simple milk glaze is lovely, consider a lemon cream cheese frosting for a richer dessert, or a slightly thicker lemon syrup glaze made with lemon juice for an extra tangy kick.
- Add Nuts: For a delightful textural contrast, gently fold in ½ cup of chopped almonds or pecans into the batter with the blueberries.
- Other Berries: Feel free to experiment with other berries! Raspberries or blackberries would also be wonderful in this recipe, or a mix of all three for a “triple berry” bundt. Adjust sweetness slightly if using tarter berries.
Proper Storage and Freezing for Lasting Freshness
To ensure your delicious Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake remains fresh and enjoyable for as long as possible, follow these storage and freezing guidelines:
Storing: The best way to keep your blueberry lemon bundt cake moist and flavorful is to store it in an airtight container at room temperature. It will remain wonderfully fresh for 3-4 days this way. Avoid storing it in the refrigerator once it’s baked, as the cold air can quickly dry out cakes, making them dense and crumbly. If it’s a very hot and humid environment, or if your glaze contains fresh cream cheese (which this simple glaze does not), refrigeration might be necessary, but typically room temperature is preferred for maximum moisture.
Freezing: If you plan to freeze your bundt cake, it’s best to do so before adding any glaze or powdered sugar. Allow the cake to cool completely after baking. Once cool, wrap the entire cake or individual slices securely in several layers of plastic wrap, then an additional layer of aluminum foil. This double-layer protection helps prevent freezer burn. The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy it, thaw the cake at room temperature (this usually takes several hours for a whole cake, or about an hour for individual slices). Once thawed, you can then proceed to add the glaze or any desired toppings.
This Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake recipe is more than just a dessert; it’s an experience. It’s a testament to how simple ingredients, combined with a little love and a few expert tips, can create something truly extraordinary. Whether you’re baking for a special occasion or simply to brighten an ordinary day, this moist, flavorful, and beautifully vibrant cake is sure to impress and delight everyone who takes a bite. Happy baking!
Moist Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake with Buttermilk
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Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, (227g)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 cups sugar, (400g)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 3 egg, s large
- 2 ¾ cup all purpose flour, 330g + 1 tsp separated
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lemon extract
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 cup blueberries, or 150g
For optional glaze:
- ½ cup confectioners sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 F and heavily spray a 10 cup bundt pan with baking spray.
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In the bowl of a hand or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the 1 cup butter for 1 minute.
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Zest the lemon into a bowl filled with the 2 cups of sugar and mix well to make the sugar all lemony.
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Add the sugar to the butter and cream on medium speed for 1 more minute.
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Add the ¼ cup vegetable oil and mix again until combined.
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Add the eggs one at a time on medium speed, mixing in between.
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In a separate bowl combine the 2 ¾ cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, and ½ tsp kosher salt and mix lightly.
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In a measuring cup add the buttermilk and lemon extract.
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Alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients by thirds starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
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Sprinkle the blueberries with the remaining 1 tsp flour and coat well.
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Add them to the batter mixing by hand so as not to break them up so much.
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Pour the batter into the prepared bundt cake pan.
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Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the cake is set and the sides are pulling away from the pan.
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Dust with powdered sugar or make the glaze
For the glaze:
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Combine the powdered sugar and milk and mix until smooth.
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Drizzle over cooled cake.
Notes
Zest the lemon on top of the sugar so you get all of the oils out of the lemon. When you zest a lemon on a plate you lose some of the oils!