Looking for a sweet-tart plant-based treat to brighten up your midweek?
Look no further than this deliciously Instagrammable Vegan Lemon Blueberry Cake recipe, complete with a crunchy crumb topping and gorgeous blueberry glaze!
It’s a summery spin-off of my popular vegan lemon pound cake
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📖 Recipe Overview
- Simple & Elegant. This simple lemon blueberry cake is easy enough for even a novice baker to tackle but tastes fancy enough for a tea party.
- Made With Basic Ingredients. Aside from berries, lemons, vegan yogurt, and non-dairy butter, all of the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe for lemon blueberry pound cake are probably already in your pantry.
- Light & Bright. This tender vegan lemon loaf cake is laced with juicy berries, topped with a zesty lemony crumble, and adorned with a periwinkle blueberry glaze. It’s like a little slice of sunshine on your plate!
If easy, berry-filled vegan desserts are your love language, you should definitely check out my lemon blueberry cookies, strawberry crumble bars, and strawberry prosecco trifle recipes next!
🧾 Ingredients Needed
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this bright and beautiful lemon blueberry pound cake:
Ingredient Notes
When you are gathering your ingredients for this lemon blueberry pound cake recipe, keep the following things in mind:
- Fresh Blueberries - I prefer using fresh berries here since they are less likely to leave blue streaks through the cake. That said, if you can’t find any good fresh ones, feel free to swap in frozen blueberries instead — no need to defrost them first.
- Lemons - You’ll definitely want to use fresh here so you can get the double citrus whammy of zest and juice. Make sure to wash and dry them first before zesting to remove any dirt, pesticides, and bacteria.
- Vanilla Bean Paste - While you’re welcome to swap in vanilla extract instead, I find that vanilla bean paste has a truer vanilla flavor, plus has the added benefit of those gorgeous black flecks.
- Olive Oil - While adding this aromatic oil to a cake might seem strange, it’s often used in Italian desserts to enhance fruity flavors. Feel free to swap in a light-flavored substitute like avocado or grapeseed oil instead.
- Powdered Sugar - This fluffy white sweetener is the only way to achieve a silky, grain-free glaze. If you’re fresh out, you can easily make your own using granulated sugar, cornstarch, or potato starch, and your trusty food processor.
🥣 How To Make Lemon Blueberry Cake Vegan
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
This easy, moist lemon blueberry cake with yogurt comes together in just a few simple steps:
Prep. Here are a few things to prepare before getting started into making your blueberry loaf.
- Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F).
- Lightly grease an 8" loaf tin and place a sling of parchment paper into it to help lift out the cake once baked - trust me, this will make your life so much easier!
- Add the soy milk and lemon juice to a small bowl, stir, and allow to sit for 10 minutes. This has a similar effect to tenderizing bakes as vegan buttermilk, but in this instance, we're using a higher ratio of acid to enhance the lemon flavor.
Step 1: Dust blueberries in flour. Simply toss the washed and dried berries in some all-purpose flour and set aside until ready to use.
Step 2: Make lemon streusel topping. Start by rubbing the lemon zest into brown sugar, then rub in flour and melted vegan butter until it resembles a crumble consistency.
Step 3: Rub lemon zest into the sugar. I always recommend this step when making lemon desserts as the sugar infuses with the citrus oils, making the cake more fragrant.
Step 4: Make vegan lemon yogurt cake batter. Mix in the wet ingredients, starting with the melted butter, followed by olive oil, vanilla, non-dairy yogurt, and your vegan buttermilk mixture.
Step 5: Add the berries. Drop the prepared blueberries into the lemon cake batter.
Step 6: Gently fold berries into batter. Be careful not to overmix the batter as you will risk overdeveloping the gluten, giving you a dense, gummy cake!
Step 7: Assemble & bake. Transfer the lemon blueberry cake batter to your prepared loaf pan. Carefully smooth out the top with the back of the spoon. Next, crumble the lemon streusel topping over the top of the cake in an even layer and bake.
Step 8: Cool & glaze. Let the cake cool completely and prepare the blueberry glaze. Start by blitzing the berries in a food processor. Next, pass them through a sieve to remove any unwanted pieces of skin. Then whisk in the confectioner's sugar and drizzle over the cake.
🫐 Optional Variations
- Swap Your Berries - If you can't find tasty seasonal blueberries, you can swap them for another variety. Raspberries or blackberries will make a delicious loaf too!
- Use Almond Extract - A splash of natural almond extract will help bring out the natural flavor of the blueberries as well as adding a slightly nutty undertone.
- Switch Your Crumble Flavor - Instead of lemon zest, you can add a half teaspoon of cinnamon, ground cardamom, or rub in the seeds from a freshly scraped vanilla pod.
- Add Nuts - Add some chopped pecans or walnuts to the streusel topping. In this case, keep an eye on the top of your lemon blueberry bread as it bakes. If it appears to be browning more than desired, cover the loaf in foil at the 30-minute mark.
📝 Recipe Tips
Use only the bright yellow part of the zest. Once you get down into the white pith, the flavor turns bitter.
To get the most juice from your lemons, give them a firm roll on the countertop for 10-15 seconds before slicing them open.
Invest in a kitchen scale. Not only will it give you the most precise measurements (and therefore the most repeatable results), but it’ll also cut down on needing to wash as many measuring cups and spoons.
Don’t overmix the batter, or you’ll risk a tough, dense cake.
Let the vegan lemon blueberry bread cool completely before transferring it into a storage container. This will help prevent any condensation from forming and causing the cake to become soggy.
💬 FAQs
Coating the blueberries in flour before adding them to the batter gives them a little extra “grip” and helps them stay suspended.
You can also reserve a few to stud the top of the batter before adding the crumble topping.
Nope! It should keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days.
However, if you’d like to extend the shelf life of your lemon blueberry yogurt cake, you can pop that container in the fridge where it’ll keep for 5-6 days.
Absolutely! After cooling, wrap it well in plastic, then transfer it to a zip-top bag or freezer-safe container.
It should keep well for up to a month. When you’re ready to serve, simply allow it to defrost at room temperature for a few hours.
🍋 More Vegan Loaf Cakes
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ★★★★★ rating in the recipe card below and consider leaving a comment as well, thanks!
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Description
Equipment
Ingredients
Lemon Crumble Topping
- 12 g (3 tsp) brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest , freshly grated
- 20 g (10 tsp) flour
- 15 g (1 tbsp) vegan butter, melted
Lemon Blueberry Cake
- 180 g (1 ¼ cups) fresh blueberries, washed and dried,
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour, (plain flour)
- 118 ml (0.5 cups) soy milk
- 30 ml (2 tbsp) lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest, freshly grated
- 200 g (1 cups) granulated sugar, use organic if in the US
- 75 g (0.33 cups) vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil, or light-tasting oil such as rapeseed or sunflower
- 140 g (0.57 cups) vegan Greek-style yogurt or Skyr, or plain soy or coconut yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or a scraped out vanilla pod, or 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 240 g (1 ½ cups + 3 tbsp) all-purpose flour, (plain flour)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Blueberry Glaze (Optional)
- 40 g (¼ cup) fresh blueberries, washed and dried
- 120 g (1 cup) powdered sugar , (icing sugar)
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). Lightly grease an 8" loaf tin and place a sling of parchment paper into it to help lift out the cake once baked.
- To make the vegan "buttermilk" add the soy milk and lemon juice to a small bowl, stir and allow to sit for 10 minutes.118 ml soy milk, 30 ml lemon juice
- Make the crumble topping: Rub one tablespoon of lemon zest into the brown sugar using your fingertips until fragrant. Rub in the flour, and then the melted butter until it resembles a crumb consistency. Set aside.12 g brown sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 20 g flour, 15 g vegan butter
- Coat the blueberries: Add the blueberries to a bowl and toss them in one tsp of flour and set aside.180 g fresh blueberries, 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
- Flavor the sugar: Add the sugar and lemon zest to a large mixing bowl and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar.2 tablespoons lemon zest, 200 g granulated sugar
- Add wet ingredients: Add the melted butter and whisk to combine. Add in the olive oil, yogurt, and vanilla, and whisk for a minute until everything is combined. Then add the vegan buttermilk mixture, and whisk again.75 g vegan butter, 60 ml olive oil, 140 g vegan Greek-style yogurt or Skyr, ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
- Add dry ingredients: Add the sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl with the wet ingredients and fold with a spatula until just combined and there aren't any visible pockets of flour - be careful not to overmix the batter.
- Fold in the blueberries: Carefully fold the flour-coated blueberries into the cake batter.
- Bake: Transfer the cake batter to the prepared loaf pan. Top with the crumble, making sure to evenly coat the surface of the cake.Bake for 45-50 mins. Check the cake is ready by inserting a knife or toothpick into it, which should come out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring it to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Make the glaze: Add the blueberries to a food processor or use a potato masher to mash them up. Pass the mixture through a sieve into a small bowl to extract the juice and remove any bits of blueberry skin. Whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth.
- Once the cake has cooled, place a sheet of parchment paper under the cooling rack to catch any icing. Drizzle the blueberry glaze on top of the cake.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5-6 days. You can also freeze this cake in an airtight container and defrost it a couple of hours before serving.
Notes
- Use only the bright yellow part of the zest. Once you get down into the white pith, the flavor turns bitter.
- To get the most juice from your lemons, give them a firm roll on the countertop for 10-15 seconds before slicing them open.
- Swap Your Berries - Raspberries or blackberries will make a delicious loaf too!
- Use Almond Extract - A splash of natural almond extract will help bring out the natural flavor of the blueberries.
- Switch Your Crumble Flavor - Instead of lemon zest, you can add a half teaspoon of cinnamon, or ground cardamom, or rub in the seeds from a freshly scraped vanilla pod.
- Add Nuts - Add some chopped pecans or walnuts to the streusel topping. Keep an eye on the top of your loaf as it bakes. If it appears to be browning more than desired, cover the loaf in foil at the 30-minute mark.
Nutrition
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