Glazed Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake — Each bite is studded with juicy blueberries, and the sweet-tart lemon glaze takes this pound cake to the next level! Say goodbye to dry, flavorless pound cakes!
Easiest Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
Light pound cake. How’s that for an oxymoron? Since most of us can’t afford to eat a pound of butter and a pound of sugar, this is the next best thing. This is butter-less pound cake, for real.
Instead of butter, I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® Spread. It’s made with simple ingredients and has a fresh buttery taste. Not only that, I used their new Light version that’s sold in a tub.
As long as I was skipping the butter, I decided to go all out and really lighten up this easy lemon blueberry cake and the results are impressive. 100% taste, 0% artificial preservatives with 0g of trans fats per serving.
After baking, I drizzled lemon pound cake glaze over the top. There’s so little fat in the cake and the glaze provides wonderful moisture and boosts the overall lemon flavor. I enjoy taking glaze and spreading it onto the cut surface of the cake like spreading butter on toast. So good that way.
The blueberry-lemon combo is always a win. And so is pound cake that won’t break your caloric piggybank.
What’s in Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake?
To make the lemon blueberry loaf, you’ll need:
- Granulated sugar
- I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® Spread
- Eggs
- Lemon extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Lemon zest
- Blueberries
And for the lemon glaze for the pound cake, you’ll need:
- Lemon juice
- Confectioners’ sugar
How to Make Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
This homemade lemon blueberry pound cake recipe couldn’t be simpler to make! Here’s an overview of the recipe:
- Beat together the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® Spread and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs in one at a time, followed by the remaining wet ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir until just combined.
- Turn the batter into the pan, then sprinkle with blueberries.
- Bake the lemon blueberry cake until a toothpick inserted in the center crack comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Allow the lemon blueberry pound cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 15 minutes before turning it out to cool completely on a rack before glazing.
Should I Use Fresh or Frozen Blueberries?
This lemon blueberry loaf is packed with blueberries and I used frozen because at this time of year fresh are hard to come by, and super pricey. I almost always bake with frozen fruit because it saves money. I stash it in my freezer and break it out on a rainy day.
Can I Use Real Butter in This Recipe?
If you’d rather make a classic lemon blueberry loaf, you may substitute an equal amount of butter for the buttery spread. Bring the butter to room temperature before beginning the recipe.
Or, try making my Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat Lemon Loaf instead. It doesn’t contain blueberries, but I bet you could add them in!
Can the Lemon Extract Be Substituted?
No, the lemon extract is an essential ingredient and cannot be omitted or substituted. Lemon oil isn’t a good substitute, nor is lemon juice (which would make the batter more acidic and alter the texture).
How to Store Pound Cake
The pound cake will keep airtight at room temp for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 6 months (don’t glaze it until you plan to serve it if you’re going to freeze it).
Tips for the Best Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
I used a new technique to get the blueberries into the pound cake batter to prevent all of the batter from turning that unappealing shade of murky blue-green-gray that’s prone to happening with blueberry goodies.
I layered in half the (blueberry-less) batter into the loaf pan, sprinkled with half the blueberries, topped with the remaining half of the batter, and sprinkled on the remaining half of the blueberries. This worked so well and I’m doing this from now on!
The layering accomplishes three things: it helps prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom, it prevents the batter from turning blue-green-gray, and there’s a nice pop of blueberries on top for visual appeal.
Pin This Recipe
Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
Each bite is studded with juicy blueberries, and the sweet-tart lemon glaze takes this pound cake to the next level! Say goodbye to dry, flavorless pound cakes!
Ingredients
Pound Cake
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® Spread – Original or Light (I used Light)*
- 3 large eggs
- 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, optional and to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen tossed in 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (if using frozen, leave them frozen and do not thaw)
Lemon Glaze
- about 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- about 1 to 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F and spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) , add the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® Spread, sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl and with the mixer running on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the lemon extract and beat to incorporate.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, optional salt, and beat on low until just incorporated, about 1 minute; don’t overmix.
- Add the lemon zest and beat on low to incorporate.
- Turn half the batter out into prepared pan; setting pan and remaining batter aside. (In the steps below, you’re layering in half the batter, half the blueberries, remaining half of the batter, remaining half of blueberries. This helps prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom, prevents the entire batter from turning blue-green-gray, and provides a visual appeal of berries on top of cake.)
- To a small bowl, add the blueberries, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon flour, and toss with your fingers or a spoon to coat. Flouring the blueberries helps prevent sinking while baking.
- Evenly sprinkle half the blueberries over the batter in the pan.
- Top with remaining batter.
- Top with remaining blueberries.
- Bake for about 70 to 75 minutes (I used frozen and baked 74 minutes; baking time will likely be less if using fresh berries), or until a toothpick inserted in the center crack comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. At the 60-minute mark, I recommend tenting the pan with a sheet of foil (loosely drape a sheet of foil over pan) to prevent the top and sides from over-browning before the center fully cooks through.
- Allow cake to cool in pan on a wire rack for about 15 minutes before turning it out to cool completely on a rack before glazing. While cake cools, make the glaze.
- To a small bowl, add the lemon juice, confectioners’ sugar, and whisk until smooth and combined, noting you may have to play with the sugar (or lemon juice) amounts slightly to achieve desired glaze consistency.
- Evenly (and liberally; I used much more than the photos show) drizzle glaze over bread before slicing and serving.
Make the Pound Cake:
Make the Glaze:
Notes
- *Butter: If desired, you can replace the buttery spread with real butter. Use an equal amount and bring it to room temperature before beginning the recipe.
- Storage: Bread will keep airtight at room temp for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 6 months (don’t glaze it until you plan to serve it if you’re going to freeze it).
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 272Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 173mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 1gSugar: 33gProtein: 4g
More Blueberry Dessert Recipes:
Blueberry Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze — Almost more berries than cake in this soft, fluffy cake! The lemon glaze is plate-licking delicious!
Blueberry Muffin and Buttermilk Pancakes Cake – Soft, fluffy, and tastes like a big buttermilk pancake that ran into a blueberry muffin on the way to the oven!
Blueberry Pie Bars — Super soft, easy bars with a creamy filling, streusel topping and abundance of juicy blueberries!
Blueberry and Jam Buttermilk Coffee Cake with Buttery Vanilla Glaze – One of the best coffee cakes I’ve ever made, period!
Brown Sugar Blueberry Banana Bread with Blueberry Butter — Super moist blueberry banana bread made with Greek yogurt and dark brown sugar. Smear some homemade blueberry butter onto a slice of this blueberry brown sugar banana bread and prepare to fall in love!
Crustless Blueberry Pie – a FAST, crustless, no-mixer dessert that’s perfect for summer entertaining, picnics, or potlucks!! Somewhere in between pie, cake, and blondies is what you get with this FABULOUS blueberry dessert recipe!
Blueberry Crisp — This blueberry crispis topped with a crunchy oat topping that’s impossible to resist! This fruit crisp is delicious as is, but you could also serve it with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.
I am new to baking. Never heard about lemon extract. Is it in the baking aisle in the stores. I would like to try this receipe.
Yes, in the baking aisle.
This looks great. Same as Pamela, I was curious about the amount of butter to use. I have fresh lemons, is that OK to use instead of lemon extract? Sorry, but I’m still somewhat new to baking.
I would follow the recipe as written the first time, not making substitutions, as it will effect the results. If you feel confident then about trying things, you could give it a try, but I don’t have good luck subbing juice for extract based on this post and all my trials and tribulations.
https://www.averiecooks.com/2015/01/best-lemon-loaf-better-starbucks-copycat.html
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. Now I can buy my ingredients and give it a try tomorrow. Thanks again!
Enjoy!
I’ve never been crazy about these tubs of “butter” either for eating and especially for baking. After I made this cake I have no clue what I would do with the rest of it. However, I love the look of this cake. Do you have any idea how to put the real butter back into it? I’m not worried about it being “lite”, I’d rather it have top notch ingredients in it and enjoy one piece than other things so I could eat 4 pieces. It seems crazy to invest in the very best ingredients, farm fresh eggs, top notch flavorings from Penzy’s and King Arthur, freshly picked berries and then use this butter stuff out of a tub. If you know the recipe with regular butter I’d love to hear how to do it. Thanks
I’d just use regular butter in place of the buttery spread I used and see what happens. That would be my jumping off place suggestion but I haven’t tried it this way personally.
your pound cake recipes are really nice and they look pretty enticing. please take a look at my http://eliterecipe.com/red-velvet-cheesecake-recipe and let me know what you and your friends feel about the recipe
I love this recipe and I was wondering if I could use real butter, If so how much would I use?
My guess is that it would be fine and I’d use the same amount as I did but being that I haven’t tried it personally I can’t say for sure. LMK how it goes!
Ok thanks, I will.
Is it possible to use any type of margarine in this recipe or does it have to be “I can’t believe it’s not butter”
Probably would be fine but I haven’t personally tried so cannot say for sure from personal experience.
Made this earlier this week, and it’s tasty! I wanted to let your readers know (for those who peruse the comments section) that I made mine in an 8×4 pan and when I checked it at 1 hour, it was done. I probably could have gone with 55 minutes. Usually my oven seems to require more time than your recipes, Averie, so this surprised me–anyway, bakers, checking this recipe earlier rather than later is a good plan. :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and thanks for sharing your results with baking time. All ovens, batters, climates, etc vary and with any baking, just about the time you think you can coast, you can’t and need to check things :) Glad you did and glad it all worked out okay!
hmm this sounds nice, and quite simple to make. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon
This is currently baking in the oven…..and HOPEFULLY it turns out as gorgeous and delicious as yours looks! I’m slightly worried about the look of it because I got messy with the layering…but we shall see!!
Hi Averie! I was just wondering, how long does the batter mix last at room temperature? Thanks! :-)
A very short time because once you put the baking powder into the presence of the liquid ingredients, it activates, and you want to make sure the bread is in the OVEN so the chemical reactions are taking place in the presence of heat.
Looks great, my favorite blueberries are printed after raspberries. I’ll cook this recipe and I first opportunity. can also use frozen blueberries?
Yes, and that’s what I wrote that I used.
I love anything blueberry lemon, this is one gorgeous pound cake!
This looks beautiful! Sounds delicious.
LOVE the idea of layering in the berries. Now if I can just remember that method…..
Yum!!!!
Love blueberry + lemon anything, and lightened up is even better. I really, really like the layering idea to prevent berry drowning! Awesome planning. :)
hey now!!! This cake looks scrumptious! Those blueberries ~ swoon!!
Thanks for pinning too :) xoxo
Giiiirl, you are speakin’ my love language. It’s hard to believe this moist, tender, gorgeous cake is made completely sans-butter. What’s easier to believe is that I’d eat the entire thing in one sitting, guilt-free of course :)
Hi! This looks delicious. I just made your vegan pumpkin chocolate chip muffins this morning and they were great! Everyone loved them! Question: Did you have to heat your coconut oil to use it? I’ve never baked with it before and mine (from Trader Joe’s) was solid so I used canola oil instead so as not to possibly ruin the recipe. Any advice? I’d like to try baking with coconut oil in the future. Thanks!!
I keep my house warm enough usually that I don’t have to heat it, but if you do just microwave a big hunk in a microwave-safe bowl or jar for 10 seconds or (I don’t heat the actual jar because sometimes there’s metal on the labels and not good in the micro) and then just measure out until you have 1/2 cup liquid-state oil or whatever the recipe calls for. Just like you’d measure olive oil or vegetable oil, etc. You’re going to love baking with coconut oil!
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to try it!
It’s the most amazing kind of oxymoron!!! LOVE THIS. I’d eat it all. Pound cake is the best, especially when it’s lighter. :)
Lighter is a dessert blogger’s survival mechanism :)
Oh that drizzle!! I just love blueberry and lemon together – so perfect in this pound cake Averie! Pinned!
Thanks for pinning, Trish :)
love love love the blueberry/lemon combo! this cake looks amazing & your pictures are beautiful as always!
Wow! Lightened up pound cake sounds too good to be true! Mmmm :) It’s gorgeous!
YUM! This is such a perfect alternative to the traditional, sugar laden, and loaded-with-fat, variety of blueberry and lemon pound cake. What I love is that even with the substitutions, the texture of this pound cake is perfect and just like the original!
Thanks for the compliments and yes, the texture came out like real pound cake which was great! :)
This looks beautiful and thanks for the tip! No more ugly blueberry cakes for me :) The colors look amazing! I always love your photos. Theyre so vibrant.
Glad you liked the tip. It’s going to change the way I bake, too!
Oh my goodness, lightened up pound cake, I love it! If anyone can do it, you can! Just gorgeous as usual!
I, too, love the layered blueberry approach–why didn’t I think of that? Especially since I make blueberry pancakes by dropping the berries in after I pour the batter on the griddle. Yum.
Pinned it! I love lately lots of lemon in baking and with blueberries it must be so delicious!
As winter draws nearer, I am craving some blueberries in my life. A hint of summer, if even just on my tongue, is so what I need right now.
Averie, I can’t even count the number of recipes I made from your blog, and this just has to be next on my to-bake list! I love how detailed you are with you recipes and how you explain why this works and why this doesn’t. I’m kind of a baking nerd and like to understand the whys behind everything. I just recently put my passion to good use and started a blog! I only launched yesterday so its still pretty empty. Part of the decision came from the enjoyment I get by reading blogs like yours. I would be honored if you check out my first recipe.
http://www.cleobuttera.com/desserts/molten-nutella-pops-first-blog-post/
Thanks for being such a great supporter and I’m glad you like my details and style. Best of luck on your new blog…so exciting!
OMG I want to reach through my screen and take a bite!!! I love the lemon blueberry combo, and I love that you lightened up a pound cake. GENIUS.
This pound cake looks gorgeous, Averie! I love the combination of blueberry and lemon flavors. So perfect for breakfast, a mid-morning snack, or anytime in between!
It’s absolutely perfect! Love the blueberry gems peaking through! Pinned!
Thanks :)
I love lemon desserts. but admit that I don’t eat them very often. And now I’m sad that I used all the blueberries the other day. I think that I’ll have to satisfy my love of lemon desserts and my husbands love for blueberries and bake this up!
So with you on this – although eating a pound of butter is fun sometimes, I usually stick to recipes like this. Looks great!
Averie, this pound cake looks just perfect! I’ve always heard not to bake with tub products, but you’ve proven that wrong… Butter has become so expensive, so I really appreciate an alternative when it comes to baking. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Tub products and baking, you’re so right…they can be temperamental. This recipe is written with that in mind; however not all are! So I definitely don’t recommend just swapping out the butter in every single recipe you know works great with butter. Baking can be such a trial and error game :)
Weren’t we just commenting about fruit stained batter?!! Actually, the lack of blueberry stain in this beautiful loaf was the first thing I noticed. The layering is a great solution! This still looks like the texture of a regular pound cake even with a butter substitute. Sounds yummy too and is a fresh alternative to all the heavier winter and holiday recipes!
Yes! When we were talking, I knew I had this post coming, and was like….she’s psychic. After all these years, you are. Sometimes you’ll mention something and I’ll think, funny, I just made something like that for my blog 2 days ago even though in real-time it may not go live for weeks/months.
Actually, the lack of blueberry stain in this beautiful loaf was the first thing I noticed. <--- REALLY??? AWESOME!!
Love blueberry and lemon combo and its a nice change of pace from many of the recipes circulating right now…something lighter and fresh it much appreciated as eggnog has begun hitting the store shelves..Help!! Brillant to layer the berries..great idea.
Pumpkin, eggnog, mint/chocolate, stuffing, gravy, etc…NOTHING about this time of year is light. So I thought this would be nice :)
If it’s lightened up does that mean I can two slices? Yes please! This looks really yummy!
Totally :)
It might be an oxymoron, but it’s my favorite kind! So light pound cake it is!
This really does not look light at all. And I’m sure it doesn’t taste it, either.
How gorgeous is this?! You can never go wrong with blueberry, lemon and a drizzle of course!
Well thank you my friend :) This is your kind of thing. Not chocolate, not super sweet :)