Blueberry Cake Loaf with Lemon Glaze Icing

❤️Why you will love this recipe

• It's easy to make and deliciously moist.
• The cake is filled with fresh juicy blueberries, and has a lovely hint of lemon to it. The combination of blueberries with the lemon in this moist loaf cake with tender crumb is simply irresistible!
• The cake is super yummy on its own and does not require any frosting or icing.
• It is easier to slice a loaf cake for consistent slices compared to round or square cakes.
• The cake makes are great tea-time treat with a cup of coffee or tea, or even a snack anytime you feel like it.
• It also makes a lovely treat for brunch gatherings and a simple dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Loaf Cakes

• I like to bake cakes in loaf tins, especially those that I do not intend to decorate much like this sour cream lemon pound cake, sour cream chocolate pound cake, instant coffee cake, pandan cake, coconut loaf cake, banana pound cake, matcha pound cake and lime pound cake.
• Cake loaves are very presentable on their own, and a simple drizzle of chocolate or glaze icing is all you ever need if you want to decorate them. There is no need for fancy icing or frosting.

Cake

• Self-raising flour + salt + baking powder - mix well and sift into the cake batter.
• Granulated sugar - works best for this recipe. Coarse sugar will leave tiny sugar specks on the surface of the cake after baking.
• Butter - I use salted butter. If using unsalted butter, add a tiny pinch of extra salt to the recipe.
• Eggs - use large eggs (large sized eggs).
• Milk - use whole milk.
• Blueberries - choose fresh and plump blueberries for best results.
• All purpose flour - used in a small quantity to dust the blueberries before mixing them into the cake batter. This is will prevent the berries from sinking to the bottom.
• Lemon zest - adds a lovely citrusy taste to the cake.
• Vanilla extract - Adds a lovely flavor to the cake. This is option and can be omitted if preferred.

Lemon Glaze

• Powdered sugar (icing sugar)- sift first to break all lumps for a smooth glaze
• Lemon juice - use fresh lemon juice, and strain it first to remove seeds and pulp.
• Water - to make the glaze into a pourable consistency. Use drinking water or filtered water.

🧾Substitution and variations

• Salted butter can be replaced with unsalted butter, but you will need to add an extra small pinch of salt in the recipe.
• Instead of lemon glaze, you can drizzle the cake with simple vanilla glaze. To make the vanilla glaze, replace lemon juice in the drizzle recipe with one and half teaspoon of water and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix well and drizzle on the cake.

Mixing the cake loaf batter

1. Wash the blueberries. Dap them dry with a kitchen towel and set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed (on an electric mixer) until light and fluffy. For the recipe measurement given, this should take at least 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl halfway through.
3. Next, add the eggs. Add them one at a time. Each time, beat until all the traces of the egg are no longer visible. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
4. Add the lemon zest and mix well.
5. Measure and combine flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Mix these ingredients together with a spoon.
6. Fold in one third of the flour mixture (dry ingredients) into the creamed wet ingredients mixture.

1. Add half of the milk and mix well.
2. Continue with the remaining flour mixture in 2 batches. Add the remaining milk in between the batches.
3. Once all the milk and dry ingredients have been added, add the vanilla extract. Scrape the sides of the bowl and the mixing spoon with a rubber spatula so that there is no flour left unfolded.
4. Next is the blueberries. Add one tablespoon of flour to the blueberries and shake well to coat the blueberries with a thin layer of flour. This step will prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the pan when baking.
5. Spoon the floured blueberries into the cake batter and discard any remaining dusting flour left at the bottom.
6. Gently fold the berries into the blueberry cake loaf batter. If you press them too much, they will bleed and your cake batter will start to turn blue.

Baking the cake

1. Pour batter into a well-greased and floured (or parchment paper lined) 8 inch by 4 inch loaf pan. Make sure that the blueberries are well distributed and not concentrated towards the bottom. Level the top. Bake the cake loaf for 60 to 65 minutes at 165 degrees Celsius.
2. After 40 minutes of baking, use a skewer to poke the top of the cake a couple of times. This will help the cake cook faster. Check the cake again at 55 minutes. If the cake is baked, a skewer inserted in the center of the cake will come out without any wet batter sticking to it. If there is, continue to bake for another 5 minutes.
3. Remove cake loaf from the oven and let it rest in the tin for 10 minutes. Run a jam knife around the side of the loaf to release the sides of the cake.
4. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack. Let the cake cool down with the top facing up.
5. Cover it with a kitchen towel while it is cooling down.
6. Before the cake cools down completely, i.e. when it is still warm, wrap it with cling wrap (plastic wrap) and refrigerate for at least 2 to 3 hours.

• Remove the blueberry loaf cake from the fridge and let it return to room temperature before removing the wrap.

The lemon glaze

1. To make the glaze, sift the powdered sugar into a small bowl.
2. Add lemon juice and water to it and mix well.
3. Pour the glaze icing into a piping bag.
4. Snip the tip and drizzle the icing on the cooled loaf.

To serve, cut the blueberry cake loaf into slices.

🍽️Serving & storage

• This cake is best consumed within 2 days. Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for one week (in an airtight container). The cake is best eaten at room temperature.

💡Expert tips

• Wrapping the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerating it while it is warm helps to keep the cake moist and tender.
• For best results, cover the cake with a kitchen towel while cooling down on a wire rack. This will prevent the cake from becoming dry. This is a trick to keep your cake moist. In fact, this trick works for most cakes. Covering them will avoid them from drying out when cooling down, especially if placed under the fan or in an air conditioned room.
• Coating the blueberries with flour will prevent the berries from sinking to the bottom of the cake loaf when baking. The flour locks them in place, so you will get the blueberries well distributed throughout the cake (depending on how you fold them into the batter).
• To coat the berries with flour, make sure they are not too wet. If there is too much water on the fruits, spread them on a kitchen towel and push them around with your fingers, letting the water on the berries be absorbed by the kitchen towel.
• Too much water on the berries will result in the flour clumping around them, and after baking, you will end up with these obvious clumps around your berries in the cake loaf.

💭FAQs