Blackberry Lemon Loaf Cake

This Blackberry Lemon Bread recipe makes an easy lemon loaf cake studded with blackberries that takes only about 30 minutes to put together. If you are a lover of adjectives, this blackberry lemon cake is velvety, tangy, and lemony. That’s because there’s lemon everywhere – in the lemon loaf cake, the lemon syrup, and the lemon drizzle.

So read on for all the detailed tips and tricks behind this smart, from-scratch recipe – if you want to. Or just grab your berries, hit that Jump to Recipe button, and let’s make a blackberry lemon quick bread!

Ingredients

This is one of the simpler recipes for blackberries because you can use them whole. You don’t have to worry about removing seeds.

Use fresh or frozen blackberries, but be aware that frozen blackberries often release more liquid. If using frozen, let them drain over a bowl as they come to room temperature. Then use that blackberry juice in your syrup and your glaze to make a pink lemon loaf cake!

If you love blackberries, check out other blackberry recipes like:

• blackberry swirl cheesecake brownies
• apple and blackberry pie
• blackberry curd tart
• blackberry smoothie bowl
• blackberry vodka sour made with blackberry simple syrup

How to riff on this recipe

The baking ratio for quick breads and muffins is (by weight) two parts flour, two parts liquid, one part egg and one part butter. After multiple tests, I’ve messed around with this ratio for this lemon cake to have a bit less liquid. But you can riff further if you’d like:

• Use blueberries, raspberries, salmon berries, tayberries or even snozzberries.
• Sub orange zest and orange juice for the lemon, or make a lime drizzle loaf cake!

Recipe tips and tricks

This blackberry lemon bread recipe follows the creaming method, a common pattern for cakes like my Funfetti pound cake. Cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy (Panels #1 and #2 below). Most people don’t cream their butter long enough, so go a minute or two longer than you think.

Add the eggs, one at a time (Panel #3). Then alternate additions of the dry ingredients with the liquid (Panel #4).

Dusting berries with flour helps prevent them all from sinking to the bottom of cakes and muffins. If some of your blackberries are very large, you should cut them in half or even quarters.

Gently fold the blackberries into the lemon cake batter.

When you pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan, give it a few thwacks on your countertop to spread the batter. It doesn’t have to be perfect.

Bake until your blackberry lemon loaf is starting to brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Note that the edges are just starting to pull away from the loaf pan.

Let your lemon loaf cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then put it on a cooling rack over a piece of wax or parchment paper. This catches the drips from your syrup and glaze and makes clean up much easier!

How to make lemon glaze and other cake glazes

Glazes for this blackberry lemon loaf cake and other drizzle cakes and muffins are an easy way to make your bakes a bit fancier. Simply take confectioners or powdered sugar and add a tiny amount of liquid of any kind.

This lemon drizzle should be easy to pour but not so thin that it just runs right off the side of the loaf cake. If it’s too thin, add more sugar. If it’s too thick, add a bit more liquid.

You really can use most any liquid. The glaze for my orange and poppy seed muffins uses orange juice and vanilla. I’d use coffee for this coffee and walnut loaf cake.

Let the glaze harden for an hour or so, and serve.

Recipe FAQs

Related cake recipes

Check out other easy cake recipes from the Ugly Duckling Bakery archives like: