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Made with fresh or frozen berries and lemon-flavored boxed cake mix for a shortcut, this Lemon Blueberry Cake is equal parts refreshing and rich. Try this lemon dessert recipe as a bundt cake, sheet cake, layer cake, or cupcakes.

Blueberry lemon cake with powdered sugar icing.
Table of Contents
  1. Recipe ingredients
  2. Ingredient notes
  3. Step-by-step instructions
  4. Recipe tips and variations
  5. Lemon Blueberry Cake Recipe

Recipe ingredients

Labeled Lemon blueberry cake ingredients.

Ingredient notes

  • Boxed lemon cake mix: This gives you a head-start on the cake and is the secret to ultra-lemony flavor. Yes, even restaurants use boxed lemon cake mixes.
  • Instant lemon pudding mix: Add the pudding mix to the batter dry (you don’t prepare the pudding separately). Even if your cake mix says “pudding in the mix,” you should still add a box of instant pudding.
  • Lemon zest and juice: Zest the lemon before cutting it in half for juice.
  • Blueberries: Please don’t use more than 6 ounces of blueberries. If you’re using frozen berries, no need to thaw. Have you heard the trick about tossing blueberries in flour to keep them from sinking? First, that’s a myth. Flour cannot save blueberries from gravity. Second, it’s okay here because this is a bundt cake and it’s baked upside down. When the blueberries sink, they are actually going to the top.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix and dry pudding in a large bowl. Add water, oil, lemon juice, eggs, and lemon zest. Stir to combine.
Lemon blueberry cake batter in a bowl.
  1. Fold in blueberries and pour into prepared pan. Bake for 40 minutes.
Lemon blueberry cake batter in a bundt pan.
  1. Cool the cake 15 minutes in pan. Invert on to cooling rack set over a baking sheet and allow to cool completely.
Lemon blueberry cake cooling on a wire rack.
  1. To make the powdered sugar glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, water, and vanilla. Drizzle over cooled cake and let glaze harden for at least 10 minutes.
Blueberry lemon cake with powdered sugar icing.

Recipe tips and variations

  • Yield: This Lemon Blueberry Cake makes 12 servings (or 9 if you like large slices).
  • Storage: Store covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
  • Lemon blueberry layer cake:  Grease two 9-inch cake pans. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Skip the glaze and spread a thicker icing, such as Buttercream Frosting or Cream Cheese Frosting, between cooled layers, along with a sprinkle of fresh blueberries.
  • Lemon blueberry sheet cake: Grease a 13- x 9-inch baking pan. Pour cake batter into the pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in middle comes clean. If using glaze, poke holes in the cake with a wooden skewer so the glaze can run into the holes and flavor the cake. If using Cream Cheese Frosting, allow the cake to cool before frosting.
  • Lemon blueberry cupcakes: Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them ¾ of the way full. Bake at 350 degrees for 16 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cupcakes are cool, glaze or frost and decorate as desired.
Blueberry lemon cake with powdered sugar icing.

More berry desserts

Blueberry lemon cake with powdered sugar icing.

Lemon Blueberry Cake

Made with fresh or frozen berries and boxed lemon cake mix for a shortcut, this Lemon Blueberry Cake is equal parts refreshing and rich.
5 from 70 votes
ReviewPrint
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 1 hr
Total Time 1 hr 15 mins
Servings 12 servings
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Calories 374

Ingredients 

For the cake:

  • 1 package lemon cake mix (see note 1)
  • 3 ounces instant lemon pudding mix (see note 2)
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest (see note 3)
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice from 2-3 lemons
  • 4 large eggs
  • 6 ounces fresh blueberries (please don't use more than this, see note 4)

For the glaze:

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons water or lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously coat large Bundt pan with shortening or nonstick spray.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix and dry pudding in a large bowl. Add water, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and eggs and stir to combine. Carefully fold in blueberries.
  • Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean with a few crumbs attached.
  • Cool 15 minutes in pan. Invert on to set over a baking sheet and cool completely.
  • To make the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, water, and vanilla. Drizzle over cooled cake and let glaze harden for at least 10 minutes.

Notes

  1. Boxed lemon cake mix: This gives you a head-start on the cake and is the secret to ultra-lemony flavor. Yes, even restaurants use boxed lemon cake mixes.
  2. Instant lemon pudding mix: Add the pudding mix to the batter dry (you don’t prepare the pudding separately). Even if your cake mix says “pudding in the mix,” you should still add a box of instant pudding.
  3. Lemon zest and juice: Zest the lemon before cutting it in half for juice.
  4. Blueberries: If you’re using frozen berries, no need to thaw. Have you heard the trick about tossing blueberries in flour to keep them from sinking? First, that’s a myth. Flour cannot save blueberries from gravity. Second, it’s okay here because this is a bundt cake and it’s baked upside down. When the blueberries sink, they are actually going to the top. 
  5. Yield: This Lemon Blueberry Cake makes 12 servings (or 9 if you like large slices).
  6. Storage: Store covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 374kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 4gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 375mgPotassium: 61mgFiber: 1gSugar: 40gVitamin A: 98IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 101mgIron: 1mg
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Executive Chef and CEO at | Website | + posts

Meggan Hill is the Executive Chef and CEO of Culinary Hill, a popular digital publication in the food space. She loves to combine her Midwestern food memories with her culinary school education to create her own delicious take on modern family fare. Millions of readers visit Culinary Hill each month for meticulously-tested recipes as well as skills and tricks for ingredient prep, cooking ahead, menu planning, and entertaining. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the iCUE Culinary Arts program at College of the Canyons.

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Comments

    1. Hi Nicole, I don’t see why not! I haven’t tried this on the lemon cake, but I would like to suggest the streusel topping from my Blueberry Muffins recipe. (Since I haven’t done it myself, it might make too much topping for the one loaf.)

      For the streusel topping:
      1/4 cup all-purpose flour
      2 tablespoons brown sugar
      2 tablespoons granulated sugar
      1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
      1/8 teaspoon salt
      2 tablespoons butter cold

      To prepare the streusel topping, in a medium bowl combine flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until the topping is crumbly and coarse. Top the cake during step 3 after adding the batter and bake as directed.

      Here is the link to the Blueberry Muffins incase you would like to check it out sometime: https://www.culinaryhill.com/blueberry-muffins/ Take care and please let me know how it turns out! – Meggan

  2. Made this cake for a birthday now it is everyone’s favorite cake! I usually make all my cakes from scratch, but decided to give this one a try… so glad that I did! So moist & the icing is to die for! Thank you so much for sharing!5 stars

    Reply

  3. Made this into 20 cupcakes in fancy cupcake papers, and iced with glaze and added three blueberries to top and a cute toothpick owl/birdie. Did not have lemon pudding, so used vanilla pudding mix but tripled the grated lemon peel. My five grand girls approved at their belated birthday picnic yesterday! They told me they were “delicious” – I had to agree!5 stars

    Reply

  4. I made it . It came out perfect the aroma made me want to cut it but I held off.Ih my goodness it is so good .and it was a last minute decision to make it.5 stars

    Reply

  5. The best Lemon Blueberry cake ever. Love the fact that this cake stays moist for days. Of course it doesn’t last that long in our home.5 stars

    Reply

  6. I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but can I replace the blueberries with strawberries? I’ve looked up strawberry lemon cakes, and none of them sound like what I’m looking to accomplish.

    Reply

    1. Hi Jennifer, that sounds delicious! I haven’t tried it myself but don’t see why not! I would make sure not to use too many strawberries, no more than 6 ounces, as it becomes troublesome in my tests with using blueberries. Enjoy – Meggan

    2. This cake was delicious. I baked it as a double-layer cake, and I loved how it turned out! We saved the rest of it for Father’s Day this weekend! I do have a question, though, about making it a fluffier cake since it did come out dense. My brother mentioned that adding baking powder to the recipe would enable the batter to rise more. Do you have a suggestion about how much to add?5 stars

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