Blackberry Lemon Loaf (Easy, Moist, One-Bowl)

Slices of lemon blackberry cake leaning against each other.

Blackberry Lemon Loaf (Easy, Moist, One-Bowl)

This blackberry lemon loaf is everything you want in a summer bake: bright, moist, and swirled with juicy blackberries. Made in one-bowl with Greek yogurt, a tangy lemon glaze, and no mixer required, it’s the kind of cozy-meets-fresh recipe you’ll want on repeat.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Desserts, Snack

Cuisine American

Diet Vegetarian

Keyword blackberry, blackberry loaf cake, lemon, moist, one bowl

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 45

Total Time 50

Servings slices

Calories 288

Author Robyn Conley Downs

Equipment

loaf pan

Ingredients

¾ cup granulated sugar (150 g)
2 tablespoons lemon zest, from about two lemons
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (59 ml)
½ cup neutral flavored oil, such as avocado or canola (118 ml)
2 large eggs
½ cup plain whole Greek yogurt (113 g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour (218 g) plus one Tablespoon (for coating the berries)
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh blackberries (148 g)

For the Lemon Glaze

½ cup powdered sugar (65g)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch heavy-weight steel loaf pan or line it with parchment paper.
Add the sugar and lemon zest to a large bowl. Using clean hands, rub the lemon zest into the sugar until well incorporated. Add the lemon juice, oil, eggs, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
Add the 1 ¾ cups of the flour, baking powder, and salt, stirring gently until just combined, being careful not to overmix. It’s okay if there are a few lumps.
In a separate small bowl, toss the blackberries with the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour (to prevent sinking), leaving any excess flour in the small bowl.
Pour ⅓ of the batter into the prepared loaf pan, then gently layer in ½ of the blackberries, followed by ⅓ batter, then the remaining blackberries, then the remaining batter, smoothing the top.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, being careful not to overbake.
Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool for an additional 10 minutes.
While the loaf cools, in a small bowl, make the lemon glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until it’s completely smooth.
Drizzle the glaze over the top of the loaf, allowing some to drip down the sides. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Notes

Sour Cream: If you want to make this loaf cake with sour cream, it's a perfect 1:1 sub for the Greek yogurt.
Moist Cake: To prevent your cake from dying out, be careful not to overmix or overbake. Gently mix the batter with a silicone spatula until you no longer see clumps of dry flour. And remove your cake from the oven as soon as a toothpick inserted into the center comes out free from wet better.
Perfect Rise: In testing I found that using room temperature ingredients (especially your eggs, yogurt, and blackberries) gave the best rise on this cake.
Accurate Measurements: For the most accurate baking, I recommend using a kitchen scale. But if you don’t have one, make sure you spoon and level your flour so it doesn’t get compacted in your measuring cup.

Nutrition