Blueberry Lemon Pudding Cake
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Blueberry Lemon Pudding Cake is an exceedingly delicious, simple dessert that is part pudding, part cake. It’s soft, spongy, and almost addictive. Made with blueberries, lemons, and simple pantry ingredients.
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While I’ve made this pudding cake with fresh blueberries, it can easily be made with frozen berries too. It’s a dessert we love in the summer and crave in the winter.
Homey, comforting, and utterly delicious with melting vanilla ice cream over the top.
If you’re unfamiliar with pudding cakes, the Chicago Tribune writes that the cake is essentially a comforting compromise:
“Its flavor and textures satisfy both cake lover and pudding craver. Mixed in a bowl, poured into a pan and baked, it transforms itself in the oven from a thick batter to a fluffy sponge cake with its own rich, custardy sauce. It requires neither delicate handling nor particular subtlety in flavoring–a warming, home-style conclusion to a hearty meal.”
Why is it called a pudding cake?
A pudding cake is an aptly named simple dessert that is part cake, and part pudding, satisfying lovers of both. A simple sponge-type cake batter transforms in the oven and creates its own pudding sauce on the bottom.
Early American settlers experimented with berries and fruits and sweetened their cakes with maple syrup and molasses.
That is the inspiration for this simple dessert.
What is a Pudding Cake?
I love how the Tribune characterizes what this iconic cake is. They write:
“Pudding cakes are informal desserts, more earthy than elegant, more likely to be accompanied by icy milk than by sophisticated sauternes. They have survived the centuries because they`re so easy and tasty, and meet every other criterion of Colonial or contemporary cooks for the ideal dessert: They need no exotic or seasonal ingredients, they`re quick to put together and virtually foolproof.”
Blueberry Lemon Pudding Cake Ingredients
Gather these simple ingredients for a delicious, home-style cake you’ll love. The exact measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Blueberries, fresh or frozen
- Lemon for juice and zest
- All-purpose flour
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar
- Baking powder and salt
- Butter
- Vanilla extract
- Milk or half and half
- Cornstarch
How to Make a Pudding Cake
Preheat the oven to 350° and butter or coat with nonstick cooking spray an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan.
Step 1: Add berries to the baking pan
Combine the blueberries, lemon juice, and brown sugar, reserving a few for the top of the cake, and add to the baking pan.
Step 2: Make the batter
Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, melted butter, vanilla, lemon zest, sugar, and milk. Pour over the blueberries, and scatter reserved blueberries over the top.
Step 3: Boil water
Bring water to a boil, stir in granulated sugar and the cornstarch slurry, and whisk until smooth and slightly thickened. Pour the boiling water over the pudding cake.
Step 4: Bake
Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until the water is absorbed, the center of the pudding cake is puffed and golden and the blueberries are bubbling. Serve immediately with ice cream or whipped cream.
Kitchen Tools Needed
As mentioned, this is a simple cake that only requires a mixing bowl, a whisk is helpful, an 8-inch or 9-inch baking pan, and a saucepan to boil water.
Blueberry Lemon Pudding Cake
Blueberry Lemon Pudding Cake is an exceedingly delicious, simple dessert that is part pudding, part cake. It's soft, spongy, and almost addictive. Made with blueberries, lemons, and simple pantry ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb blueberries, fresh
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup milk or half and half
Topping
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon cold water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and butter or coat with nonstick cooking spray an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan.
- In a bowl, combine the blueberries, lemon juice, and brown sugar. Reserve a few for the top of the cake and then spread evenly over the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir in the melted butter, vanilla, lemon zest, sugar, and milk. Pour over the blueberries, spreading gently. Scatter reserved blueberries over the top.
- Combine the cornstarch and cold water and set aside. Into rapidly boiling water, stir in the sugar and cornstarch slurry, whisking until smooth and slightly thickened. Pour the boiling water over the cake.
- Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until the water is absorbed, the center of the pudding cake is puffed and golden and the blueberries are bubbling. Serve immediately with ice cream or whipped cream.
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