Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Bread
Decadent and cake-like, this blueberry lemon cream cheese bread is infused with lemon flavor, laced with fresh blueberries, and swirled with sweet cream cheese.
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Table of Contents
- About Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Bread
- What’s in blueberry lemon cream cheese bread?
- Can you use frozen blueberries?
- What does sour cream do for bread?
- How many lemons do you need?
- How long is this bread good for?
- Can you freeze this bread?
- Notes & tips for blueberry lemon bread
- More delicious bread recipes
- Other great recipes with lemon
- How to make blueberry lemon cream cheese bread
- Recipe Details
About Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Bread
Perfect for serving at breakfast, brunch, or as a simple dessert, this decadent blueberry lemon cream cheese bread is infused with the iconic flavor combination of sweetly tart lemons and fresh blueberries.
What’s in blueberry lemon cream cheese bread?
- All-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla – Core staples for many baking recipes.
- Sour cream – A key ingredient that helps make this bread extra moist and dense.
- Lemon juice and lemon zest – To bring the delicious lemon flavor.
- Blueberries – The other half of the delicious flavor combination for this bread.
- Cream Cheese – Layered on top and swirled within, the cream cheese is sweetened to give this bread a decadent dessert vibe.
Can you use frozen blueberries?
Yes, you can, but it takes a little extra preparation.
First off, do not thaw the blueberries. Freezing and thawing blueberries will change their structure, causing them to be quite mushy and extra juicy. Using thawed berries will likely turn your bread blue and give the bread a more “universal” blueberry flavor instead of the small pockets of flavor you get from using fresh fruit.
Secondly, toss and completely coat your frozen blueberries in flour. This will help the blueberries remain “contained” to their shape while also stopping any extra fluid the frozen blueberries carry from impacting the consistency of the batter. Plus, it’ll help keep the bread looking pretty.
And for third, be careful when mixing in the blueberries. You don’t want to overmix because you’ll strip off the flour coating.
What does sour cream do for bread?
This is not just a recipe for sweet bread, but a sour cream sweet bread, which means that all the qualities you love about dessert breads (dense, crumbly, and delicious) are kicked up another level thanks to the sour cream.
Sour cream is one of the dairy products with the highest fat, and in baking, the amount of fat will shorten the gluten strands. This process is what makes baked goods softer and more “tender.”
If you’re out of sour cream, an equal portion of greek or regular plain yogurt can be used as a substitute.
How many lemons do you need?
This recipe calls for a little more than 1/4 cup lemon juice and roughly two tablespoons of lemon zest. For the zest alone, you’ll need about two lemons total. Squeezing two lemons also would also give you plenty of lemon juice for this recipe.
You can also use storebought lemon juice for this recipe.
How long is this bread good for?
When stored in the refrigerator (due to the cream cheese layer) in a sealed container or covered in plastic wrap, this bread should remain good for up to six days. And like most homemade breads, the flavor of this loaf will intensify after two days.
Can you freeze this bread?
Yes, you totally can!
When properly stored, cream cheese bread will keep its “best” quality for about two or three months. After that point, the texture of the bread might change, but it will remain good for up to six months frozen.
Notes & tips for blueberry lemon bread
- One of the most helpful tips I have for bread is to make sure that the flour is measured correctly. You can read more about how to measure flour (and other common ingredients) here: Measuring 101.
- Be careful not to overmix the blueberry lemon batter! Too much mixing will make the bread feel hard instead of moist and cake-like.
- If you’d like less lemon flavor, you can substitute the lemon juice in the glaze for an equal part water, milk, or heavy whipping cream.
More delicious bread recipes
Other great recipes with lemon
How to make blueberry lemon cream cheese bread
This next part is only a photo tutorial of the recipe steps. If you’re looking for the full recipe measurements and instructions, scroll down to Recipe Details.
Step 1 – To begin, add the blueberries and a small amount of flour to a small bowl, then gently toss until all the blueberries are thoroughly coated. Set this bowl aside for now.
Step 2 – In another large bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. Set this bowl aside for now, too.
Step 3 – Using a stand mixer (or hand mixer + large bowl), mix the vegetable oil, sugar, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, eggs, and vanilla until combined.
Step 4 – Set your mixer speed to low, then slowly blend in dry ingredients with the wet. Mix until just combined.
Step 5 – Add the flour-coated blueberries to the bowl, then use a spatula to gently fold them into the batter.
Step 6 – Spray a 9×4 bread loaf pan with baking spray, then pour the bread batter in. Use a spatula to smooth out the top into a single layer. Set the bread pan aside while you make the cream cheese layer.
Step 7 – In a large bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and egg until smooth and creamy.
Step 8 – Pour the cream cheese on top of the blueberry lemon batter, then use a spatula or knife to gently spread and swirl the cream cheese around.
Step 9 – Bake!
Step 10 – Once the bread has baked and cooled, prepare the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl.
Step 11 – Decorate the bread with the lemon glaze as desired.
Step 12 – Serve and enjoy!
Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Bread
Ingredients
Blueberry Lemon Bread
- 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 eggs
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 egg
Lemon Glaze
Instructions
For the Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Loaf
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×4 bread loaf pan with baking spray, then set aside.
- In a small bowl, add blueberries and about 1 tablespoon of flour. Gently toss berries until coated, then set bowl aside.1 cup blueberries
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set bowl aside.1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Using a stand mixer (or a hand mixer + large bowl), mix vegetable oil, sugar, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, eggs, and vanilla until combined, about 1-2 minutes.1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 2 tablespoons lemon zest, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Drop mixer speed to low and slowly blend in dry ingredients, about 1/2 cup at a time. Mix until dry ingredients incorporate and there are minimal clumps, about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove bowl from mixer. Add flour-coated blueberries to bowl and use a spatula to gently fold them into the batter.
- Pour bread dough into the prepared pan. Push the dough so that it fits into the corners, but do not smooth out top.
For the Cream Cheese Filling
- In a large bowl, whisk together cream cheese, sugar, flour, and egg until smooth. Consistency should be thick; when you raise the whisk, none of the cream cheese mixture should easily drip off. If it does, add another 1 tablespoon of flour and mix well.8 ounces cream cheese, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 egg
- Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the blueberry lemon batter in the bread loaf pan. Using a spatula or knife, gently spread and swirl the cream cheese mixture gently into the batter or as desired.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cover pan loosely with aluminum foil (tip: make a tent above center of bread) and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Cook time may vary depending on the juiciness of the blueberries. Bread is done when a tester toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with a few crumbs.
- Allow bread to cool in the pan for 15-25 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Lemon Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth.1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- If you’d like the glaze to be thinner, add a small splash of lemon juice until desired consistency is reached. If you’d like the glaze to be thicker, add 1 tablespoon powdered sugar at a time until glaze is thick enough.
Putting it All Together
- Once bread has cooled, drizzle lemon glaze on top.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
I do my best to provide nutrition information, but please keep in mind that I’m not a certified nutritionist. Any nutritional information discussed or disclosed in this post should only be seen as my best amateur estimates of the correct values.
