Blueberry pudding cake is the perfect comfort food and a great use for fresh or frozen blueberries. Lightly lemon cake sitting on top of warm sweetened blueberries.
I will admit, I have a thing for pudding cakes. It’s like getting two desserts in one – pudding and cake! They also have the benefit of being really easy to put together, so they can be enjoyed any time.
This blueberry pudding cake uses a lemon and sugar syrup that is poured over top before baking, resulting in a lovely, saucy blueberry layer. A bit of lemon also flavours the cake layer and results in a lightly crispy, sugary topping on the top of the cake.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Blueberries – You can start with fresh or partly thawed frozen blueberries here. I like to partially thaw them, just so they aren’t too cold going into the oven, which can affect the bake time.
Lemon – you can use regular lemons or Meyer lemons.
How to make blueberry pudding cake
I am making a half recipe here, which makes 3 large ramekins. Just use the “1/2” button in the Recipe Card to scale the recipe down. You can also double the recipe to make a large 9×13 inch pan.
- Scatter the sugar-sweetened blueberries into the bottom of some ramekins (or place them all in an 8×8 inch baking dish.
- Combine the sugar syrup ingredients in a measuring cup and microwave until boiling (or heat in a saucepan).
- Spoon the hot sugar syrup over the top of the batter layer. Bake and enjoy!
Recipe tips!
- I have cooked up individual blueberry pudding cakes in ramekins here. You can also bake this pudding cake in a single, 8-inch baking dish or pan.
- Whichever cooking vessel you use, be sure to set it/them on top of a baking sheet, to catch any bubbleovers and to make putting them in and taking them out of the oven easier.
- These blueberry pudding cakes are lovely served warm with a bit of vanilla ice cream.
Making ahead and storing
You can make these pudding cakes ahead and refrigerate them. To reheat, if desired. Reheat in the microwave or on a baking sheet, loosely covered with foil in a 350F oven until warm.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. These should freeze well up to 3 months.
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Get the Recipe: Blueberry Pudding Cake
Ingredients
Blueberry Layer:
- 3 cups blueberries, fresh or partly thawed from frozen
- 1/3 cups white granulated sugar
Cake Layer:
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cups white granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 1/2 cup milk
Sugar Syrup:
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted)
- Grease 6-8 individual ramekins or a single 8-inch baking dish and set on top of a baking sheet. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, toss blueberries with 1/3 cup sugar and set aside.
- Prepare the cake batter: In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl, a couple of times. Beat in lemon zest and vanilla.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with milk, making 3 additions of the flour mixture and 2 additions of milk.
- Add some of the blueberries to the bottom of each individual dish (a single layer-ish for wider/shallow dishes or thicker layer for smaller/taller dishes) or place all in the bottom of a single baking dish. Spoon batter over blueberries, smoothing the top, but allowing enough room at the top to add the water mixture (1/2-3/4-inch at least). Set aside.
- In the microwave in a small bowl or in a small saucepan, bring the water, lemon juice and remaining sugar to a boil. Carefully pour over the batter.
- Bake in centre of 350°F oven until bubbly around edges and cake is firm to the touch, 30-40 minutes for individual servings or 50 to 55 minutes. for one 8-inch pan Let cool slightly before serving.
- Serve warm. Lovely served with a bit of vanilla ice cream.
Notes
More pudding cake recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Followed this recipe exactly as written and it turned out so good. I will make this over and over again. Had it hot with some ice cream, almost like a cobbler. Loved it!
So glad you enjoyed it, Sarah :) Thanks so much!
My third time making these and my partner LOVES them. I haven’t yet used the pour over syrup and I do reduce the amount of sugar, but they are fabulous. I use leftover GU glass ramekins which works really well, plus they freeze and reheat beautifully. So easy but so good, thank you so much!!! (It was worth making the quantity conversions – I am in England)
So glad you are enjoying these, Sharon :) Thanks so much!
Can these be made ahead and reheated
Hi Joanne and yes, they will do fine being made ahead and re-heated. They will just need a quick re-heat. They don’t need to be hot, just pleasantly warm.
Can it be made nondairy by substituting apple sauce for butter?
Hi Chandler, I honestly don’t know as I have never tried it. If you have had success replacing all the butter in a cake for applesauce before, it should work here.