Blueberry. Coconut. Lemon.
A brilliant triple combination, if you ask me. This cake is deliciously moist and light and tastes like a perfect muffin in cake form. And the lemon sauce? Don’t get me started, man. The slightly sweet and tart sauce is wonderful drizzled on top of the coconut-crusted cake…or just enjoyed by the spoonful. Lemon sauce makes me happy.
The dreamy part of this cake is that it can be made with fresh or frozen blueberries (don’t thaw those blueberries before using if they are frozen!) which makes it perfect all-year round when fresh blueberries may not be in season. This refreshing little cake is perfect, in my book, for potlucks or upcoming summer BBQ’s. It kind of fits in the category of some of these other quick, 9X13-sheet cakes that taste out-of-this-world but come together so easily. Why does life feel so complete when such a simple cake tastes so utterly terrific? I’ll ponder that question while you head to the kitchen to make this.
One Year Ago: Marinated Caprese Salad
Two Years Ago: Giant Cookie
Three Years Ago: Chocolate Toffee Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (unthawed)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch aluminum baking dish and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula just until moistened. Toss the fresh or frozen blueberries with the 2 tablespoons flour and fold them in very gently to the batter. Don't overmix or the batter will start take on a blue-ish tinge.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the coconut and bake for 18-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack.
- For the sauce, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and grated lemon zest. Gradually whisk in the water until blended. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking often, and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes at a boil until the mixture is thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and lemon juice. The sauce can be used warm or at room temperature.
- Cut the cake into squares and drizzle each piece with the lemon sauce. Serve.
Yum! Lemon and blueberries are such a classic combination, for good reason…they are amazing together! I love the coconut in this cake, too. I agree that this would be a great cake to take to a BBQ this summer, and I will definitely be doing that!
Oh Mel, this is right in my ballpark with three of my favorite flavors. I am pinning this and it might just be showing up at our Memorial day BBQ…this looks like total winner!
Can you use a glass dish? Why do you need to use aluminum?
I love cakes that double as dessert or breakfast! This looks amazing. The flavor combination has me drooling!!!
This cake sounds fabulous! Love the combination of flavours!
This looks so yummy. Can I use a 9X13 glass pan? I don’t own a metal.
This recipe has got to be a hit with almost everyone. I was also wondering if I could use a glass/pyrex baking dish instead of the aluminum one?
Everyone – aluminum/metal baking pans bake cakes/brownies a bit more evenly than glass, which is why I used an aluminum pan for this recipe. However, if you only have glass, that should be fine, but I would probably decrease the baking temp to 325 to avoid overbaking the bottom of the cake. Hope that helps!
That looks AMAZING!
Love the combination of flavors!! Looks so moist and delicious!
This cake looks so tasty! I’m not sure I’ve ever combined blueberry and coconut, but sounds like a really great combination!
This is a perfect cake to start the week and then continue to eat! Blueberries and lemons are great, now with coconut it´s amazing. By the way, another picture of little miss Camryn would also be perfect to start the week…
What a perfect summer dessert! I adore these flavors and together…mmm! I can’t wait to try it!
Oops! That got cut off!
Oh my, exquisite. Would love to have a piece of this cake right now.
We can’t buy sweetened coconut in Australia, can I just use regular shredded coconut?
Laura – sure, unsweetened coconut will work. Obviously, the topping of the cake will be a bit less sweet but trust me, there is enough sweetness in the cake and sauce to make up for it. I hope you like it if you try it!
I already know there is going to be a problem with this recipe. The problem is, I know I will not be able to stop eating it until it is gone.
Can’t go wrong with blueberries! Or easy sheet cakes. It looks beautiful!
I made this last night, but I only had peaches, not blueberries. It was great! I just peeled the peaches and cut them into small peices. Thanks. This would be good with lemon sorbet on top too.
this looks like a frickin’ pillow! magnificent cake, mel!
blueberries are on sale this week! so i definitely get to try this recipe. i’m not a fan of coconut flakes so i’ll see how it turns out without them. looks yummy!
Packed with so many things I love in one bite!
I made this last night. It is amazing!!! The only variations I made were using a slightly smaller pan so that my cake was thicker, using 3/4 cup of sugar in the cake, and adding more lemon to the sauce (about an extra 1 tbsp).
I just made this cake with a couple of substitutions: I used whole wheat pastry flour, coconut oil, coconut milk, and unsweetened coconut. The cake is heavenly, with great texture and flavor! If you need a dairy free cake, these substitutions work great! (I didn’t need it to be dairy free, but I am on a coconut kick and I happened to have these things on hand.)
I am in the process of making this cake now. I can’t wait to taste it! The lemon sauce is amazing. I added a little more lemon juice because I like it more tart.
I am using a glass pan and it’s taking much longer to bake (I have it at 350). I’m probably having to add about 10 minutes onto the 25 min. baking time. I looked it up on google and found this article- http://www.chow.com/food-news/53759/does-it-matter-whether-you-use-a-glass-or-metal-baking-dish/
That might be helpful for the other bakers.
Thanks for all your delicious recipes Mel!
this was good! not too too sweet, which is nice
thanks for sharing!!
[...] Originally posted by: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe [...]
[...] Originally posted on: melskitchencafe.com [...]
This recipe had a very unusual texture not a favorite. I made no changes to
recipe. Have been baking for over 30 years.
This recipe is pinned and defiantly at the top of the ‘make it asap’ list!
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Holy moly this stuff is amazing. I was worried the lemon topping wouldn’t be tart enough for me but I went with the recipe anyway and it’s perfect!
I made this cake this evening. It took a little longer to cook than the recipe specified, but when it was done, IT WAS AMAZING. Seriously, go make this cake now!
This cake looks awesome! I’m about to make it and I just have a question about the lemon sauce. There are only 2 adults and 2 small children in our house and unless I eat it all (probably highly likely anyway), I know I will have leftovers. I’m wondering if you think it would be best to keep the lemon sauce separate, or if it would be okay to just pour the sauce right on the cake, and store it that way. Thoughts?
Tracey – yes, I think that’s a good idea to keep the sauce separate if you are going to have leftovers. Just add the sauce to each individual piece.
Aug. 21, 2012
Am very excited to try this. Will let you know how my church group likes it.
[...] Cake w/ Lemon Sauce(Kaleb’s B-day cake)-http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2012/05/blueberry-coconut-cake-with-lemon-sauce.html-Not adding the [...]
Made this tonight. It was so quick to make and is wonderful! I intended to make it for Easter brunch but I was not feeling well. It is very flavorful with the sauce and would be a great for summer.