Do you love lemons and blueberries? This beautiful lemon and blueberry cake is just what you'll want to make this summer!
If you love simple cakes, then we think you'll also enjoy this lemon poppy seed cake and coffee and walnut cake.
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Ingredients
Wondering what ingredients are in this lemon blueberry cake? Let's talk about the key ingredients in this beautiful layered blueberry cake.
- Buttermilk: This liquid reacts with the baking soda to make it rise; also keeps it moist.
- Lemon Juice: reacts with the baking soda to make it rise; adds a lemon flavor.
- Lemon Zest: adds additional lemon flavor.
- Fresh Blueberries: adds the texture and flavor of fresh berries.
How to Make
Gather the ingredients for our lemon blueberry cake. Make sure you've measured them accurately using a kitchen scale, and that they are all at room temperature.
- Sift the dry ingredients, then cream the butter and sugar together until they're light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs along with a couple spoonfuls of flour, then add the lemon zest and dry ingredients and stir to combine. Mix in the wet ingredients. Toss the blueberries in flour and gently fold them into the batter.
3. Divide the batter among the three 6-inch pans that have been lightly buttered and lined with parchment paper. I like to use cake strips on the outside of the pans to ensure a flat top.
4. Bake them at 350°F for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then flip the cakes onto a wire rack and gently peel off the parchment paper. Let them cool completely on the wire racks, for about 30 minutes.
5. Make a quick blueberry jam by combining the jam ingredients in a saucepan set over medium heat. Mash with a potato masher and simmer until thickened, then strain out the pulp and seeds. Pour the blueberry jam mixture into a dish, press a piece of plastic wrap into the surface, and chill in the freezer until set, about 30 minutes.
6. While the blueberry jam is cooling, let's make the cream cheese buttercream. Beat the softened butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Sift in the icing sugar, then beat it in until the icing has the thickness and flavor you desire. Add the vanilla and a teaspoon of lemon juice as well, then beat the icing until smooth.
7. Divide the icing into two parts; leave one-half white. Stir some of the blueberry jam into the other half to get purple icing.
8. Sandwich the cooled layers with the purple icing, then crumb coat. Do this by covering the top and sides of the layers with a thin layer of frosting, then scraping a lot of it off. This step traps the crumbs, preventing them from getting into the final layer of icing.
9. Feeling fancy? Use the prepared piping bags to pipe decorative rosettes all over. Alternate colors for more variety.
Want to do a quicker and easier decoration? Just do a crumb coat and pipe a shell border around the top edge.
10. Chill it for at least 45-60 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
You may have added too much flour, overbeaten the mixture, or added the liquid too quickly to the batter. Next time, add the eggs one at a time to the batter and add a tablespoon of flour with them to prevent curdling.
Yes, you can use frozen blueberries instead of fresh ones in baking. For most recipes, there is no need to defrost the berries before using them. In fact, using thawed blueberries isn't recommended, because they leak too much liquid into the batter.
Lemon juice is an acid and when combined with baking soda it activates and helps baked goods including cakes rise.
When it comes to the lemon blueberry cake we think lemon is the best pair for bringing out the sweet, tart flavor of the blueberry. Orange, another citrus fruit also pairs well. For other preparations ginger, nutmeg, sour cream, walnuts and yogurt pair well with blueberries.
Serve
- Make ahead: This lemon blueberry cake is easy to make ahead. Simply store it in the refrigerator and eat it within 3 days. For longer storage, freeze it. See the instructions below for freezing and defrosting.
- Leftovers: This dessert keeps the best in the fridge, especially if you're making it during hot weather. The slices the best when it's cold from the fridge. However, if you're making it in the winter, you can store it outside of the fridge in a cool place.
- Freezer: It freezes well and can be frozen at various stages. To freeze a whole decorated cake, chill for 2-3 hours until cold. Then wrap in two layers of plastic wrap, then two layers of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 2 months, defrost in the fridge and eat within 2-3 days. If it's already sliced, lay the slices in a zip-top freezer bag or airtight container. Slices can be defrosted at room temperature within an hour and are best eaten within 24 hours. Seal and freeze for up to 1 month. Freeze undecorated layers of lemon blueberry cake by wrapping them in two tight layers of plastic wrap and sealing them inside zip-top freezer bags. Freeze for up to 2 months and defrost at room temperature for 1-2 hours. Then it can be iced and eaten.
Variations
- Sheet Cake: Make a regular batch of lemon blueberry batter and bake in a 9x13-inch pan. You may need to increase the baking time by a few minutes, since the pan is a different shape. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center; it should come out clean.
- Muffins: Fill the muffin cups ½ to ¾ full of batter, and reduce the baking time by ⅓ to ½. The lemon blueberry muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Expert Tips
- Measure the ingredients accurately. It's best to use a kitchen scale, especially for measuring flour and sugar.
- Use room-temperature ingredients. Cold ingredients won't make a smooth, emulsified batter.
- Don't have buttermilk? Make a substitute. Place 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring cup and fill in the rest of the way with milk. Stir and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Is the icing getting too soft? Chill for 20 minutes, then finish the decorating.
- Don't have any piping bags? Use gallon-size zip-top bags instead. Snip off the corner with scissors and push the piping tip through the hole.
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Recipe
Lemon Blueberry Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup caster sugar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ½ cup whole buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 ⅓ cup fresh blueberries, tossed in 1 tablespoon of flour
For the Blueberry Jam
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For the Icing
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 cups icing sugar, sifted
- 2-3 tablespoons blueberry jam
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Preparing Ingredients & Pans
- The best and most accurate way to measure ingredients is with a kitchen scale. The correct way to measure flour and sugar with measuring cups is to spoon the ingredient into the cup, then sweep off the excess.
- Do not use cold ingredients to make a cake. The buttermilk should be at room temperature for 30 minutes before using, and the eggs can be warmed up by submerging them in hot tap water for 10 minutes. Soften the butter in the microwave or on the counter.
- Lightly butter three 6-inch cake pans that are 2 inches deep. Line the bases of the pans with circles of parchment paper.
- If you're using cake strips, cinch them around the pans to get the right size. Soak the cake strips in cold water for 10 minutes, then gently squeeze out the excess water. Make sure that the strips are very wet, but not dripping, then slip them onto the prepared pans.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. It's best to have the oven ready before you start making the cakes.
Making the Cakes
- Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda until blended. Toss the fresh blueberries in 1 tablespoon of flour. Set aside.
- Beat the butter until smooth, then add the caster sugar and beat until pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Lightly beat the eggs with a fork and add them in three additions. Add a tablespoon of the sifted flour mixture with each addition of egg to prevent the batter from curdling. Beat the butter/egg mixture until smooth and fluffy.
- Gently stir in the lemon zest and the dry ingredients, then mix in the wet ingredients until just blended. Make sure that all the flour is mixed in at the bottom of the bowl, but be careful not to overmix.
- Gently fold in the flour-coated blueberries and divide the batter evenly among three 6-inch cake pans.
- Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The cakes will also shrink away from the sides of the pan.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then flip them out onto wire racks and peel off the parchment paper. Let the cakes cool completely, about 30 minutes.
Making the Blueberry Jam
- While the cakes are baking, combine the blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then turn the heat to low and break down the berries with a potato masher. Simmer for a couple minutes, until thickened.
- Pour the mixture through a sieve to remove the pulp and seeds. Pour the sieved blueberry jam into a shallow dish and chill in the freezer until thoroughly set, about 20-30 minutes. It's important that the jam isn't liquidy when you add it to the icing, or it will make it runny.
Making the Icing
- Beat the softened butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy, then add the vanilla extract. Gradually sift in the icing sugar until the icing has the taste and thickness you desire. If the icing is too thick, add the lemon juice to thin it.
- Remove half of the icing and stir in some of the blueberry jam to get the shade of purple you desire. Leave the other half of the icing white.
Decorating the Cake
- Sandwich the cooled cakes with the blueberry icing. Crumb coat the sides by spreading on a thin layer of blueberry icing, then scraping most of it off with an angled spatula. This catches the cake crumbs, preventing them from getting in the outer icing. Chill the cake for 20 minutes to harden the crumb coat.
- Prepare the piping bags while the cake is chilling. Fit two piping bags with star nozzles, such as the Wilton 1M or the Ateco 824. For a marbled effect when piping, swipe some of the blueberry jam along the inside of the bags. Put the white icing in one bag, and the blueberry icing in the other.
- Pipe the remaining icing onto the cake in rosettes. Chill the cake for 1 hour to firm up the icing and to make the cake easier to slice.
Notes
- Don't have any piping bags? Use gallon size zip-top bags instead. Snip off the corner with scissors and push the piping tip through the hole.
- Weigh dry ingredients with a kitchen scale for accuracy.
- Use room-temperature ingredients. Cold ingredients will make a lumpy, unevenly mixed batter.
- Make a buttermilk substitute by placing 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring cup and filling it the rest of the way with milk. Stir and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Melting icing? Chill for 20 minutes to firm it up.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Alex
The lemon taste in the cake was just right. The icing was delicious, and the photos are so pretty!
Emma
Thank you, Alex! I enjoyed eating the icing too. 🙂
Beth
I like how the blueberries pop in your mouth! The icing is an interesting color, too. The cake looks beautiful both ways you decorate it. It tastes great!
Emma
I love the blueberry flavor, too! Thanks for leaving a comment, Beth.
Connie Sue Gault
I love how you explain everything so well. Just reading and looking at your fabulous photos makes my mouth water. Thanks for sharing your love for cooking
Emma
You are so kind, Miss Connie! Thank you for being such a faithful reader. 😊
Anita
This looks wonderful!! I can’t wait to give it a try.
Emma
Thanks, Miss Anita! Please let me know how it goes!