Lemon Blueberry Cake – Lemon cake layers with fresh blueberries, lemon curd, and lemon buttercream.
Excited to share with you my Lemon Blueberry Cake recipe. The combination of lemon and blueberry is such a classic duo and is good in so many forms: pancakes, muffins, baked french toast, and of course, cake!
Lemon Blueberry Cake
This popular flavor combination has been done by many before, but I love how each cake or muffin or pancake recipe is a little different. One of my favorite versions of a Lemon Blueberry Cake is from Sweetapolita. Rosie’s recipe is one of the first cakes I ever made and I’ve always loved her flavor combinations and sprinkles!
Cake Layers
My version of a Lemon Blueberry Cake is inspired by Rosie’s cake. I’ve altered my lemon cake layers from my Lemon Bar Cake. The one difference you’ll see between the Lemon Bar Cake and this Lemon Blueberry Cake is that I’m not using lemon pudding mix. Instead, I’ve subbed some of my buttermilk with fresh lemon juice. The texture and flavor are just as awesome as the Lemon Bar Cake. I just decided to give you another option for a lemon cake in case you can’t get your hands on lemon pudding.
When you’re making the cake layers, make sure you allow for plenty of time (a couple of hours, usually) for the wet ingredients to get to room temperature. Room temperature ingredients are better absorbed by dry ingredients, and that helps your cake to rise better.
Size Matters
Also, try to find the smallest blueberries possible. The smaller the blueberries, the better they’ll stay in place as they bake in the cake batter. You’ll also want to make sure you dust your blueberries in flour to help prevent them from sinking, as well.
You can see some of my blueberries held great in their spot and some of the bigger ones definitely fell to the bottom.
The Most Delicious Lemon Buttercream
The buttercream for this cake is the same buttercream I use in my Lemon Bar Cake. To get a bright yellow color, you’ll want to add some yellow food coloring. I like using Americolor food gels. For the cake layers and buttercream, I added a few drops of “lemon yellow.”
Assembly
Don’t forget to:
- Chill your cake layers before assembly
- Pipe a rim of buttercream around the edge of your cake layers
- Not to overfill your cake layers with too much lemon curd. Save leftover curd to serve with each slice of cake (or to use on toast in the morning!)
- Apply a crumb coat before your final coat of frosting
Video Tutorial
Tools
You can find the spatulas and scrapers I used over on SHOP.CAKEBYCOURTNEY.COM.
You’ll also find my first cookbook, “CAKE, by Courtney” with this recipe and so many more HERE.
More Cakes to Love
Lemon Blueberry Cake
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp (9 g) lemon zest, one large lemon
- 1/2 tsp (2.8 g) salt
- 3 tsp (12 g) baking powder
- 3 cups (345 g) cake flour
- 6 eggs whites, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup lemon juice about three large lemons
- 3/4 cup (194 g) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 cup (140 g) blueberries, try to find the smallest ones
- 3 drops yellow food coloring, optional (I used Americolor Lemon Yellow)
FOR THE CURD
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp (9 g) grated lemon zest, one large lemon
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, about 3 large lemons
- 3 large eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- 4 tbsp (56.5 g) unsalted butter, cold
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
- 2 cups (446 g) unsalted butter, slightly cold
- 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar, measured and then sifted
- 2 tsp (8.4 g) lemon extract
- 1/4 cup (57.5 g) heavy whipping cream
- pinch of salt
- 4 drops yellow food coloring, optional (I used Americolor Lemon Yellow)
- *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake, as decorated above. If you want additional piping, you'll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.
Instructions
FOR THE CAKE
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans or four 6-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray, line the bottoms with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
- In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the buttermilk and lemon juice. Set aside.
- In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and zest together on medium speed, until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and begin to add the egg whites, one at a time, scraping down the sides and the bottom of the bowl and mixing well between each addition. Mix on medium-high speed until no grains of sugar remain, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Be sure not to over mix. Over mixing your cake batter will cause it to sink. ***As you add the last of the buttermilk mixture, this is a good time to start coloring your batter if you'd like it a brighter yellow.
- Coat your blueberries in a tablespoon of flour and then gently fold them into the cake batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between the three pans, about 18 ounces in each 8-inch pan or about 13 ounces in each 6-inch pan. Bake the cake layers for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out with a few moist crumbs on it. Allow the cake layers to cool in the pans on wire racks for about 10 to 15 minutes. Invert cake layers onto a wire rack to cool completely. TIP: spray your wire rack with nonstick spray to prevent the cake layers from sticking.
- Allow to cool completely before wrapping in plastic wrap and storing in the freezer until ready to decorate.
FOR THE CURD
- This element is best done a day or two ahead of stacking and decorating your cake.
- Whisk the sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the whole eggs and yolks in a small bowl and then whisk them into the lemon mixture.
- Cook the mixture over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until it's thick like pudding, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, a few pieces at a time until incorporated.
- Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pushing it through with a rubber spatula. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until completely set, at least 4 hours and up to 5 days.
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the powdered sugar, followed by the cream, salt and lemon extract. Mix until combined. Add yellow food coloring, if using. Mix until incorporated completely. Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat the frosting for about 5 minutes.
- Before applying the buttercream to your cake, use wooden spoon to beat the frosting by hand for about 2 minutes to push out any air pockets.
ASSEMBLY
- Spread a small dollop of frosting onto a cake board. Place the first cake layer, top side up, on the board.
- Spread about a half cup of frosting over the cake layer and pipe a rim of frosting around the edge of the cake to create a barrier to the filling.
- Spread about 1/4 cup of the curd in the center of the cake, carefully spreading it to the edge of the piping.
- Place a second cake layer on top of the piped frosting and filling and repeat step 2 and 3. Place the final cake layer, top side up, on the second layer of filling.
- Lightly coat the cake with a thin layer of frosting to lock in the crumbs. Freeze the cake for about 10 to 15 minutes to set the frosting.
- Finish frosting and decorating the cake with the remaining frosting. Serve a spoonful of the remaining lemon curd with each slice of cake.
I usually will sub out the buttermilk with equal parts sour cream in other recipes. Is that something that can be done with yours? I just love the texture sour cream gives. Thanks! Looking forward to trying this beauty!
Sure!
I made this cake and it came out very dense. Was it supposed to be that way or moist and fluffy? What did I do wrong? Btw, I nailed your chocolate cake and it’s a favorite!
I want to make this in a Bundt pan! Would that work?
You just wouldn’t be able to put the lemon curd in. But you can put it on the side to serve with it!
I’m planning to make this cake for a bridal shower soon! I noticed the note about using smaller blueberries. I know I can find frozen wild blueberries which are often quite small. Can I use frozen blueberries in this cake? If so, should I thaw them first or can I put them in the cake frozen?
Can I sub in GF flour? I love this recipe and want to make tomorrow!
How many cupcakes would you say this recipe would translate to? Looking to make it a wedding and I am curious how many batches I will need to make so I can purchase the ingredients for it. Loved the recipe as a layer cake, Bake for 18-20 mins still?
You’d get about 22-24 cupcakes depending on the size. Yes, bake time is close to that so keep your eye on them.
Do you think I could substitute raspberries for the blueberries?
Yes!
Love all of the cakes I’ve made from Courtney (~20) but for me this one just didn’t hit the mark as much. The frosting almost tasted like limoncello flavor with all of the alcohol despite using less than what it called for, and the cake just felt denser than other ones I’ve made. Would try it again but very sad!