Lemon Blueberry Cake
This light and tender lemon blueberry cake is filled with fresh blueberry preserves and frosted with silky lemon buttercream.
Lemon and blueberry is one of those classic flavor combinations that make baked goods shine. And oh my, this cake shines bright.
There’s plenty of lemon flavor in the cake layers and creamy frosting, and the blueberry filling is a surprise burst of berry flavor. All together this cake is light and fresh, and so beautiful! Keep it simple and serve it as is, or dress it up with lemon wedges, fresh blueberries, and chamomile flowers.
Share this lemon blueberry layer cake with friends at your next dinner party, family gathering, or backyard cookout. (I’m actually planning to turn it into a wedding cake next month!) Regardless of the occasion, it will be a crowd-pleaser for sure!
Lemon Butter Cake Layers
The cake layers are scented with lemon zest and brushed with a lemon simple syrup after baking to really give them a punch of bright lemon flavor.
The cake recipe uses the reverse creaming method, which means all the dry ingredients are beaten together with the butter before the eggs and liquids are added at the end. (It’s the same way I make my beloved coconut cake.) It’s not any more difficult than using the traditional creaming method, and I like how light and tender the cake layers turn out.
Bake the cake layers in advance if you want (I always bake mine at least 1 day ahead of when I will assemble the final cake) and store in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for a month or more. See my tips on how to store cake layers here.
Blueberry Preserves Filling
Blueberry preserves sandwiched between the cake layers is the single blueberry component of this cake, but it’s a bold one. You can use store-bought preserves or make your own easily from either fresh or frozen blueberries. All you need is 3 ingredients (just blueberries, sugar and lemon juice) and 15 minutes.
If you’re looking for a shortcut, Bon Maman makes delicious blueberry preserves that you can find in any grocery store.
Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Swiss meringue buttercream is my favorite frosting for elegant layer cakes and so including it with this lemon blueberry cake was a no-brainer. SMB is light, silky, and isn’t nearly as tooth-achingly sweet as classic american buttercream. While it’s not difficult, it does require slightly more effort. But once you’ve tried it I think you’ll agree it’s well worth the effort!
If you still have questions, love how this blog post explains everything you ever needed to know about Swiss meringue buttercream. Look for a full tutorial on Completely Delicious soon!
Tips for baking this lemon blueberry cake
- If you’re new to baking layer cakes or need a little help, be sure to check out my complete guide for how to build a layer cake. It’s got everything you need to know!
- This cake recipe uses cake flour to achieve the lightest and most tender crumb. For best results, don’t substitute for all-purpose flour. You should be able to find it any any grocery store or you can even make your own.
- Because the cake layers are so tender, you’ll definitely want to line the cake pans with parchment paper rounds to make sure there’s no sticking. Here’s all my tips for prepping cake pans before baking.
- You can use either 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans. (These are the pans I have and love.) 8-inch pans will yield a taller cake, 9-inch will yield one that’s wider. You can also use more or less pans for a 2, 3, 4 (or more) layered cake. Also, see my tip for how to split cake layers. Take note that baking times may vary slightly, and you will want to adjust the amount of frosting and filling between cake layers depending on the configuration you chose.
- Assembled cakes should be stored in the fridge. They will be freshest within 2-3 days of assembly but can be stored for up to a week. Pull the cake out of the fridge and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
Other lovely layer cakes
- Strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting
- Coconut lime cake
- Red wine chocolate layer cake with raspberry buttercream
- Strawberry shortcake layer cake
- Southern coconut cake
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Lemon Blueberry Cake
Ingredients
Lemon Cake Layers:
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk (375 ml)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extra
- 3 cups cake flour (340 grams)
- 2 1/3 cups granulated sugar (470 grams)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams), softened to room temperature
Lemon Simple Syrup
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (125 ml)
Blueberry Preserves:
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 6 large egg whites
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (300 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups cubed unsalted butter (319 grams), softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (60 ml)
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two or three 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper. (See Notes)
- In a small bowl, lightly whisk together the eggs, 1/2 cup of the milk, and vanilla.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter, remaining 1 cup milk, and lemon zest and combine on low speed until moistened. Increase speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the egg mixture in 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing just long enough to incorporate between additions.
- Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto cooling racks to cool completely.
Brush with simple syrup:
- Combine sugar and lemon juice and heat over low heat on the stove, or microwave, until sugar is dissolved. Let cool.
- Brush tops of cooled cake layers with simple syrup.
- Wrap cake layers in plastic wrap and store in fridge until ready to assemble cake.
To make the blueberry preserves:
- Add half of the blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes. Add remaining blueberries and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
- Let cool completely before filling the cake.
To make the lemon Swiss meringue buttercream:
- Place a small saucepan filled with an inch of water on the stove over medium heat and bring to a boil.
- Add egg whites, sugar, and salt to a heat-proof bowl and place over the boiling water. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture is warm and sugar is completely dissolved (rub a small amount between your fingers to test if sugar is dissolved).
- Transfer egg whites to mixer bowl and beat with whisk attachment on high speed until cooled and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce mixer speed to medium high and add cubed butter a tablespoon at a time, waiting until butter is incorporated before adding more.
- When all butter is added, mixture should be thick and creamy. If mixture appears curdled (butter is too cold), keep mixing until smooth, up to several minutes more. If mixture is soupy (butter is to warm), place bowl in the fridge for 20 minutes and then beat again until smooth.
- Add lemon juice and mix until combined.
To assemble cake:
- Place one cake layer on display stand or plate. Cover with approximately 1 cup of buttercream and half of the blueberry preserves, leaving an inch border around the preserves.
- Top with next cake layer and repeat filling. Place final cake layer on top.
- Frost cake with remaining buttercream and decorate as desired. See my tips for how to frost a cake.
- Store cake in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving. Assembled cake can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week, though it will be best within 2-3 days.
Notes
- This cake can be baked in either 8 or 9-inch pans. You can use 2 or 3 pans, depending on the look you're going for: double layer (2 pans), triple layer (3 pans), or quadruple layer (2 pans, then slice each layer in half).
- You can also use store-bought blueberry preserves.
- Make ahead: All of the components of this cake can be made ahead of time. Store wrapped cakes in the fridge for up to 5 days, and in the freezer for 1 month or more. Simple syrup, preserves, and buttercream can be stored in the fridge for a week. Let buttercream come to room temperature and beat with an electric mixer before frosting the cake.
The cake looks fabulous! I’m wondering if the usual adjustments should be made for baking at 5,000 feet? I usually add an extra egg and scale back the leaveners. I ask because you’re not baking at sea level, right? Thanks for your input. Looking forward to making this soon!
I am also at 5,000 ft and I very rarely make any adjustments to my recipes as they almost always turn out as written. If you have had problems with cake in the past, you might want to with this one too, but unfortunately I don’t have any experience with those adjustments and can’t advise. Sorry I’m not more help!
If i wanted to make this using 10inch tins for the bottom layer of a wedding cake, would increasing the incredients by 25% be enough?
It’s a good place to start! I’d definitely do some tests to make sure.
Hi Zoe,
How did the 10 inch work out by increasing the ingredients by 25%? I’m also looking at doing it as a bottom layer of a wedding cake, with a 7 inch for the top layer.
If I do wiped cream in the middle will the cake get soggy
Nope it’s shouldn’t!
Hiya! Been looking for a blueberry lemon cake recipe without the insanely sweet traditional buttercream and thank god i found urs! I’m planning to make a 3 layer-6” cakes tho. Any advice on the measurements of the ingredients? Thanks a mil!
You can try halving it and see if that works. I haven’t scaled this recipe so I can’t say for sure.
I’ve halved it and it turned out wonderful! Thanks so much for the awesome recipe!
Wow. It looks delicious. I love blueberry cake. So, I will try to make it. Your recipe will help me. Thanks for sharing.
Hello! I have been looking for a lemon blueberry cake recipe for my nephews wedding! I am making his grooms cake-Batman themed- and I was wondering about putting fondant over the swiss meringue buttercream? Would it hold the fondant well? The recipe sounds wonderful!!!
Yes, it should work under fondant just fine! Though I don’t personally have much fondant experience. Good luck with the grooms cake!
Thank you for this informative recipe dear , i prepare this cake on my anniversary party by own and everyone in the party like that alot.
Visit Floweraura.com/anniversary/cakes for wonderful cakes
Thanks for sharing
Wow. It looks delicious. I love blueberry cake. So, I will try to make it. Your recipe will help me. Thanks for sharing.
Hi, can I bake it in one 9×13 inch pan instead of 2 round pans? I wanna to make this for my son’s upcoming birthday. 🙂
I haven’t tested it that way, but it can be done. I’m just not sure of the changes that need to be made. Do not fill the 9×13 inch pan more than halfway, if you have leftover batter make a few cupcakes, etc. You don’t want the cake to overflow in the oven. Keep the temperature the same, but bake for maybe 30-40 minutes, though I’d start peeking through the oven window at about 25 minutes. The cake is done when it springs back when gently pressed. Good luck!
I love these recipes. thank you so much for sharing your recipes.
Hi, I was wondering if there was a way to substitute meringue powder in the SMB? I have an excess of it and was thinking it might also be easier if you think it would work.
I’d do a google search for a SMB that uses meringue powder, that way you’ll know they tested and verified that it will work. 🙂
I love baking but I prefer baking with ghee. I tried baking lemon blueberry cake with ghee, and I was really happy with the result. The cake was really good to enjoy and relish as a baked item. I have used pure ghee for the baking and I love it. Thanks Annalise for sharing such a tasty baking recipe.
https://milkio.co.nz/baking-with-ghee/
Finally, I found a blog worth reading and I’m so thankful for your brilliant mind. New Malden Food Centre
This recipe is fabulous! I made this cake for my MIL’s birthday and everyone raved how great this cake tasted. And it was stunning to look at, too! One of those cakes that tasted as delicious as it looked,. It truly came out perfectly! If this is your first time with Swiss buttercream (as it was mine), click on the blog link given above – very helpful information about cooling the egg white/sugar mixture before adding the butter. I needed to cool mine after adding the butter and it still turned out beautifully. Thanks for a terrific recipe!