Lemon Blueberry Cake

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This easy lemon blueberry cake is made up of three layers of lemon cake that are loaded with blueberries and real lemon flavor! It’s filled and frosted with homemade cream cheese frosting and garnished with fresh blueberries and lemon slices.

Why You’ll Love This Lemon Blueberry Cake Recipe

This lemon blueberry cake was meant for summer. If you are looking for a stunning dessert that will have everyone coming back for another slice, this is it. Here are some of my absolute favorite things about it.

• Real lemon flavor. No extracts here. Just real, fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. The bright flavor runs through the whole cake.
• Loaded with berries. I did not skimp on blueberries here and they are perfectly, evenly suspended throughout the batter. Every bite is filled with at least a couple of sweet, explosions of blueberry goodness.
• Perfect texture. This cake is not “fluffy,” but it’s also not pound cake-like dense. It has the perfect balance of both worlds. Each bite has the perfect amount of resistance and the perfect amount of give.
• Rich and moist. I used butter and oil in this recipe and the combination is a dream. The butter brings a wonderful richness to the cake while the oil adds moisture that the butter alone can’t provide. They’re a match made in heaven.

What You’ll Need

Here’s a quick look at what you’ll need to make this lemon blueberry layer cake. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card below for exact measurements.

Lemon Blueberry Cake

• All-purpose flour – Be sure to measure this accurately. Too little and your blueberries might since. Too much and your cake will be too dense. I highly recommend a food scale to be completely accurate, but the spoon and level method also works.
• Baking powder and baking soda – The combination gives the ideal texture to help keep the blueberries suspended, but also give you a tender cake.
• Salt – You need a little salt for flavor. Without it, the cake can be bland.
• Unsalted butter – The butter must be at room temperature. Otherwise, it will not cream properly with the oil and sugar.
• Vegetable oil
• Sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Sour cream – The sour cream adds moisture to the cake without thinning the batter out so much that the berries will sink.
• Eggs – Be sure to use large eggs, not medium or extra large.
• Fresh lemon juice and lemon zest – Pro tip: Zest the lemons before you juice them, or you won’t be able to zest them very easily.
• Buttermilk – Do not try to use regular milk. The buttermilk helps add tenderness and moisture to the cake while also helping to keep the blueberries afloat in the batter.
• Blueberries – I highly recommend using fresh berries. See the section below titled “Can I Use Frozen Blueberries?” for more information.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Cream cheese – The cream cheese must be at room temperature. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself with a lumpy frosting. In addition, be sure to use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese. Low-fat and tub versions will be too thin.
• Butter – Be sure that the butter is at room temperature as well if you would like to prevent a lumpy frosting.
• Powdered sugar – This is also called icing sugar.
• Vanilla extract
• Lemon slices and fresh blueberries – For decorating.

Can I Use Frozen Blueberries?

I recommend fresh blueberries but, in a pinch, you can use frozen. I recommend thawing them and patting them dry first. If you add them to the batter frozen they will add the excess water that is used when freezing fruit into the cake. This will make the cake more dense and the blueberries may sink.

How to Make Lemon Blueberry Cake

Don’t let the number of steps in this recipe intimidate you. This is a classic lemon cake recipe that is actually quite easy to make when broken down into manageable steps. Here’s how to do it. Have a look at the recipe card below for more thorough instructions.

To make the cake layers

• Prep. Line the bottom of three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper, grease the sides, and preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Cream. Beat the butter, oil, and sugar until light in color and fluffy.

• Add the remaining wet ingredients. Mix in the vanilla extract and sour cream followed by the eggs, one at a time.

• Put it all together. Mix half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Slowly mix in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and buttermilk followed by the remaining dry ingredients.
• Add the blueberries. Toss the blueberries with 1/2 a tablespoon of flour and fold into the cake batter.
• Bake. Divide the batter between the cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes.
• Cool. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting and assembly

• Beat. Beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
• Add volume. Mix in half of the powdered sugar followed by the vanilla and some cream. Mix in the rest of the powdered sugar.

• Assemble the cake. Remove the domes from the top of the cakes and place a cake layer on a serving plate. Spread 1 cup of frosting over the top of the cake. Repeat with the other two cake layers. Frost the outside of the cake.
• Decorate. Pipe swirls of frosting on the top of the cake and garnish with lemon slices and blueberries.

Tips for Success

I want to set you up to make the best lemon and blueberry cake ever. Here are a few tips and tricks to get you going in the right direction.

• Cream thoroughly. When beating together the butter, oil, and sugar for the cake batter, do so until the mixture is fluffy and significantly lightened in color. This process adds air to the mix which helps fluff up the cake. If you skimp on this step, your dessert will likely be overly dense.
• Don’t overmix. Once you have added the dry ingredients to the cake batter, it is important not to overmix. Overmixing can cause the glutens in the flour to overdevelop, resulting in a tough, dense cake.
• Use room temperature butter and cream cheese. To avoid lumps and overmixing the batter or frosting, you should use softened butter and cream cheese. They’ll need approximately 30 minutes to soften. You can test the softness by pressing gently on the outside of the wrapper. It’s ready when pressing gently leaves a slight indent.
• Incorporate all of the ingredients. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl intermittently as you add ingredients and mix them in. This will help ensure that all of the ingredients make it into the batter (and the frosting) and are incorporated fully.
• Don’t skimp on the sugar. I am often asked if it’s ok to reduce the amount of powdered sugar in this frosting. I don’t recommend it. Your frosting will likely end up too thin and have a hard time staying in place on the cake. If you want to use less powdered sugar, reduce everything by the same ratio so that you reduce the overall amount of frosting, not just the powdered sugar.
• Pick the right cream cheese. This is not the time to cut calories, folks. So grab a full-fat cream cheese. Brick style is best. Low-fat and tubbed versions tend to be too thin to make a successful frosting.

How to Store Lemon Blueberry Cake

Transfer the cake to an airtight cake carrier. If you don’t have one, wrap the cake in a double layer of plastic wrap. I suggest using toothpicks to prop the plastic away from any decorations. If you already sliced the cake, arrange the slices in a single layer in an airtight container.

Store the cake in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. It is best enjoyed at room temperature, so allow it to sit on the counter for a bit before diving in.

Can I Freeze This?

You can. My preference is to freeze the individual layers, then thaw them when you’re ready to use them. To do that, wrap each layer in plastic wrap and freeze. You could also put each layer in a Ziplock bag for an extra layer of protection. If you want to freeze it fully frosted, I’d pop the cake in the freezer for a couple of hours to firm up before wrapping it in a double layer of plastic wrap. Sliced it already? No problem. Wrap each slice, then put them in an airtight container. In either case, store the cake in the freezer for up to 3 months.

When you are ready to indulge, allow the cake to thaw in the refrigerator. About an hour before diving in, take the cake out of the fridge and place it on the counter so that it can come to room temperature.

More Lemon Blueberry Desserts To Try

I love this dreamy lemon-blueberry combo. So bright, fresh, and perfect for summer. Here are some of my other favorite lemon blueberry desserts.

• Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake
• Lemon Blueberry Poke Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Mousse Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

Watch How to Make it

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