The magical combo of sweet blueberries and zesty lemon makes this Blueberry Lemon Cake taste just like spring in every bite! Each cake layer is bursting with juicy, fresh blueberries. Sandwiched in between is a bright, tangy lemon curd that wakes up your taste buds. And to top it all off? A layer of the prettiest purple blueberry frosting — guaranteed to steal the spotlight at any gathering.
✨ Trang’s Recipe Highlights
- FLAVOR: A delightful blend of sweet, juicy blueberries and zesty lemon.
- TEXTURE: Moist and tender cake layers complemented by the creamy richness of blueberry frosting and the smooth, tangy lemon curd filling.
- EASE: Smaller layered cakes are a little bit less intimidating. I keep this blueberry lemon cake recipe simple with straightforward steps, an easy frosting choice, and store bought lemon curd option to save time.
- SCALE IT: You have the option to make this a full-size cake, making the recipe adaptable for any occasions.
Key Ingredients
Below are some notes on the key ingredients you’ll need to make this cake. As usual, you can find the full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions with process shots in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Blueberries: Fresh blueberries add bursts of sweetness and juiciness in the cake layers. If using frozen, do not thaw to minimize bleeding in the batter; you may also want to use a little bit more flour to coat them before folding them into the cake batter.
- Lemon Zest: Infuses your blueberry lemon cake with bright citrus notes. However, if you don’t have lemon zest, a little bit of lemon extract can be added to the cake batter or just skip it all together. You’ll still get the tangy lemon flavor from the lemon curd.
- Sour Cream: Contributes to a moist crumb and rich texture. Can be substituted with yogurt or buttermilk if desired.
- Lemon Curd: Delivers that tangy filling. Homemade lemon curd is recommended for optimal flavor, but store-bought works just fine to save time and simplify the recipe.
- Freeze-Dried Blueberries: Ground into a powder, this creates a natural, vibrant purple hue and concentrated blueberry flavor in the frosting.
Freeze-dried blueberries substitutions
- Blueberry jam: I tested the frosting using Bonne Maman blueberry jam. You can use between ¼ cup to ½ cup of blueberry jam. The integrity of the frosting does not seem to be affected by the addition of jam, but the more jam you add, the sweeter the frosting will be so you may want to reduce the amount of powdered sugar added. I also find that while blueberry jam makes a great substitute, it doesn’t deliver that tang that freeze-dried blueberry has.
- Fresh or frozen blueberries: You won’t be able to use fresh or frozen blueberries as they are. But you can potentially cook them down into a very thick blueberry compote or jam before using it to flavor the frosting.
- Dried blueberries: Regular dried blueberries are not a good substitute for freeze-dried. If you grind them up and add them to the frosting, I think you’ll just get little bits of chewy dried blueberries in the frosting. You could potentially rehydrate them and cook them into a jam.
Additional tips
- Frosting choices: Both Swiss Meringue and American-style buttercreams are delicious options for blueberry lemon cake. Swiss Meringue offers a silky texture, while American-style is quicker and simpler to prepare. I tested both but opted for the simpler version in this recipe. If you prefer the mouth feel of Swiss meringue buttercream you can always follow the recipe for my Swiss Meringue Buttercream and incorporate blueberry powder at the end.
- Alternative frosting flavor: For a tangy twist, consider a blueberry cream cheese frosting, similar to my strawberry cream cheese frosting used in other recipes.
- Amount of sugar: The original recipe had a lot less sugar in the frosting, I have since tested it again and increased the amount of sugar. If you loved the original frosting recipe, I would advise using just half the amount of sugar at first, and add more at the end to your taste.
- Frosting tastes just like butter: Buttercream frosting needs to be aerated well to become creamy and fluffy. If your frosting tastes like butter, it could be because you didn’t beat it enough. A stand mixer or electric hand mixer is useful here!
Hungry for more?
Blueberry Lemon Cake Recipe
The magical combo of sweet blueberries and zesty lemon makes this Blueberry Lemon Cake taste just like spring in every bite! Each cake layer is bursting with juicy, fresh blueberries. Sandwiched in between is a bright, tangy lemon curd that wakes up your taste buds. And to top it all off? A layer of the prettiest purple blueberry frosting — guaranteed to steal the spotlight at any gathering.
Equipment
- 6" Cake Pans
Ingredients
Blueberry lemon cake
- ¾ cup granulated sugar, 140 g
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest, from 2 lemons
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, 160 g
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large egg, room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream, room temperature, 120 g
- 3 oz unsalted butter, melted and cooled, 83 g
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup blueberries, 140 g, divided
- Melted butter for cake pan
- Extra flour for blueberries
Lemon curd filling
- ⅓ cup lemon curd, 99 g
Blueberry frosting
- 1 bag freeze-dried blueberries, 2 oz, 56 g
- 8 oz unsalted butter, 226 g, room temperature
- 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar, 140 g
- A big pinch of kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoon heavy whipping cream, 90 g, room temperature
Instructions
Make lemon blueberry cake
- Preheat the oven – Set the oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
- Prepare the cake pans – Brush melted butter on two 6” round cake pans. Line the bottom of the cake pan with a piece of round parchment paper and brush more melted butter on top of the parchment paper. Set aside.Melted butter for cake pan
- Mix dry ingredients – In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together sugar and lemon zest to release the oil. Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder over the sugar mixture. Add salt and mix thoroughly with a whisk.¾ cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Mix wet ingredients – Add sour cream, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract to a large bowl. Beat with a whisk until combined.2 large egg, ½ cup sour cream, 3 oz unsalted butter, ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Combine wet and dry – Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture, and fold until a smooth batter forms.
- Add blueberries – Toss half of the blueberries with some flour and gently fold them into the cake batter. TIP: If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw.1 cup blueberries, Extra flour for blueberries
- Divide batter and bake – Divide cake batter evenly among the two prepared cake pans. Sprinkle the rest of the blueberries over the top. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached. TIP: Use a kitchen scale to divide the cake batter if you want to be precise, approximately 330 – 350 g of batter per pan.
- Cool the cake layers – Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 – 15 minutes. When you can touch the cake pans, use a butter knife to loosen the sides, flip the pan over to remove the cakes from the pans. Peel off the parchment paper, and allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack before adding frosting.
Make blueberry buttercream frosting
- Grind the freeze-dried blueberries – Add the entire bag of freeze-dried blueberries to your food processor or high speed blender and process until a fine powder forms. Set aside for now.1 bag freeze-dried blueberries
- Cream the butter – In your stand mixer bowl, beat the softened butter on medium to medium high speed until it is light, fluffy, creamy. TIP: The color of the butter should go from pale yellow to white.8 oz unsalted butter
- Add the powdered ingredients – Add powdered sugar, along with the freeze-dried blueberry powder set aside earlier and a big pinch of kosher salt. Stir first to combine to prevent the powdered sugar from puffing up. Then gradually increase mixer speed to medium high and beat until completely incorporated and creamy. TIP: You can sift the blueberry powder to get rid of seeds and big pieces for a smoother frosting if preferred.1 ¼ cup powdered sugar, A big pinch of kosher salt
- Add the liquid – Add the vanilla extract, and stream in the heavy whipping cream a little at a time while beating at medium low speed to incorporate. Then continue beating on medium high until the frosting is light and fluffy. NOTE: Incorporating liquid in small increments helps prevent the frosting from splitting, but if your frosting happens to split or curdle, don’t worry, just keep beating and it will come back together.½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 6 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
Assemble the cake
- Prepare the first layer – When the cakes are completely cool, place 1 layer on a cake stand or plate. Put a few pieces of parchment paper underneath the cake to cover the cake stand or plate to keep it clean. Add a crumb coat over the first cake layer and enough frosting on the top to make it even. Add some frosting in a pastry bag and pipe a border around the edge of the cake. NOTE: It's not important what type of pastry tip you use here.
- Add lemon curd filling – Add ⅓ cup of lemon curd and even it out with a spatula.⅓ cup lemon curd
- Finish the cake – Add the second cake layer on top. Frost the side and top of the cake with the rest of the frosting or just enough to your liking. Carefully pull out the pieces of parchment paper underneath the cake leaving your plate or cake stand clean.
- Set the filling and frosting – Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes before slicing into it to allow the frosting and filling to set.
Notes
- Preventing Blueberries from Sinking: Coating blueberries in flour helps suspend them in the batter. Additionally, reserving some to sprinkle on top before baking ensures even distribution.
- Freeze-dried Blueberries Substitution: The easiest substitution is blueberry jam, you can use up to half a cup to flavor the frosting. Hold back some powdered sugar since blueberry jam already has added sugar.
- Scaling the Recipe: This blueberry and lemon cake recipe can be doubled for a full-size 8-inch cake. Adjust baking time accordingly to 35–40 minutes.
- Cupcake Variation: The batter will yield approximately 12 cupcakes; bake for 15–17 minutes. Let cool, then hollow them out and fill with lemon curd, and top with blueberry frosting.
- Storage: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to a week, ensuring exposed cake is covered to prevent drying. Leftover cake can also be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let come to room temp before serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 162g, Calories: 587kcal
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Couldn’t have found a more perfect cake for my mom’s birthday. She loves lemon and blueberry, and this cake delivers the flavor. It stayed fresh for a long time, too! I ended up using the blueberry powder in cream cheese icing, because it’s my favorite, but it turned out delicious. Looking forward to trying all of your recipes, because everything I’ve made off your site so far has been outstanding!
Thank you Kristin! Happy birthday to you mom, so glad to hear she enjoyed the cake! 🙂
The icing had probably 1/4 the sugar it needs. I doubled it and all you could taste or feel was butter. It was kind of nasty and I should have gone with my gut and put more sugar. The cake was delicious though!
Hi! This recipe looks great. I’ve never made a double layer cake before but I’ve read to refrigerate crumb coated cakes before finishing frosting. What’s your opinion on this?
Yes, that’s pretty typical. I would do it if you want a perfectly neat cake to show off or if you notice the cake is especially crumbly. Usually, I skip this step if the cake doesn’t seem too crumbly just to save time, or if it doesn’t seem to matter too much with the frosting application, like if you’re not trying to achieve super smooth edges.
I can substitute the blueberry swiss meringue with perhaps just a regular vanilla swiss meringue? Do you think it will taste good with the blueberry base? thanks!
oops typo in the above. I meant to ask can I instead of I can. thanks!
Hi Lucy, you can but it won’t be too “blueberry”, the blueberry frosting makes this cake special. Without it, it would just be a lemon cake dotted with blueberries and vanilla buttercream, no wow factor. It will taste good… but it depends on what you’re looking for you might be disappointed. I might venture to recommend a lemon cream cheese frosting in this case for the more tangy flavor to go with the lemon curd filling.
Hey Can I use normal dried blueberries instead of freeze dried ones?
Manleen, I have not used regular dried blueberries for the frosting, but I don’t think it will work well. But you can use blueberry jam, please see notes for substitution within the post.
Assembly tomorrow everything else is complete except the frosting I’ll do that in the morning. Can I use frozen blueberries in the frosting? If I grind them up frozen and squeeze out the liquid?
I’m not sure, you may be able to use it if you can get a lot of the liquid out, maybe even cook it into a jam first. I gave blueberry jam substitution within the post and how much to use.
Love the look of the cake. Any way it can be made gluten free? My daughter loves blueberries and her birthday is coming up.
You can try using King Arthur Flour or Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose gluten free flour. I don’t personally bake with gluten free flour but I have heard from readers who used these on other recipes successfully. You can sub exact amount.
Thank you! I will let you know how it turns out.
Where is the recipient for the lemon curd?
Lemon curd recipe.
thank you for sharing this recipe. anything can substitute the heavy cream for frosting?
I don’t recommend substituting, there isn’t anything that can replace heavy cream. If you don’t have heavy cream, try the swiss meringue frosting version or try this cream cheese frosting using blueberry.
Am wanting to make this but having trouble finding the freeze dried blue berries. Do they have to be freeze dried?
Chelsea, it is best to use freeze dried blueberries but if you can’t find it please see the section within the post about substitution if you can’t find freeze dried blueberries.
you can buy them on Amazon.
I find freeze dried blueberries at Trader Joe’s. I did a taste test with Whole Foods freeze dried blueberries and I found Trader Joe’s much more flavorful with a true blueberry flavor.
This was such an easy recipe to follow and I love that the stand mixer is only needed for the buttercream. The freeze dried blueberries did exactly what they were supposed to do. Beautiful cake on the inside and outside. I just wanted more lemon curd, so I kind of hollowed out a bit of the top of the cake layer so more would fit and I also added fresh blueberries to the lemon curd as well. Beautiful cake!
Thank you Debra, more lemon curd would totally amplify the flavor!
First of all this cake is just stunning. I love the homemade lemon curd too. Great tips on the best way to get those blueberries distributed.