Sunshine-sweet lemon blueberry layer cake dotted with juicy berries and topped with lush cream cheese frosting. One of the most popular cake recipes on this website!
Let’s dive headfirst into this sunshine-sweet springtime layer cake… no matter the time of year!
How to Make Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Fresh lemons. Use fresh lemon juice and lemon zest in the cake batter. None of that lemon extract stuff! How to choose lemons at the store? Make sure the lemons you choose are smooth-skinned and heavy for their size. That way you know they are extra juicy.
- Buttermilk. Known for providing exceptional moisture to baked goods, buttermilk leaves each bite tender and lush. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use whole milk instead.
- Brown sugar & 4 eggs: I’ve found that lemon cakes can easily be dry and gritty, so add some moist-making ingredients like brown sugar, eggs, and buttermilk. Buttermilk, a little brown sugar, and 4 eggs assure the final product is as moist as it could possibly be without being wet.
- Fresh or frozen blueberries: Fresh or frozen blueberries are OK. If using frozen, do not thaw.
I love this lemon blueberry cake because the blueberries DO NOT sink to the bottom of the cake. Why not? The batter is thick. When you have a thin batter, heavy fruit or add-ins will sink to the bottom. I also recommend tossing the blueberries in a little flour too– this is extra insurance they don’t sink!
Need cupcakes instead? Use my recipe for lemon blueberry cupcakes.
Video Tutorial
Cream Cheese Frosting
This cake is moist and soft, somewhere between a vanilla layer cake and pound cake. Silky cream cheese frosting is the perfect finishing touch– it literally tastes like spreadable cheesecake. The cream cheese frosting goes onto the cake so easily, so it’s a really simple cake to decorate. Doesn’t need to be neat– its haphazardness adds to its charm, don’t you think?
Decorate with blueberries, lemon zest, lemon slices, whatever you like!
More Lemon Recipes For You
- Lemon Bars
- Lemon Meringue Pie
- Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Scones
- Homemade Lemon Cupcakes
Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 23 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: serves 10-12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Sunshine-sweet lemon layer cake dotted with juicy blueberries and topped with lush cream cheese frosting. You can use either fresh or frozen blueberries in this cake. If using frozen, no need to thaw.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature*
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups (354g) sifted all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)*
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk*
- 2 Tablespoons lemon zest*
- 1/2 cup (120ml) lemon juice (3 medium lemons)*
- 1 and 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh (258g) or frozen (do not thaw– 275g)
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces (224g) full-fat brick style cream cheese, softened to room temperature*
- 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 and 1/2 cups (420g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 – 2 Tablespoons (15-30ml) heavy cream*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 9-inch or 8-inch round cake pans (8-inch pans produce thicker cakes), line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high until creamy – about 1 minute. Add granulated and brown sugars and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until everything is completely combined, about 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed for 5 seconds, then beat in the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice *just* until combined. Toss the blueberries with 1 Tablespoon of flour and gently fold into the batter. Batter is extremely thick. Do not over-mix. Over-mixing will lead to a tough, dense textured crumb.
- Spoon batter evenly into prepared cake pans. Bake for about 21-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (8 inch cakes take closer to 25 minutes.) Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan before assembling and frosting.
- Make the frosting: Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until no lumps remain, about 3 full minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, 1 Tablespoon cream, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Turn mixer to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add 1 more Tablespoon of cream to thin out, if desired.
- Assemble and frost: First, using a large serrated knife, trim the tops off the cake layers to create a flat surface. Place 1 layer on your cake stand. Evenly cover the top with cream cheese frosting. Top with 2nd layer, more frosting, then the third layer. Top with frosting and spread around the sides. The recipe doesn’t make a ton of frosting, just enough for a light frost. Top with blueberries or lemon garnish if desired. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes before cutting or else the cake may fall apart as you cut.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare cakes and frosting 1 day in advance. Keep cakes at room temperature, covered tightly. Refrigerate prepared frosting in an airtight container until ready to use. Bring frosting to room temperature before spreading as it will be quite stiff after refrigerating. (Add a splash of cream or milk to thin, if needed.) Frosted or unfrosted cakes may be frozen up to 2 months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature if desired before serving.
- Sheet Cake: The batter makes a perfect sheet cake! Simply spread into a 12×17 inch half sheet/jelly roll pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until cooked through. It also fits nicely into a 9×13 inch cake pan. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until cooked through.
- Bundt Cake: I haven’t tested this as a bundt cake but it will likely be a bit denser than the original layer version since it’s one tall layer. It will take significantly longer to bake. I also have a lemon poppy seed bundt cake recipe. You can leave out the poppy seeds and add 1 and 1/2 cups blueberries. I also have a lemon berry yogurt cake recipe. You can use all blueberries.
- Cupcakes: Here is my lemon cupcakes recipe. You can add 1 cup of blueberries to the batter and top with cream cheese frosting.
- 6 Inch Cake: Use these lemon blueberry cupcakes batter and follow my 6 inch cake baking instructions. You can use regular lemons instead of meyer lemons (like the cupcakes call for) if needed.
- Eggs: Room temperature eggs are recommended because they mix easily and quickly into the cake batter, reducing the risk of over-mixing (and an overly dense cake!). Place eggs into a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes before using or set the eggs out when you set out your cream cheese/butter for the recipe.
- Flour: Be careful not to over-measure your flour. This will result in a heavy cake.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk helps produce a supremely moist cake. If you don’t have buttermilk, use whole milk instead. You can use lower fat or nondairy milks in a pinch, but the cake won’t taste nearly as rich and moist.
- Cream Cheese: Use brick-style cream cheese, not cream cheese spread.
- Cream: Heavy cream with 30% or more milk fat preferred in frosting for the creamiest texture. Milk works in a pinch!
Keywords: lemon blueberry cake
Here’s my recipe for lemon cupcakes with blackberry cream cheese frosting – a reader favorite!
I have made this cake four times. 1 and 4 we’re perfect. 2 and 3 we’re dense and flat. I finally figured out that I greatly over mixed after adding the dry ingredients. Be sure to carefully follow mixing instructions. It makes all the difference. This is a great tasting cake!
★★★★★
Flavor is awesome!
★★★★★
This has been my birthday cake for 3 years in a row now! Always turns out perfect! I always add a little fresh lemon juice to the frosting to enhance the lemon taste (and only 1tbsp of heavy cream). The cake is always a big hit!
★★★★★
I have made this and the flavor is awesome. However, my cakes did not rise well. Should baking soda be used instead of baking powder since buttermilk and brown sugar are used? Both acidic ingredients which normally call for baking soda.
Hi Daniel, I’m glad to offer some help here. Are you using frozen berries by chance? Sometimes I find that they weigh down the cake’s crumb and add a significant amount of moisture, so that could be why the cake didn’t rise as much as you’d like. Could you try fresh berries by chance? If you want even more height, try reducing the baking powder down to 2 and 1/2 teaspoons and adding 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. (I don’t normally use baking soda in this cake, but you can certainly try this swap. We’ve tested it with great results.)
This cake is amazing! I have made it 4 times and making again this week. I follow the exact recipe and it has always turned out. I also made cupcakes once and they were just as amazing! 🙂
★★★★★
Don’t listen to the negative reviews – this recipe is amazing. I am not much of a baker, but slowly becoming one thanks to Sally’s recipes. Yes, this is a dense cake, but so incredibly moist and flavorful. I made it for the first time for a dinner party and received rave reviews. I will absolutely put this cake on rotation.
★★★★★
The cake itself is highly delicious however in my opinion the flavors and textures of the whole cake itself with the frosting leaves a bit to be desired. On my second time making this cake I paired with with Sally’s lemon curd filling and swiss meringue buttercream frosting. That took the flavors and textures from a solid 6 to a 10 in my opinion
★★★
Hi can we make blueberry lemon cake like the wedding cake – a two tier cake?
Hi Emma, This cake batter will work great for a whole three tier cake. We suggest using our lemon blueberry cupcake batter for a 6 inch top tier simply because that cupcake batter makes the perfect amount for a 6 inch cake. Use whichever batters will work well for the size of cakes you’re making! This cake pan sizes and conversions guide may be helpful, as well as our guide to making a homemade wedding cake with details on stacking cakes properly. Happy baking!
The buttermilk is missing in the instructions and could be the reason for the failed attempts in the comments. I caught this however and it turned out amazing!
Hi K, the milk is added in step 3 with the lemon zest and juice. I’m glad you enjoyed the cake!
Would this work with Swiss Meringue Frosting instead of cream cheese?
Hi Donovan, absolutely. Swiss meringue buttercream would be wonderful on this cake.
Hi, I was reading your recipe and it says at the end to leave the cake in the pans to cool instead of taking it out after a few minutes. By leaving it to cool directly in the cake pan, wouldn’t that continue to bake the cake?
Hi Ren! Cake pans are thin enough that they will cool just fine in the pans. The cakes are too soft to remove when hot.
Hi there, I just tried to make this using two 8” pans, and used frozen blueberries instead of fresh. I baked it for around 35 minutes but it did not cook in the middle, like almost raw, I had to throw it away.
I can’t think of why this happened as I followed the recipe exactly.
When making multiple layers, do you bake them at the same time, or individually?
Hi Juliet, it definitely could be the frozen blueberries. Make sure you are not thawing the blueberries before you use them. With frozen blueberries, you may to bake another minute or two longer until the cake is fully baked in the middle.
Would I be able to swap blueberries for raspberries?
Hi Alexa, Absolutely! Simply swap with the same amount of raspberries.
Sheet cake time and temp for a 9×13 is WAAAAY off. All fresh ingredients, frozen blueberries and it took almost 12 minutes in the oven LONGER than the 45 minutes maximum stated in the instructions to get the center done. The edges are so brown now!
Please remove the 9×13 instructions from the bottom of the recipe or write “Not recommended” next to the pan size. Thank God this was a trial run and not my son’s actual birthday cake.
★★★
Hello! Sally’s lemon layer cake is my very favorite cake. Question: would this cake be good substituting in cranberries for blueberries for a holiday spin? Thank you! Would there be any baking considerations when making this substitution? Thanks!
★★★★★
Hi Danielle, we haven’t tried it with cranberries but readers have had success swapping the blueberries for other berries. If you can, try using smaller cranberries as large cranberries may result in “wet” pockets in the cake. Or for another recipe, you might enjoy this cranberry cake instead!