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!
This cake has become one of my favorite spring dessert recipes and Easter dessert recipes—and for good reason. 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. Or perhaps breakfast? Try my lemon blueberry muffins.
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 Poppy Seed Muffins
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 (16 Tbsp; 226g) 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 (spooned & 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 (210g) blueberries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw)
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature*
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) 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 round cake pans 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.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Round Cake Pans or 8-inch Round Cake Pans | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cake Turntable, Cake Stand, or Large Serving Plate | Straight Icing Spatula | Offset Icing Spatula | Cake Carrier (for storage) | Citrus Juicer | Citrus Zester
- 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 are my lemon blueberry cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting.
- 6 Inch Cake: Use my 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!
Here’s my recipe for lemon cupcakes with blackberry cream cheese frosting—a reader favorite!
Hello!
Big fan from the UK here
We don’t have all purpose flour here – I’m assuming it’s plain flour? Thank you
Hi Sarah, correct, all-purpose flour is the equivalent of plain flour in the UK. Let us know if you give this cake a try!
I made this today – I am gluten and dairy free (I subbed a gluten free flour 1:1; used Becel plant based sticks for the butter and almond milk for the buttermilk) I used 2 9 inch cake pans and end up cooking about 35 minutes. I made a homemade lemon curd which I used between the layers along with some of Sally’s vanilla buttercream icing (also used Becel plant based sticks and used water instead of cream). My son who doesn’t like most desserts was eager to try it and gave it a rating of “mmm, this is good!” This cake is delicious.
Hi sally
I am planning to make this lemon blueberry layer cake and the pineapple carrot cake in the same weekend. Wondering why is the cream cheese frosting for these cakes not the same ? One with the heavy cream and the other without and also the amount of icing sugar not the same. Thinking if I could use the same icing for both cakes and what’s the different in terms of taste and texture.
Many thanks
Hi Syuhada, For taller layer cakes, we usually add a little milk, extra cream cheese, and extra confectioners’ sugar to produce more volume. Our carrot cake and red velvet cake recipes show this higher ratio of frosting. And sometimes we add extra butter for a stronger, more buttercream-like frosting. Any of them will work interchangeably for carrot cake and lemon blueberry cakes. You can read more about cream cheese frosting here!
This is the absolutely best cake I’ve ever made! My family raves about it and has requested it so much that I had to rein them in, and now it’s only a very special occasion or a birthday request!
This turned out really good! Thank you!!!!
Could I add blueberries to the frosting? My son wants blueberry frosting for his birthday….would that be a good flavor combo still or ruin the balance?
Hi Kalin! We haven’t tested it but you could certainly give it a try. The method from our Strawberry Buttercream would work with freeze dried blueberries instead of strawberries if you’re interested!
Hey! I made this cake for my birthday last night and while the flavor was fanTASTIC, I’m a little confused about the texture. I baked it in 3 8″ pans as directed- probably a little longer than 25 minutes. I don’t know that they properly rose. The layers were extremely thin and thus, very…as the Brits would say, stodgy. I did wonder if I could have kept it in the oven longer, but it just seems as though something was off. This has actually happened to me once before with a different recipe. It seems like the batter wouldn’t have even been enough to fill 3 9″ pans. Any thoughts?
Hi Kyra! Happy to help. It could be a few things. First, make sure your baking powder and soda are fresh. We find they lose strength after just 3-4 months. Use proper room temperature butter and other room temperature ingredients and be careful not to overman the batter. Make sure you spoon and level the flour, too! Here’s a helpful post about preventing dense cake.
I’m trying to make this recipe again…each time I’ve made it, it is SO dense and packey! Is this batter too thick to be fluffy and soft or am I doing something wrong?
Hi Tia, For a lighter texture you can use cake flour, see recipe notes. You can also visit this post on How to Prevent a Dry or Dense Cakes for more tips.
Hi Sally, you said that whole milk can be substituted for the buttermilk, can Greek yogurt or Skyr be used instead?
Hi Elaine, I don’t recommend it. The batter will be too heavy without liquid. I recommend buttermilk or regular milk.
This Lemon Blue cake is not only delicious but beautiful looking. We all enjoyed it thoroughly!
This recipe looked so good that I decided to try it. I have saved it in my favourites now and made it many times. I just use regular milk and cream and it turns out pretty good.
Absolutely delicious cake! I’ve made it 3 times. It comes out nice and flat on top so if decorating you don’t need to take the top off. Even when I overcooked it slightly once it was still delicious. The icing is delicious too but 3/4 times we’ve eaten it just as happily without any icing as it’s so tender
This is, without a doubt, one of my absolute favorite recipes to make! I’ve made it in three 9-in pans and also three 8-in pans. I think I prefer the 8-in! I’ve had friends ask me to make it for their birthday cake! Thank you Sally!!
I baked this cake for my daughter’s First Communion. I’ve never baked a cake for a special occasion and I was SO NERVOUS to serve it. This cake and homemade buttercream was a huge hit. I did not use cake flour and I was worried about how dense the cake would be. It was dense but it was the consistency of how my culture enjoys cake. Delicious! There were no leftovers and I was asked to never get a store bought or bakery cake again! Can’t tell you how good that felt!
Hi! I’m thinking of make an 8″ cake with this recipe. Is it possible to follow the timings but add a few extra minutes?
Also, if I do not have 3 cake pans is it possible to bake a whole cake and slice into 3?
Thank you!
Hi Clarissa, You can use 8 inch pans without changing the recipe – your layers will be a little bit thicker so may take an extra minute in the oven. Use a toothpick to check for doneness. There is too much batter for one or even two pans. Overfilling your cake pan will lead to the cake not baking properly, it will be too heavy to rise and will likely overflow. You can bake two layers and leave the batter for the third layer covered at room temperature to bake when the first two are finished.
Cake emergency!
I am making my sister’s wedding cake, unexpectedly. I have made this cake before and it was delicious! I want to make a 3 layer 9in cake base and a 3 layer 6in cake top. Can I use this same recipe for the 6in cake? Or should I use the similar cupcake recipe for the 6in? Would there be a flavor difference?
Hi Samantha, The recipe for Meyer Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes is the cupcake version of this cake and the batter fits perfectly into three 6 inch layers. You can follow the baking directions in the post 6 inch cakes. Happy baking!
Hi there! Could I substitute raspberries for blueberries easily? Looking to make a lemon-raspberry cake and this looks perfect! Would the amount of berries be the same?
Hi Mackenzie, Yes! Just replace the blueberries with the same amount of raspberries.
Am I supposed to measure the flour and then sift or sift then measure for this cake? Tried to make it the other day and something went wrong. Trying to figure out where I messed up.
Hi Jennifer, You want to sift and then measure. When a recipe is written as “sifted all purpose flour” that means sift then measure. If it’s written as “all purpose flour, sifted” then you measure before sifting. I hope this helps!
Absolutely gorgeous recipe. The cake was delicious. I substituted the cream cheese frosting for a lemon Curd buttercream. It went down a treat. Thank you!
Hi Sally,
Is there any substitute for butter in this recipe?
Thank you.
We haven’t tested this with any butter substitutes, Mary. You would need something solid that you can cream, so you could try either vegan buttery sticks or even solid coconut oil, but of course the taste and texture of the cake will change. Let us know if you try anything.
Sally: a co-worker has asked me if I could make this as her wedding cake.
I did a “trial run” this weekend, making one batch of cake batter/pouring it into Three 9″ pans (cut baking time by 10 minutes, which was perfect) then I made another batch of batter/pouring it into Four 6″ pans. (took longer to bake! 🙂 )
I assembled the cake …Three 9″ layers on bottom, and using dowels and cake cardboard, (then supporting) Two 6″ layers for the top (my husband was very happy to eat the other two remaining 6″ cakes!)
I used the cream cheese icing, and brought it to the office today for evaluation/recommendations.
To achieve the “look” Taylor wants, I emphasized that a buttercream frosting would be better to work with. Taylor then decided (since the cake is very moist and dense) that she wanted me to frost it as “a naked cake” with scant frosting in between the layers (which I think that would be a good idea.)
My question: Could I make your “favorite vanilla buttercream icing”–BUT instead of vanilla, use pure lemon extract? (unsure if fresh squeezed lemon juice would do the trick?)
(I believe frosting it as “a naked cake” and using scant icing in between layers–a buttercream would work FAR better than the cream cheese frosting?)
Taylor’s wedding is not until late October 2020–thank you Sally!!
You can certainly use lemon extract in the vanilla buttercream (try half vanilla, half lemon). However for the freshest taste I recommend making this Lemon Buttercream Frosting which uses real lemons. Let us know how it turns out!
Hi Sally, is there any substitute for eggs in this recipe? Can I use flax egg or greek yogurt?
Hi Tanya, we haven’t tested this recipe using egg substitutes. If you try anything let us know how it goes!
One again, this recipe is the bomb! We totally loved it! The one question I have is if it’s possible to make it with a cake that is less dense? We are big eaters and are so full after a special dinner this cake is too heavy! Would love your thoughts, cheers, Lauren
Hi Lauren, For a lighter texture you can use cake flour, see recipe notes. You can also visit this post on How to Prevent a Dry or Dense Cakes for more tips.
Hi! I found that the cakes needed much longer to bake than indicated. I used 6-inch pans and didn’t even use half the batter, and it still took 35+ mins to bake. Just a heads up for anyone else using this recipe. Otherwise, tasted very lemony and and delicious.
Any chance I could make this without the lemon? I want a layered blueberry cake (no lemon) and I love your recipes so I was hoping that would work!
Hi Melanie, For a vanilla blueberry cake you can use this vanilla cake and add 1 and 1/2 cups of blueberries to the batter. Happy baking!
I love making this cake. And this is the best cream cheese frosting I’ve had! The cake screams spring to me. Question – would this be just as delicious with butter cream frosting instead? You know for those that do not care for cream cheese.
This cake would be perfect with vanilla buttercream of even lemon buttercream frosting. Enjoy!
I made three of these for a baby shower on Saturday and they were so popular I made two dozen cupcakes on Tuesday!
Hi,
i have tried your cake recipes and it came out really well. Could you please suggest alternative ingredient for eggs?, because i wont eat eggs.
Thanks,
Srividhya.
Hi Srividhya, So happy you enjoyed this cake! We haven’t tested this recipe with any egg substitutes but let us know if you try anything. If you are interested, here are all of our egg free baking recipes.
Made this cake twice and it did not rise properly, even checked baking powder to make certain it was fresh. I have been cooking and baking for years, first time that I have had this problem. Any suggestions on what goes wrong?
I varied the recipe slightly and just made a cake with out layering or frosting. Everyone that tried it said it was lovely and want me to make it again. Stunning recipe. Bookmarked it for future use ( probably lots ha ha ha). Thankyou very much
I made this cake for my husband’s birthday this weekend, he requested it after I made your lemon layer cake for my mother in law’s birthday this spring. This cake was absolutely delicious, and made me look like a total rockstar baker! Everything I’ve made from your site has been exceptional, thank you for being so thorough in your explanations and modifications and making something that can be intimidating accessible. My sister asked me how I made such an excellent scratch cake and I replied, “I just followed the directions!” Never will I ever buy a box mix again! Thank you!!