As I was perusing the freeze dried fruit section of my local Trader Joe’s, I stumbled upon a bag of freeze dried blueberries and just had to add them to my cart. It’s no secret that I love adding freeze dried fruits to buttercream (case in point: this delicious Raspberry Buttercream Recipe), and could imagine how amazing both the color and the flavor would be with these bluebs added. With my buttercream flavored set, I started thinking on cake flavors to pair it with, and that’s how this lemon cake recipe was born.
I’ll admit, I’ve never ever made a lemon cake from scratch before. I thought it would be easy: just add some freshly squeezed lemon juice and zest into my vanilla cake batter, bake it up, and all would be good. Well, it wasn’t. I learned some valuable baking lessons in my recipe testing sessions, mainly that the acidity of lemon interacts with rising agents like baking soda and baking powder in such a way that it creates too much rise, and the cakes will fall in the center if there isn’t the right balance of acidity. After a few fallen cakes as a result of my recipe testing, I realized that decreasing the amount of baking soda in this recipe yielded a beautiful rise and a cake that is perfectly packed with fresh lemon flavor. Science, y’all.
For flavoring the cake, I initially thought fresh lemon juice would create the most authentic flavor but learned another valuable lesson: the most powerful flavor comes from the zest of a lemon, while fresh lemon juice only bakes off in the oven and doesn’t contribute much to the overall flavor. So I ended up ditching lemon juice completely and opted for the zest combined with a little lemon extract to create that powerful zing you’d expect to taste in a lemon cake. Extract is much more concentrated than fresh lemon juice, so you don’t have to use a ton to get a powerful lemon flavor that tastes totally pure. In addition to the perfect amount of lemon flavoring, using cake flour and sour cream in the recipe makes this cake super light, fluffy, and moist. Just look at this beauty:
With my perfect lemon cake recipe finally squared away, I topped it with the blueberry buttercream I’d been dreaming about ever since I saw that package of freeze dried blueberries at Trader Joe’s. I’m happy to report that it’s as heavenly as I imagined! The little flecks of blueberry are so pretty and since they’re freeze dried, you don’t get all the excess liquid from fresh blueberries messing up the frosting consistency. It’s my favorite way to flavor fruit-based buttercreams!
To decorate, I frosted a smooth layer of blueberry buttercream, then used Wilton Tip 1M and 4B to pipe a diagonal set of rosettes and stars that continues partially around the top of the cake. I popped a few fresh blueberries and these Yellow Solid Sprinkles into the buttercream piping for some additional color and texture. So easy and pretty to look at!
I ended up taking my final cake to work (yes, still rocking my day job) and it was gone before lunch time. Now that’s a true sign of a great cake! If you’re a lover of lemon cake, this recipe is sure to please. The best part is, you can pair it with a berry-flavored buttercream or try it with this lemon buttercream or this cream cheese buttercream for an alternate flavor palette. Whatever you choose to do, I can promise this cake will rise beautifully and will be packed with the perfect amount of zing!
Update 2022: I slightly changed the measurements of the lemon cake to yield less batter because it made too much for the cake pictured, which is a 3-layer 6-inch cake. Same amazing recipe, scaled down to just the right size!
Lemon Layer Cake With Blueberry Buttercream
Ingredients
Lemon Layer Cake
- 2 3/4 Cups (290g) sifted cake flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 2/3 Cups (355g) white sugar
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon zest (about 1 medium lemon)
- 1 tsp pure lemon extract
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Cup (240ml) whole milk, room temperature
Blueberry Buttercream
- 2 cups (452g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 package (34g) Trader Joe's freeze dried blueberries
- 6 Tbsp (90ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 7 cups (840g) powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
Make The Lemon Layer Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/177ºC. Prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with baking spray and fitting a parchment paper circle to the bottom of each pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans.
- In a medium bowl, add the cake flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), beat the butter on high for two minutes until creamy. Add in the sugar and continue to cream on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the sour cream, lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla extract. Turn the mixer to high and beat for 1 minute, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more.
- With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the milk slowly and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes. They’re done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they’re entirely room temperature before applying any frosting.
Make The Blueberry Buttercream
- With a food processor, grind the freeze dried blueberries into a fine powder and set aside. Whip the butter using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on medium speed until it’s creamy and light in color, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla, milk, and blueberry powder and continue to mix on medium for 3 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar in two additions, mixing on low until fully incorporated. Add the salt and continue to mix on low for another 30 seconds.
Assembly
- After torting the cake layers, fill and frost them with the blueberry buttercream. To replicate the look of the cake design pictured, frost the cake with a smooth layer of blueberry buttercream, then refrigerate it for about 20 minutes to let it firm up.
- Prepare two piping bags by fitting the first with Wilton Tip 1M and the second with Wilton Tip 4B, then fill both with blueberry buttercream. Pipe rosettes and stars in a diagonal design on the front of the cake, then continue the pattern partially around the top edge. Add some fresh blueberries and yellow sprinkles onto the piping wherever you desire.
Notes
Did you make this recipe? I want to know what you think! Let me know in the comments below or tag me on Instagram so I can see what you’re caking!
I love all your recipes
I’ve made this one a few times this month already! I’m curious about finished cake storage. I’ve just finished one and it’s too tall for my airtight container and I don’t have a “cake only” fridge yet. Thoughts or ideas?
Hi Cali! I’m so happy you’ve been loving my recipes! I usually store my cakes uncovered in the refrigerator, which works as long as there isn’t anything else in there that would create a strong odor (like takeout or something). You could also store the cake at room temperature for up to 5 days. I hope that helps!
I’m I the only one wonder about the lemon extract amount? Your recipe says 1 Tsp. Should that be Tbsp or tsp? Thank you!
Hi Tammy! It’s one teaspoon of lemon extract but I can see how that would be confusing with the capital T. I changed it in the recipe. Thanks for making me aware of that!
Hi Whitney,
I just recently came across your profile and purchased your book, I was going to make this cake for my friend birthday, but as I was crossing checking the recipe from your post and your book, I see the measurements are different, even though both say the recipe is for 3 layer 6” cake and 2 layer 8” cake. why is that and which one should I follow.
Thank you,
Sravya
Hi Sravya! This recipe is an older one than the lemon cake in my book and has a slightly different mixing method. I personally love the book version because it’s a bit lighter/fluffier, but they’re both great recipes! Take your pick 🙂
Beautiful cake!
I tried your recipe for my daughter’s birthday and it was a hit! The blueberry flavour was very delicious, can’t wait to make more freeze dried fruit butter creams. Just wondering if I can make butter cream with less sugar so it’s not so intensely sweet
Yay, Rhett! So happy this was a hit! You can decrease the powdered sugar amount by up to 1/2 Cup or balance the sweetness with a little more salt. Hope that helps!
I see that you updated the recipe to make enough for 3-6 inch layers; however, I’m hoping to make 3-8 inch layers. Is there a link to the original recipe somewhere?
Hi Tami! There isn’t a link to the original recipe BUT you can copy/paste the ingredients list into a recipe scale calculator to get the perfect amount. You’ll want to choose the “One and a Half” option to make 1.5x the recipe: https://www.inchcalculator.com/recipe-scale-conversion-calculator/
I will be making this cake for my grandsons first birthday ( per my daughters request). I plan to make him a little smash cake (4in pan). Do you have any suggestions on the cook time for that?
Hi Erin! I’m excited for you to make this recipe as a smash cake! I would half the recipe unless you plan on using the extra batter for lots of cupcakes. Fill the pans no more than 2/3 full and bake at 350F/177C for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Hope that helps!
Hello, could I make this with raspberries instead of the blueberries ? Thanks
Hi Maxine! You absolutely could. That would be an amazing flavor combo! I have a recipe for raspberry buttercream here: https://sugarandsparrow.com/raspberry-buttercream-recipe/
Another sugarandsparrow HIT! Delicious, moist lemon cake. Blueberry frosting a big YUM! Perfect pair for a summer cake.
Question: I had trouble removing my 6” pans from my cakes! I used veg. oil and flour dusting to prepare the pans. What do you suggest?
Yay, Lori! I’m so glad you loved this recipe! I always recommend spraying the sides with baking spray (coating with vegetable oil + flour works fine too for the sides), then placing a parchment paper circle on the bottom of the cake pan. Easy release every time!
Hi Whitney. I’m planning to make this cake this weekend. I’m wondering if you’ve ever tried using limoncello instead of lemon extract? I made an Italian cake with it a few months ago that was delicious!
Oooh limoncello sounds like it’d be amazing! I haven’t tried it but I’d say go for it.
Could I use Buttermilk instead of regular milk in the batter?
Hi Raven! Buttermilk will add even more moisture to this cake (which is already plenty moist). If it’s all you have on hand I’d say it’s worth a try but otherwise I’d recommend sticking with whole milk 🙂
Hi, I was wondering whether it’s possible to reduce the amount of powder sugar by half in the frosting? Thanks :).
Hi Natalia! If you reduce the powdered sugar by that much, the frosting will be very runny. The powdered sugar helps stabilize the buttercream, so I don’t recommend reducing it. This recipe calls for enough powdered sugar to make about 6 Cups of buttercream, which is why it seems like so much. Hope that helps!