Lemon Blueberry Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream
Layers of soft and zesty lemon cake with blueberries in every slice, filled and frosted with decadent lemon cream cheese buttercream.
Servings 15 slices
Ingredients
Lemon Blueberry Cake
- 2 Cups (265g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 1/3 Cup (80ml) lemon juice from 3-4 medium lemons
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest from 1 medium lemon
- 1 1/2 Cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 Cup (75g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 Cup (60ml) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Cup (135g) fresh blueberries, cut in half
- 2 tsp all-purpose flour (for coating the blueberries)
Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream
- 3/4 Cups (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 6 Cups (720g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 12 Oz (339g) full-fat brick-style cream cheese*, room temperature NOT the spread
- Pinch of salt, or to taste
Garnish (optional)
- fresh blueberries + lemon slices
Instructions
Make the Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF/177ºF and prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and fitting a parchment paper circle to the bottoms.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk and lemon juice and set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the sugar and lemon zest until fragrant and well combined, about 1 minute. Add the butter and cream it together with the lemon-sugar mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vegetable oil and beat until combined, light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle as needed.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time and mix until combined. Add the vanilla, then turn the mixer to medium speed and beat for one minute.
- Turn the mixer off and add the flour mixture all at once. Mix on low speed until just combined, then slowly pour in the lemon milk mixture. Mix until just combined, about 30 seconds.
- Coat the blueberry halves in 2 tsp flour and use a rubber spatula to fold them into the lemon cake batter, then divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cool for 5 minutes before removing the cakes from the pans. Transfer the cake layers to a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature.
Make the Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.
- Add about 1/3 of the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined, then add the lemon juice and continue mixing on low speed. Add the rest of the powdered sugar until combined. It will look pretty crumbly and thick, but don't worry! It will come together after the next step.
- Add the cream cheese and salt and mix on medium speed until fully combined and smooth (no lumps), about 2-3 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.
Assembly
- Once the cake layers have cooled completely, level them to your desired height. Fill and stack the cake layers with lemon cream cheese buttercream, then crumb coat the cake with more lemon cream cheese buttercream. Refrigerate the crumb coated cake for at least 30 minutes to let the frosting firm up.
- To create the design pictured, use the lemon cream cheese buttercream to frost a semi-naked finish on the cake. Add the remaining lemon cream cheese buttercream into a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 4B, then pipe a braided border (a series of overlapping diagonal shells) onto the top edge of the cake. Garnish the braided border with fresh blueberries and slivers of a lemon slice.
Notes
*It’s very important to use full-fat brick-style cream cheese in the lemon cream cheese buttercream recipe (I use Philadelphia brand), not the spread or low-fat variations. The spreadable kind and reduced fat versions contain much more water content and will add too much liquid to the frosting, making it impossible to work with. If you don’t have access to brick-style cream cheese, I have listed alternative frosting recommendations in the blog post above or you can browse all of my frosting recipes here.
To Make as Cupcakes: Use this recipe for lemon blueberry cupcakes. It's the same recipe, adapted for cupcakes!
Make Ahead Tips:
- The lemon blueberry cakes can be made ahead and stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the wrapped cake layers in the freezer for up to 2 months before thawing and frosting.
- The lemon cream cheese buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-mix it with your stand mixer on low speed until it’s smooth and uniform.
- The decorated cake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Take it out of the refrigerator an hour or two before serving – it stores best cold but tastes best at room temperature.