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Simple Lemon Blueberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream

This Simple Lemon Blueberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream is zesty and delicious! It’s an easy layer cake studded with fresh juicy blueberries, filled with lemon curd and frosted with lemon buttercream. Serve it to your friends and family for a refreshing dessert throughout the Spring season!

simple lemon blueberry cake with lemon buttercream on cake stand

Confession time, I have been on a MEGA cake kick lately! Every now and then this happens to me and I am 100% going through a phase this spring.

I do think the start of the spring season has something to do with it because I just love spring cakes. A rich carrot cake or a gorgeous naked layer cake topped with spring blooms just do it for me during spring.

In the last few weeks I have struggled with what spring recipes to make (although these carrot cake cinnamon rolls were amazing!) and whenever this happens I always go back to my roots…we’re talking way back today, my friends.

Things like sponge cakes, easy fillings (hello store-bought lemon curd) and a tasty lemon buttercream are usually crowd favorites.

Today’s Simple Lemon Blueberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream is a perfect staple for the Spring and Summer months. The flavors are bright, the cake is moist and blueberries, lemon slices, and sage leaves are quick decorations that take your cake from homemade to Instagrammable!

lemons and blueberries in white bowl, butter, lemons and eggs

Ingredients

  • Eggs
  • Milk
  • Fresh lemon juice
  • Vanilla extract
  • Blueberries
  • Flour
  • Cake flour
  • Sugar
  • Baking powder
  • Salt
  • Unsalted butter
  • Fresh lemon zest
  • Lemon Buttercream
  • Unsalted butter
  • Vanilla extract
  • Lemon juice
  • Powdered sugar
  • Milk
  • Lemon curd 

This lemon blueberry cake really shines when you incorporate fresh ingredients like fresh lemon juice (none of that bottled stuff) and fresh blueberries! I think using fresh ingredients really makes all the difference when making homemade cakes!

For the lemon blueberry cake layers, you will need eggs, milk, fresh lemon zest + juice, vanilla extract, blueberries, flour, cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and unsalted butter.

The lemon buttercream is made with more of that fresh lemon zest + juice, butter and powdered sugar.

  • Blueberries. I love using fresh blueberries in this homemade cake recipe. The fresh berries sing all things Springtime! Feel free to use frozen blueberries when they are not in season. If you go the frozen blueberry route, make sure not to thaw, as the colors will bleed.
  • Lemon Curd. You can make your own lemon curd, but why go through all that trouble when store-bought lemon curd is just as bright, tart and delicious! I love the Trader Joe’s brand!

How To Make Simple Lemon Blueberry Cake

This lemon blueberry cake made from scratch (no cake mix today!) is baked, filled and assembled in a few easy steps!

For the Cake Layers:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 2 – 9-inch cake pans with non-stick spray and set aside.
  2. Whisk together eggs, milk, lemon juice, vanilla extract and set aside. In a separate bowl, toss blueberries with 2 tablespoons of flour until well coated and set aside for batter.
  3. Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt with an electric mixer on low until just combined. Add softened butter to flour mixture on low speed in (8) increments, blending after each addition.
  4. Add in ½ of the egg mixture. Increase speed and beat on medium-high for 1 minute, or until light and fluffy. Reduce speed down to medium and add in the remaining egg mixture and beat until well incorporated into batter. Remove batter from mixer and gently fold in blueberries and lemon zest. Do not over mix.
  5. Divide the batter evenly and smooth tops out with a spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the cake clean or with a small amount of crumbs. Cool the cakes completely.

Step by step on how to make simple lemon blueberry cake.

For the Lemon Buttercream:

  1. Beat butter on high for a few minutes.
  2. Add in vanilla extract, salt, lemon zest, lemon juice and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Beat again until light and fluffy.
  3. Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, beating after every addition until fluffy. Add in 1 tablespoon of milk after each powdered sugar addition if frosting feels stiff. You may need more or less milk depending on your climate.

For the Filling, Assembly and Decoration:

  1. Trim uneven tops off of the cakes.
  2. Cut cake rounds in half and layer each layer with a rim of frosting and a thin layer of lemon curd. Trimming the cakes can be easier if they are very cold or slightly frozen (depending on how much time you have).
  3. Frost the outside and top off with more blueberries, lemon slices and sage leaves for an easy Spring decoration.

How To Keep Blueberries From Sinking In Cake

The trick to prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom is to coat the small berries in 2 tablespoons of flour before mixing into the cake batter. The dry exterior ensures the berries stick to the cake mix and remain suspended in the cake during baking.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

This easy blueberry cake is moist and soft, somewhere between a vanilla cake and a pound cake loaf. Bright and citrusy lemon buttercream goes both inside and outside the cake.

It’s scrumptious, sweet, smooth and silky! And really drives home that lemon flavor!

spring lemon blueberry cake with buttercream frosting on cake stand

Make-Ahead Blueberry Cake

If you want to plan ahead, especially for the many Spring celebrations, this lemon blueberry cake can be made ahead to really get ahead of the game!

Prepare cakes and frosting 1 day in advance. Keep cakes at room temperature, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate prepared frosting in an airtight container until ready to use. Fill, assemble and decorate the next day!

More Delicious Cake Recipes:

If you make this Simple Lemon Blueberry Cake recipe, I’d love to know how it goes! Please share with all your friends in the comments below!

For more easy recipes and ideas, follow me on InstagramPinterest and Facebook, too! ♥

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simple lemon blueberry cake with lemon buttercream on cake stand

Lemon Blueberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream

  • Author: Elizabeth Van Lierde
  • Prep Time: 35 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 10-12 servings 1x
  • Category: Sweets
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Description

This Simple Lemon Blueberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream is studded with fresh blueberries and filled with tart lemon curd for a refreshing Spring dessert.

Ingredients

Scale

Lemon Blueberry Cake

3 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup milk, room temperature

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups blueberries

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups cake flour

1 ½ cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened + cut into 8 pieces

2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest

Lemon Buttercream

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

1 lemon, zested

34 tablespoons lemon juice

6 cups powdered sugar

34 tablespoons milk, depending on climate

Filling

2 cups lemon curd (store-bought is okay)


Instructions

For Cake Layers:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 2 – 9-inch cake pans with non-stick spray and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, lemon juice, vanilla extract and set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, toss blueberries with 2 tablespoons of flour until well coated and set aside for batter.
  4. Using a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer, mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low until just combined. Add softened butter to flour mixture on low speed in (8) increments, blending after each addition. Mixture will be coarse and mealy.
  5. Add in ½ of the egg mixture. Increase speed and beat on medium-high for 1 minute, or until light and fluffy. Reduce speed down to medium and add in the remaining egg mixture and beat until well incorporated into batter. Remove batter from mixer and gently fold in blueberries and lemon zest. Do not over mix.
  6. Divide the batter evenly into cake tins and smooth tops out with a spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the cake clean or with a small amount of crumbs. Let cakes cool for 20 minutes out of the oven and then transfer to a cooling wire rack to cool completely before filling and frosting layers.

For Lemon Buttercream:

  1. Beat butter on high until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add in vanilla extract, salt, lemon zest, lemon juice and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Beat until incorporated and light and fluffy.
  2. Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, beating after every addition until fluffy. Add in 1 tablespoon of milk after each powdered sugar addition if frosting feels stiff. If you live in a drier climate you may need more milk and less milk for a more humid climate.

For Filling and Assembly:

  1. Trim uneven tops off of the cakes. Cut cake rounds in half and layer each layer with a rim of frosting and a thin layer of lemon curd. Trimming the cakes can be easier if they are very cold or slightly frozen (depending on how much time you have). Frost the outside and top off with more blueberries, lemon slices and sage leaves for an easy spring decoration.

Notes

Make Ahead: Prepare cakes and frosting 1 day in advance. Keep cakes at room temperature, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate prepared frosting in an airtight container until ready to use. Fill, assemble and decorate the next day!

Keywords: simple lemon blueberry cake, lemon blueberry cake with buttercream frosting, easy blueberry cake

Originally published in April 2019, updated March 2020 with updated info and recipe card.

Time to show you guys off! 

Photos of other peoples lemon blueberry cakes.

5 Comments

  1. Sonnya
    March 3, 2023 / 2:42 am

    I made this cake for a birthday. At the critical moment I was distracted, and put the batter in the cake tins without the blueberries…I filled the layers with a mousse I then made from cooking up the blueberries with lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch (then pureed and folded in whipped cream)…added a Dr. Oetker lemon extract to the buttercream as well, and decorated it with the lemon slices and blueberries and lemon verbena leaves, and it was so delicious. Without the blueberries the cake came out like a poundcake consistency.

  2. Kelsey
    May 17, 2020 / 11:59 am

    This was delicious!

    • Elizabeth Van Lierde
      Author
      May 17, 2020 / 12:46 pm

      Thank you Kelsey! I’m so happy you loved it!

  3. April 18, 2019 / 3:53 am

    Oh my goodness this cake is so beautiful 😍 I love the way you decorated it – your cake class paid off for sure!

    • elizabethvanlierde7698
      Author
      April 18, 2019 / 12:56 pm

      Thank you so much Katie! I look back at those Wilton classes often.

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