The ultimate Lemon Blueberry Cake. Two layers of buttery lemon cake filled with fresh blueberries and covered in a luscious lemon cream cheese frosting. It’s a beautiful layer cake perfect for birthdays, celebrations or parties.
Introducing your new favourite thing 🍋
A luscious Lemon Blueberry Cake made from scratch. This light and soft lemon sponge is filled with juicy lemons and fresh blueberries and is covered in a melt-in-your-mouth cream cheese frosting.
One bite and you’ll be whisked away to a zesty, lemon wonderland.
While I love my easy Lemon Loaf and my tender Blueberry Bread, I realised I needed a good go-to lemon layer cake that can be used on just about any occasion. And I FOUND IT.
This buttery lemon cake is seriously tender, seriously moist and seriously GOOD. It has fresh lemon juice in the cake and plenty of lemon zest for flavour. Fresh blueberries add a pop of colour and are a nice contrast to the zesty lemon.
Instead of the regular method of making a cake – creaming the butter and sugar first, before adding the remaining ingredients – this method starts with the dry ingredients first.
It’s commonly referred to as the reverse creaming method. The small difference is the order in which you add the ingredients and it guarantees a light, fluffy and moist cake. I’m converted.
And what takes this cake over-the-top and makes it an all-time favourite, is that cream cheese frosting. It’s creamy, tangy and literally the perfect pairing to this Lemon Blueberry Cake. Throw on a few extra fresh blueberries, and you have a total showstopper that’s surprisingly easy to make.
HOW TO MAKE LEMON BLUEBERRY CAKE
- This cake uses the reverse creaming method. It’s really easy to make but you need to follow the method and add each ingredient in the order specified.
- Start with the dry ingredients. I recommend measuring all your ingredients using a kitchen scale to ensure accuracy.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar and baking powder. Mix together briefly. Next, add your butter that has been roughly chopped. Make sure your butter is at room temperature.
- As you start mixing on low speed, the butter will start to break apart into small pea-sized pieces.
- Next, you can add all the eggs, fresh lemon zest, milk and vanilla. Start mixing on low speed and slowly turn the mixer up to a medium speed. The cake batter will come together and be thick and creamy.
- Finally, add the fresh lemon juice and blueberries. I recommend using fresh lemon juice for this recipe for maximum flavour.
- Divide the cake batter into two 8-inch cake pans and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes. The cake will be golden brown when it’s ready and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake should come out clean.
- Leave the cakes to cool completely before frosting and decorating.
HOW TO MAKE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- You will need a hand mixer or stand mixer to make this frosting. Make sure you use a full fat block of cream cheese – not a light version or the spreadable kind.
- For seriously creamy frosting, make sure both your butter and your cream cheese is at room temperature.
- Once you beat together the butter and cream cheese, you need to add 2 cups of icing sugar, along with 1 tablespoon of milk.
- Next, add a tablespoon of lemon juice – freshly squeezed lemon juice is best – and then the final cup of icing sugar.
- The frosting should be smooth, creamy and taste creamy and lemony.
MORE CAKE RECIPES TO TRY
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Let’s Bake
Lemon Blueberry Cake
Two layers of lemon blueberry cake covered in cream cheese frosting
Ingredients
Lemon blueberry cake
- 315 grams (2 and 1/4 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 250 grams (1 and 1/4 cups) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 230 grams (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, roughly chopped
- Zest of two lemons
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 240 ml (1 cup) full fat or whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 155 grams (1 and 1/4 cups) fresh blueberries
Cream cheese frosting
- 60 grams (1/4 cup) butter, softened
- 250 grams (1 and 1/4 cup) full fat cream cheese, softened, roughly chopped
- 375 grams (3 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- Extra blueberries, to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk briefly. Add butter and beat with an electric mixer on low speed, until butter is broken into small pieces.
- Next, add lemon zest, eggs, milk and vanilla. Start to beat on low speed and then turn up to medium speed. Add lemon juice and continue to beat. Mixture should be creamy and smooth. Lastly, stir through the blueberries.
- Divide cake batter between your two prepared pans. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Carefully transfer cakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the cream cheese frosting, add butter and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy.
- Add 2 cups of sugar, and continue to beat. Add remaining cup of sugar and lemon juice and beat briefly until smooth.
- Spread frosting on one cake layer, add the remaining cake layer on top. Cover top and sides with frosting. Decorate with fresh blueberries.
Jackie says
Baked this cake for a friend’s birthday and it was a hit! I swapped out the blueberries for raspberries and it worked really nicely. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad to hear that Jackie!
Connie Coffey says
just so delicious..lovely lemon flavor through-out.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Connie!
Elizabeth Hamid says
Can I make this in a loaf tin instead? If so, any ideas on timing for baking? Also every time I make the frosting it is very runny and I have to add more icing sugar. Any ideas why?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Elizabeth, you could but this recipe will make quite a bit of batter – maybe enough for two regular 9×5 inch baking pans. Or I do have a Lemon Loaf recipe. If you’ve had trouble with cream cheese frosting the past, is it possible you’re using a spreadable cream cheese instead of the block kind?
Soo Leang says
Jess, my cake turned out not that fluffy but on the harder doughy texture. What when wrong? I didn’t eat it after baked and topping with cream cheese but left it in the refrigerator for few hours before cutting. A bit tough to run the knife through. Cream cheese topping is not easy to apply here in Singapore as the weather is warm and the cream become soft and runny. So I kept in the refrigerator to harder it a bit before reapplying.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Soo, sorry to hear that. Did you make any changes to the ingredients or method? The cake should be lovely and soft – although most cakes do tend to go a little dry in the fridge. If it was doughy, it sounds like it might have been under baked and just needed a little longer in the oven.
Arwa says
is this the recipe without Bicarbonate of soda?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Arwa, yes this recipe only uses baking powder.
Arwa says
I love it
Jessica Holmes says
Yay!
Adele says
Love your recipes, made so many of them. I especially love the 🍏 and cinnamon cake ☺
Jessica Holmes says
Aw two of my favourites!
Kayleigh says
Can I use frozen blueberries?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Kayleigh, yes you can! Just gently fold them into the batter frozen (don’t thaw them).
Cathy Pieroz says
Very yummy result although I did have a misshap when it was time to Frost I dropped the top layer it landed sideways and I ended up putting a skewer through it to hold it together. The result looked like “islands in the stream” cake islands in a stream of frosting. It was for a birthday cake with candles for a work colleague everyone had a laugh but did enjoy it! Would love to share the photo but it wouldn’t do your recipe any justice !
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Cathy, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! And don’t worry, we’ve all been there! Appreciate your kind feedback.
Maureen says
I Jess your recipe sounds and looks amazing. Can you use self raising flour
instead of plain and also is it necessary for the cream cheese to go in
the topping please?
Many thanks
Maureen
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Maureen, excited you’re going to try this cake. I recommend using plain flour if you, just because I’ve tested this recipe with this ingredient. If don’t want to use the cream cheese frosting, try my buttercream frosting and add a squeeze of lemon.
Maureen says
Thank you Jess. All your recipes look amazing so much choice
then the uk
Whitney says
Hi Jessica!!
I’m super excited to try this recipe but was wondering if I would be able to use this recipe for cupcakes?! Would the oven temp/bake time change? Thank you so much!!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Whitney, yes you definitely can! The baking time will change – maybe check around the 16-18 minute mark. You’ll know they’re ready when they spring back lightly to the touch. I also have a Lemon Cupcake recipe you might like.
Whitney says
Thank you so much!!
Mathilda says
Hi, I just baked this cake. It was super soft and not too sweet, which is how I love my dessert. Weird I know!! However , the cake turned out greasy. May I know why and how I can fix it please . Thank you
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Mathilda, so glad you enjoyed this cake. I’m unsure why it was greasy for you though. I can only suggest making sure you measure the ingredients correctly using a baking scale.
Jilna says
Hi Jessica
Do you think this cake would taste ok with regular buttercream instead of cream cheese frosting?
Thanks
Jessica Holmes says
Absolutely!
Honey says
Can you replace the blueberries with raspberries?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes you can!
Honey says
Thank you for the quick reply! Would the amount be the same?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes!
Susie says
Can you make this cake without the blueberries? Just so it’s a plain lemon cake? Or does it need the blueberries in to create it?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes absolutely!
Tina says
I’m wondering why there’s no salt in the cake batter? I’ve never made a cake without a little salt .
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Tina, feel free to add a pinch of salt.