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Bursting Blueberry Lemon Layer Cake…to celebrate the weekend. Three layers of light and fluffy lemon cake swirled with a mix of fresh blueberries and blueberry jam. Each cake layer is frosted generously with whipped blueberry mascarpone buttercream. This cake is mouthwatering and oh so delicious. Every bite is layered with fresh berries, hints of lemon, sweet vanilla, and filled with creamy buttercream. This is the perfect berry-filled cake for any and all occasions. Bonus? It’s simpler to make than you’d think, and so very pretty…with barely any added effort.
And here I am, back with another layer cake, simply because they make me happy and I needed a happy cake in my life this week. You do too. Trust me on that.
Just like flowers, pretty (and delicious) food has a way of being able to completely turn my day around. It’s maybe kind of cheesy to admit, but I have a love of beautiful things. And when they happen to be incredibly delicious beautiful things? Well, that’s just an added bonus that makes food like cake the BEST.
And I don’t think many of you will argue that, because who doesn’t love cake, you know?
muti colored buttercream
1st cake layer
1st cake layer with buttercream
2nd cake layer
2nd cake layer with buttercream
cake before covering in buttercream
The story of how this cake came to be is really pretty simple. In an effort to surround myself with more color and “pretty” things, I picked up a whole bunch of fresh berries and ordered way too many edible flowers. When purchasing the berries and flowers, I really didn’t have an idea as to what I would make with them. I just knew something good would follow.
Almost as soon as the flowers arrived at my doorstep, I began baking this cake. Something about the purple-toned dahlias and faded white elderflowers screamed blueberry cake to me. Instead of thinking twice about it, I just started cooking. Less than 2 hours later I was putting the finishing touches on what is now one of my favorites cakes… Yes, I kind of have a lot of favorites.
Here are all the details.
Start with the cake. It’s a combination of a fluffy vanilla cake, lemon cake, and blueberry cake. It’s so moist, just perfectly sweet, and has a hint of lemon flavor throughout. To get a really incredible and intense blueberry flavor, I used a mix of both fresh blueberries and blueberry jam. So yes, that’s double the blueberry action, and yes, this cake is very heavy on blueberry flavor. Every bite literally bursts with berries and it’s maybe one of the best things you will eat.
Kind of dramatic, but also kind of true.
For the buttercream, I had a lot of over the top ideas. But in the end, I actually stuck with something a bit simpler and did a blueberry-mascarpone buttercream. Since I really wanted this cake to be heavy on the blueberry flavor, I didn’t want the buttercream to compete with the cake, I wanted it to compliment.
Enter this mascarpone buttercream swirled with a small amount of blueberry jam to give the cake a very pretty color. Not going to lie, I did attempt an ombre frosted cake. But it didn’t really work out just as I envisioned in my head. Oddly, I’m OK with that, and even odder? I love the imperfect look.
It’s effortlessly pretty…
Which brings me to the best part about this cake. It’s actually fairly easy to make, and pretty too.
No special ingredients, nothing fancy, just pantry staples, and a whole love of blueberries. If you have access to edible flowers, those are of course welcome, but not needed.
I know a lot of people, myself included, can stress to create a cake that’s frosted perfectly. But what’s great about this blueberry cake is that it should look like a swirly, messy, unperfect cake. Just have fun swirling on the buttercream and don’t worry too much about how it looks. Promise, in the end, the cake will be beautiful no matter what.
And most importantly?
It’s going to be GOOD…SO GOOD.
There are not enough words to describe how good this cake is, but just know that every forkful is filled with fresh berries and sweet jam. Each layer is moist, hinted with lemon, and layered with sweet buttercream.
It’s exactly what you should bake this weekend. And with that, let’s take a summer Friday and happily make our way to the kitchen. It’s time for cake.
Thank God!
If you make this bursting blueberry lemon layer cake, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Bursting Blueberry Lemon Layer Cake.
Servings: 24
Calories Per Serving: 1583 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 cup melted coconut oil (can use melted butter or canola oil)
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 3 3/4 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup high-quality blueberry jam
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw using frozen)
Blueberry Buttercream
- 3 sticks salted butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces mascarpone or cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 4-5 tablespoons high-quality blueberry or blackberry jam
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter/spray with cooking spray.2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand-held mixer) beat together the coconut oil, yogurt, eggs, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, buttermilk, lemon juice, and zest. Add 3 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined. 3. Toss the blueberries with the remaining 1 tablespoon flour and fold them into the batter. Swirl in the blueberry jam, leaving a few streaks of jam throughout the batter, it shouldn't be fully incorporated.4. Pour the batter among the 3 cake pans and bake 30-35 minutes, until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool five minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan and turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack. Cover and let the cakes cool completely before assembling.5. To make the buttercream. Add the butter, mascarpone, and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat the butter and powdered sugar together until the butter is light and fluffy. Divide the buttercream between 3 bowls. Mix 1-2 tablespoon jam into 1st bowl, then 2-3 tablespoons jam to the 2nd bowl. Leave the 3rd bowl plain. 6. To assemble, place one cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand. Spread the darkest colored buttercream over the cake. Add the 2nd cake layer and spread with the lighter colored buttercream. Add the final cake layer and spread with the white buttercream. Lightly frost the outside of the cake, swirling the different shades together. It's shouldn't look "perfect". Chill 30 minutes. Serve, or store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
This post was originally published on June 7, 2019
Hi, I made the cake, the frosting was delicious light and fluffy, the flavor of the cake was very good however it seemed a bit heavy and dense to me or is that how it is supposed to be?
Hey Jean,
So sorry that the cake was dense. Did you happen to adjust the recipe at all? Also, you really want to make sure that you don’t over-mix the batter, that could cause it to become dense. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
I made this for a dinner party and it was an absolute hit! Everyone loved it. It was the perfect way to end a meal on a light, fresh, and fruity note. Not to mention it, it was beautiful.
Thank you so much Madi!! xTieghan
Hi! I was wondering if it would be possible to store the cake in the fridge for a week or possibly freeze it? Thank you so much!
Hey Amy! I think a couple days in the fridge would be fine, but a week is a bit too long. I do think the cake should freeze nicely, so I would recommend that! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
This recipe looks amazing – making it for a get together this weekend! You said to divide the buttercream into 3 parts. I see that the buttercream you used for the final layer and all around the cake is the white buttercream. How did you get the swirled effect with the different shades on the outside of the cake? Did you save a little of the darkest colored and medium colored buttercream for the outside as well? Thanks!
Hey Navya,
I think the swirled effect is just how I applied the buttercream to the cake. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Made this cake for a “going away to college” party for my nephew. Think it might be the best cake I ever baked – absolutely delicious and not a bite left!
Aw that is so sweet of you! I am really glad this turned out so well for you all, Brenda! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
This cake was fantastic! It was super moist and had great flavor. I used two 9.5” pans and baked them for 53 mins – just as delicious!
Thank you so much Carly! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This looks amazing – do you think the recipe would work as well if I subbed blueberries for raspberries? I’m making as a birthday cake and the recipient doesn’t love blueberries as much as me! Thanks for all your recipes – I love every one I’ve tried so far 🙂
Hey Tora,
Raspberries would be great in this cake. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This cake is delicious and relatively easy to make! Next time I would swap out coconut oil for regular oil. I’m not sure if it was the kind of coconut oil I used, but it overpowered the flavor of the cake. Overall still really tasty!
Thank you so much Lanie! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I made this cake last night for my birthday, it didn’t look as pretty but everyone looooved it.
I would lower the sugar amount the next time, but that’s just me. An amazing recipe. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much Stephy! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This looks so good! I’m making a cake for someone who doesn’t like blueberries, do you think this would this work if I substituted strawberries for blueberries?
Hey Ashley,
Yes strawberries would work well here! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Looks amazing! Gonna make this for a BBQ this week—do you think I could use buttermilk in place of the greek yogurt?
Hey Danielle,
Yes buttermilk will work! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
It says serves 24! ?
Not when you cut an 8″ cake properly, it doesn’t! 8 slices and it’s perfect.
Thank you Kat! I hope this turned out well for you! xTieghan
Dude. Phenomenal.
I will probably never choose a different cake for my birthday, ever.
Wow that is so amazing to hear!! Thank you Kat! xTieghan
I made this cake for a co-worker’s bday and she said it was the best cake she had ever had. And she has asked me to make it for her daughter’s 2nd bday!! I accidentally added an extra 1/2 cup lemon juice, but it still came out great – bursting with lemon and blueberry flavors. It is a dense cake so a small slice goes a long way. The cake is awesome. Thanks for the recipe!
Aw that is amazing!! I am so glad this turned out so well for you, DJ! xTieghan
My husband basically asked me to drop everything and make this cake when he saw it. I have freeze dried blueberries and I don’t know what to do with them. Do you think I could maybe smash them up and mix them into the frosting?
Hi AJ,
I haven’t tried this recipe with freeze dried blueberries, my only worry is that they would be a little tough, but you could certainly give it a go! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan