Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting

pulled back front shot of frosted lemon blueberry layer cake with flowers on top and slice of cake on stack of three plates behind, fresh blueberries in a glass jar, and a lemon half behind with more blueberries round, a small white bowl, and a white cheesecloth on marble surface.

Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Sweeten your day with this Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting! Three layers of moist and tender lemon sponge, bursting with fresh blueberries, and sandwiches between the creamiest lemon frosting. Every bite is perfectly sweet, full of flavor, and SO. GOOD.

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 35

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 1 5

Servings:

Calories: 869kcal

Ingredients

Cake

1½ cups all purpose flour*
1½ teaspoons baking powder
⅓ teaspoon baking soda
1½ Tablespoons lemon zest
⅞ cup granulated sugar
7 Tablespoons salted butter room temperature
2 large eggs room temperature
¼ cup sour cream
5 Tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup whole milk
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour

Frosting

1½ cups salted butter room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar sifted
2 teaspoons lemon zest
5 Tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

Cake

Heat oven to 350℉.
Spray three 6 inch cake pans with baking spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and lemon zest. Set aside.
In a small bowl, toss blueberries with 2 Tablespoons flour. Set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla.
Beat well.
Add flour mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
Fold in blueberries.
Divide evenly among prepared pans.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until cake tests done.
Allow to cool in pans for 15-20 minutes before turning out.

Frosting

Combine butter, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer.
Beat on low speed until combined.
Raise speed to high.
Beat until light and fluffy.

Assembly

Level cake layers, if needed.
Place one cake layer on cake plate and spread with a layer of frosting.
Repeat with second layer.
Add third layer.
Frost entire cake.

Notes

*This recipe was written using an average of the dip and sweep method for measuring flour and the spoon and level method. If you are using a scale, you will need to add 3/4 oz or 22 g to the measurement for each cup of flour.

Substitutions:

You can use frozen blueberries instead of fresh, if desired.
Unsweetened full-fat greek yogurt can be used instead of the sour cream.
This recipe can be made vegan if you use plant based butter, your favorite vegan egg replacer (we love aquafaba!), vegan sour cream or unsweetened plant based yogurt, and unsweetened plant based milk.

Expert Tips:

Don't skip coating the blueberries in flour!
Be careful to not over-mix the cake batter.
When dividing the cake batter, it’s best to use a ladle and a scale to help ensure each cake layer is even!
If you’re unsure if the cake is baked, you can use a cake tester or a toothpick to test the cakes. If it comes out clean, the cake is fully baked!
Let the cake layers cool COMPLETELY before assembling the cake.
Depending on how the cakes bake, you may or may not need to level the cake layers.
If you’d like, when frosting this cake, you can do a crumb coat to help ensure a clean and crumb-free frosting.
To get clean slices, wipe your knife after each cut!

Nutrition