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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.Â
This cake was delicious!! I am so excited to make it again. However I found the buttercream to be a bit too sweet. But my goodness – blueberries and lemon – YUM!
Hey there,
Fantastic!! I am so glad that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try. Have the best week! xTieghan
Hello, we love this recipe. My son asked if the batter could be made in to muffins… any advice to make that happen? Thanks!
Disregard my comment, found another where you answered a similar question. Thanks!
Hey Darren,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it. Sure, that would work, they would be more like cupcakes:) But just reduce your baking time to 25-30 minutes. Have the best week! xTieghan
They turned out great! 27 minutes at 350. Didn’t do the icing, kids love them. Thanks
Hey Darren,
Happy Friday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
The flavors of this cake were wonderful, but unfortunately I found the actual cake to be SO dense. I could tell taking it out of the pan it was not soft. The cake visually turned out stunning though and I usually love all your recipes but this one was a miss for me. Maybe I did something wrong while baking?
Hey Cassie,
So sorry to hear this! Was there anything you may have adjusted in the recipe? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
This cake is so tasty and turned out great…the second time. You can taste the lemon and blueberry perfectly together and the buttercream brings it all together.
A few things to consider though!
-Add the melted coconut oil to the bowl last, mine hardened by the time I had all the ingredients in the bowl and I couldn’t mix it.
-this recipe takes longer then 1 hour if you don’t have three cake pans. It took me about 3 hours total however baking the cakes individually allowed the first one to cool while the second was baking.
Hey Sarah,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xTieghan
Where you get the edible flowers?
I love this recipe !!!
Hi Andi! I just got them at a local flower shop, you can also find them at garden centers or nurseries sometimes as well! xTieghan
Hi there! I’m planning on making this for my daughter’s 2nd birthday! Just to be sure.. I can use three 9 inch pans (instead of 8 inch), but I just decrease the baking time slightly? Thanks!
Hi there! Yes, that should work just fine! Happy birthday to your daughter! 🙂 xTieghan
Thank you! One more question, I bought cake flour thinking this recipe recommended it… but then I realized that must’ve been another recipe (I looked at so many). Do you think I should use it? I’ve never baked with cake flour before… do you think it would be okay or should I just use all-purpose?
I think cake flour should be okay:)
I just wanted to come back to say that this turned out wonderfully (I did just end up using All-purpose flour)! It got a little dense and somewhat “stiff” after being in the fridge overnight, but I think that actually made it better… and easier to cut! 🙂 Everyone who had a piece raved about it. It was so flavorful and delicious. Thank you. 🙂
Hey Jenna,
Awesome! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! I made this recipe last summer and it was incredible! I have a cupcake-themed work event this week and would love to use this recipe (and the vanilla chai pumpkin cupcakes!!) as a cupcakes recipe! How would you best recommend doing that? My thought is to half the recipe and see how many cupcakes that makes but wanted to know if you had any advice!
Hey Kevin,
Awesome! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! I would just follow the recipe as is, reduce your baking time and start checking for doneness at 25 minutes. xTieghan
I made this cake today and it turned out lovely. Instead of using the buttercream in between the cake layers, I used lemon curd because it’s my favorite. I will say the cake itself turned out more muffin-like in its crumb than cake-like, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Hey Lauren,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe. I am delighted to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
I love this cake. my family even owns a bakery, but i’ve asked for this cake on special occasions b/c they don’t make anything like this, and just the thought of all these blueberries and lemon in a cake has me drooling. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Hey Janelle,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxTieghan
Could I substitute raspberries for blueberries?
Hey Mindy,
Sure, raspberries would also work well here. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Could this be made in a 9×13 pan?
Hey Bev,
Sure, I bet that would turn out well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you make it! xTieghan
Could you add lavender to this?
Hey Vanessa,
Sure, that would work here! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Can this recipe be made ahead? Can the cake layers be frozen/refrigerated for a week? What about the buttercream? Cake looks beautiful! Thank you!
Hey Callie,
Sure, you could assemble the entire cake and freeze or just make the cake and buttercream and store separately in the fridge. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Can we make this recipe with 2 9in pans?
Hey Becky,
Yes, that should work well for you. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan!
I made this fir a practice run before the real deal this weekend. It tasted awesome, was so moist and looked great until I cut into it and it kinda collapsed. What did I do wrong? Any ideas?
Thanks!!
Hey Anne,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for making it! Cutting layer cakes can be tricky and really just takes practice! xTieghan