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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.
I made this for Easter and it was a hit! Everyone devoured it. It’s so light and moist. The flavors blend so well. I used a blueberry preserve instead of jam and I loved it a lot.
Hi Marina,
Awesome!! Thanks a bunch for testing this recipe out, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
I made this today for our Easter dinner and it was fabulous! Thank you!
Hey Madeline,
Happy Monday!!🌞 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Hi, I can’t wait to make this recipe for my friend’s birthday! I was just curious if it is best to bake in US Customary (cup) or in Metrics (grams)?
Hey Alex,
I would suggest using the US customary measurements as that is what I use:) Please let me know if I can help in any other way, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Made this cake and it was so good! I cant find 8inch pans in any store so I used my 9in and just did 1.5 of the quantity of the listed ingredients and it seemed to work well. I also never measured my jam but just went off the pretty color. Great cake!
Hi Reese,
Happy Friday!! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for making it and sharing your comment! xx
Maybe a dumb question but thinking about moisture here. Do you think I could easily swap the blueberries out for raspberries? Thanks!
Hey Sinei,
Not dumb at all, I think raspberries would be great to use here! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
My daughter LOVES this cake – so much so that I’m using it for her Wedding celebration! Do you think I can make the cakes ahead of time and then wrap and freeze them for 1 week before frosting? I’ve done that before for chocolate and vanilla cakes – just not sure if it’s a good idea for the blueberries. (Btw – I’ll be starting with fresh blueberries if that makes a difference)
Hey Pam,
Totally, that will be just fine for you to do!! Please let me know if you have any other questions! Congrats to your daughter! xx
HI! is this recipe made with full fat greek yogurt?
Hey Kelcy,
It sure is! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Love this recipe! Could I make it with GF flour?
Hey Katelyn,
I appreciate you making this recipe and I’m thrilled to hear that it turned out well for you! Sure, an equal amount of gluten free flour should work well for you! Have a great weekend! xx
Any suggestions for baking this at high altitude? Thanks!
Hey Erin,
You can follow the recipe as written without any adjustments:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I LOVE all your recipes, but this cake was beyond delicious! Everyone loved it. But, something important to know -the coconut oil is prone to easily re-solidify so be sure to keep everything warm enough. It’s been so cold that even using room temp ingredients wasn’t sufficient. The beauty of the cake comes from it looking a little messy when you swirl the different frosting shades together so not having to be too meticulous or careful was a bonus!!
Hey Cynthia,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe was tasty and thanks a lot for trying it out! xT
I made this for an uncle’s 90th birthday party and it was a huge hit! One of my layers seemed doughy and should have cooked longer, but nobody seemed to notice!
Hey Leana,
Happy Monday!!☃️ Thanks a lot for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was a winner! xx
Dose the mascarpone cheese make the frosting taste like cream cheese frosting? Abigail
Hi Abigail,
Yes, it’s very similar:) Let me know if you give the recipe a try! xx
Yum! That sounds great! I can’t wait to make this, but unfortunately I have to wait until blueberries are in season so the cake tastes the best. I’ll let you know when I make this! :)Abigail
Baked today for Spring Carnival celebrations! Beautiful cake. 💛
Hey Tam,
Love it!!🤩 So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it! xx
Hey Tieghan! Thank you so much for this great recipe. It turned out great. I’d love to make it again as cupcakes or a traybake – do you think either would work?
Hey Molly,
Happy Sunday!! I love to hear that this recipe was tasty, thanks a lot for making it! Totally, cupcakes would be great! xxT
Just made this cake last Friday for a baby shower.
I heard it was a big hit!
And I failed to get a picture of it ?
When I read the frosting ingredients I was afraid there wouldn’t be enough, but it was plenty and oh so tasty!
Hi Angi,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was tasty, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review:) xTieghan