Lemon Blueberry Spring Cake (Printable)

A moist layer cake with fresh blueberries, zesty lemon, and smooth cream cheese frosting.

# What you need:

→ Cake Batter

01 - 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2 teaspoons baking powder
03 - 0.5 teaspoon baking soda
04 - 0.5 teaspoon salt
05 - 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
06 - 1.75 cups granulated sugar
07 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
08 - 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
09 - 0.33 cup fresh lemon juice
10 - 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
11 - 1.5 cups fresh blueberries
12 - 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour for coating blueberries

→ Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

13 - 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
14 - 0.5 cup unsalted butter, softened
15 - 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
16 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
17 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
18 - Pinch of salt

→ Decoration

19 - Fresh blueberries
20 - Lemon zest curls
21 - Edible flowers

# How to make it:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
03 - In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, approximately 3-4 minutes.
04 - Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in lemon zest and lemon juice.
05 - Alternate adding flour mixture and milk to wet ingredients, starting and ending with flour. Mix until just combined.
06 - Toss blueberries with 1 tablespoon flour to prevent sinking, then gently fold into batter.
07 - Divide batter evenly among prepared pans and smooth tops with a rubber spatula.
08 - Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
09 - Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
10 - Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add powdered sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat until fluffy and spreadable.
11 - Place one cake layer on serving plate and spread with frosting. Repeat with remaining layers, frosting top and sides.
12 - Top with fresh blueberries, lemon zest curls, and edible flowers as desired.

# Helpful Hints:

01 -
  • The lemon zest and juice create a brightness that makes your mouth wake up, no matter what kind of day you're having.
  • Those pockets of blueberries surprise you with every bite, staying soft and jammy instead of sinking to the bottom.
  • The frosting is tangy enough to balance the sweetness, so you can actually eat a whole slice without feeling heavy.
02 -
  • Room temperature ingredients—especially eggs and milk—blend together smoothly instead of creating a separated or curdled batter that bakes unevenly.
  • Tossing blueberries in flour keeps them suspended throughout the cake instead of sinking to the bottom, which I learned the hard way the first time I made this.
  • Don't overmix the batter once you've added the flour mixture; a few lumps won't hurt, but overmixing develops gluten and creates a tough, dense crumb.
  • Let cake layers cool completely before frosting, or the frosting will melt and slide off, turning your beautiful cake into a leaning tower situation.
03 -
  • A microplane grater makes the finest, fluffiest lemon zest that distributes evenly throughout the batter and frosting instead of creating visible chunks.
  • Offsetting your offset spatula at a slight angle gives you better control when frosting the sides, creating smooth, even layers instead of gouges and fingerprints.
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