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front view of a lemon blueberry cake

Lemon Blueberry Cake

Light and fresh flavors of lemon through this cake plus filled with sweet blueberries. All mixed with layers of cream cheese frosting.

front view of a lemon blueberry cake

Prep time: 15 min  |  Cook time: 25 min  |  Total: 40 min

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Ingredients

1 cup butter- room temperature

1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

4 large eggs- room temperature

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk

zest + juice of 3 medium lemons

1 and 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (if frozen, do not thaw)

1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour (for coating blueberries)

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 block (8 ounces) full fat cream cheese- room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter- room temperature

3 to 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

12 Tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray non stick spray, line with parchment and lightly flour 3 cake pans (9×2) and set aside.

2. In a mixer, beat the butter on high about 1 minute until creamy. Add sugar and brown sugar and beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, scrape down the sides as needed. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix again for 2 minutes on medium high speed.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time, mixing until just combined after each addition. Add the buttermilk, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix until just combined.

4. Toss the blueberries in 1 Tablespoon of flour and then fold them into the batter with a spatula. Do not overmix. Overmixing will make your cake tough and dry.

5. Spoon batter into cake pans and bake for about 21-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. You will need to bake longer if you do less than 3 layers. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before frosting.

FROSTING: In a mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. About 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mix after each addition. Add the vanilla, heavy cream and salt. Mix again until smooth.

ASSEMBLE THE LAYER CAKE: Using a serrated knife, slice off the top layer of the cakes to make a flat surface. Place the bottom layer on your plate/cake stand and spoon some cream cheese frosting on and spread evenly. Place the next cake layer on top of that, spread another layer of cream cheese frosting and then do the same with the top layer. Now spread a very thin layer of the frosting over the entire cake. This is called a crumb coat and does not have to look perfect. Place the whole cake in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. After this, you can frost with the remaining frosting. The crumb coat allows a nice base for your pretty frosting at the end.

2. Decorate any way you like with blueberries and lemon slices to make it look pretty. Refrigerate the cake before serving.

Notes