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closeup of lemon blueberry cake slice on a white plate
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Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Cake Recipe

Moist and velvety lemon cake with juicy blueberries and tangy cream cheese frosting! The buttermilk in this cake recipe makes the lemon cake extra tender. The perfect dessert for a summer BBQ!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 8 cups
Calories 432kcal

Equipment

  • 3 6"x2" cake pans or two 8"x2" pans

Ingredients

Lemon Blueberry Cake Ingredients

  • 8 ounces buttermilk slightly warmed
  • 3 ounces vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs slightly warmed
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon zest
  • 2 Tablespooms fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons lemon extract
  • 12 ounces cake flour
  • 11 ounces granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 8 ounces unsalted butter softened but not melted
  • 2 Tablespoons AP Flour for dusting blueberries
  • 3 cups blueberries You can use frozen but don't thaw them

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 16 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 8 ounces unsalted butter softened but not melted
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 32 ounes powdered sugar sifted

Instructions

Cake Instructions

  • Heat your oven to 335º F/168º C. Prepare three 6"x 2" round cake pans (or two 8"x2" pans) with cake goop or another pan release that you prefer.
  • Divide your buttermilk into two separate containers. I use a measuring cup.
  • To the first measurement, add your oil and set it aside.
  • To the remaining buttermilk, add your eggs, lemon extract, lemon juice and lemon zest and gently whisk to combine. Set it aside.
  • Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
  • Turn the mixer onto the slowest speed (setting 1 on Kitchen Aid mixers). Slowly add chunks of your softened butter until it is all added then let everything mix until it looks like coarse sand.
  • Add your milk/oil mixture all at once to the dry ingredients and mix on medium (speed 4 on kitchenaid) for 2 full minutes to develop the structure. Don't worry, this will not over-mix the cake.
  • Scrape the bowl. This is an important step. If you skip it, you will have hard lumps of flour and unmixed ingredients in your batter. If you do it later, they will not mix in fully.
  • Slowly add in the rest of your liquid ingredients in 3 parts, stopping to scrape the bowl one more time halfway through. Your batter should be thick and not too runny.
  • Fill your pans ½ full with cake batter. Give the pan a little tap on each side to level out the batter and get rid of any air bubbles.
  • Wash your berries (if they are fresh) and toss in flour. If berries are frozen skip washing and just toss in flour. Sprinkle the blueberries on top of your cake batter. Do not stir them in.
  • Remove cakes from the oven and give them a tap on the countertop to release air and prevent too much shrinking. Let them cool on a cooling rack until they are barely warm.
  • After cooling, place the cooling rack on top of the cake, placing one hand on top of the cooling rack and one hand under the pan and flip the pan and the cooling rack over so the pan is now upside down on the cooling rack. Remove the pan carefully. Repeat with the other pan.
  • After the cakes are barely warm, carefully wrap them in plastic wrap and place them into the freezer or fridge for about 60 minutes to firm up the cakes and make them easier to handle for stacking.

Cream Cheese Frosting Instructions

  • Place softened butter in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment and cream on low until smooth and lump-free.
  • Place softened cream cheese in the bowl with butter in small chunks and cream on low until smooth and combined.
  • Add in the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time while mixing on low until combined.
  • Add your extract and salt and combine until smooth. Don't over-mix or your frosting could separate.
  • After your cakes are chilled, trim the domes off them to make them level and fill them with your cream cheese frosting and frost the outside. I finished my cake with some more fresh blueberries and organic pansies (edible). If you're not familiar with decorating cakes, check out my how to make your first cake blog post!

Video

Notes

  1. Weigh your ingredients to avoid cake failure. Using a kitchen scale for baking is super easy and gives you the best results every single time. 
  2. Make sure all your cold ingredients are room temperature or slightly warm (butter, milk, eggs, to create a cohesive batter. Curdled batter causes cakes to collapse.
  3. No buttermilk? You can make your own buttermilk 
  4. To prevent blueberries from sinking, I wash them (to get them wet) then roll them in flour. Then I add them to the batter halfway through baking
  5. Do not fall for the "just add cornstarch to regular flour" trick. It does not work for this recipe. Your cake will look and taste like cornbread. If you can't find cake flour, use pastry flour which isn't quite as soft as cake flour but it's better than all-purpose flour. 
  6. Make your own pan release (cake goop!) The best pan release ever! 
  7. If you're in the UK search for Shipton mills cake and pastry flour. If you're in another part of the country, search for low protein cake flour.
  8. Need more help with making your first cake? Check out my how to decorate your first cake blog post. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 432kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 254mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 680IU | Vitamin C: 0.7mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 0.6mg