Lemon Blueberry Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Name: Lemon Blueberry Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: Bulgarian
Ingredients: 3¾ cups 00 flour (Caputo); 2½ tsp baking powder; ½ tsp baking soda; ¾ tsp salt; 1¾ cups sugar; Zest of 3 lemons; ½ cup butter, room temp; ½ cup oil (avocado or vegetable); 3 eggs, room temp; 1 cup buttermilk; 3 tbsp lemon juice; 1½ tsp vanilla; 1½ cups fresh blueberries; 1½ tbsp flour (for tossing blueberries); 2 blocks cream cheese (16 oz total), room temp; 4 sticks butter, room temp; 2–3 heaping tbsp vanilla paste; Powdered sugar (to taste); 2–4 tbsp lemon curd (or more, to taste); Extra lemon curd (for drip); Fresh blueberries; Powdered sugar; Optional: dried rose petals

Soft, fresh, and honestly one of the BEST cakes ever — my kids agree.

Serves

3-layer 8-inch cake

Time

1 hr 30 min

Lemon Blueberry Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Three soft lemon layers studded with fresh blueberries, frosted with a dreamy lemon cream cheese frosting (with lemon curd folded in), and finished with a glossy lemon curd drip.

Instructions

Cake Layers

1
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line three 8-inch pans.
2
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3
Rub lemon zest into the sugar (big flavor step!).
4
Beat butter, oil, and lemon sugar until light and fluffy, 3–4 minutes.
5
Add eggs slowly, mixing well.
6
Mix buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla.
7
Add dry and wet alternately: dry → wet → dry → wet → dry. Mix just until combined.
8
Toss blueberries with flour and gently fold in.
9
Divide batter and bake 25–30 minutes. Cool completely.

Frosting

1
Everything must be room temperature.
2
Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.
3
Add vanilla paste and powdered sugar to taste.
4
Mix in lemon curd until smooth, creamy, and lump-free.

Assemble & Decorate

1
Layer cake with frosting between each layer, then cover the whole cake.
2
Warm extra lemon curd over a water bath until pourable and spoon over the top for a drip.
3
Decorate with fresh blueberries, powdered sugar, and optional rose petals.

Toti’s Tips

✓Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with your fingers instead of just tossing it into the batter. The oils in the zest release into the sugar and spread through the whole cake, so every bite tastes lemony instead of just the odd fleck of zest.
✓Toss the blueberries in a little flour before folding them in. The flour coating helps keep them from sinking straight to the bottom of the pan as the cake bakes.
✓Mix the batter just until the flour disappears when alternating dry and wet ingredients in. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour, which makes the crumb tight and rubbery instead of soft.
✓Bring the butter, cream cheese, and eggs fully to room temperature before you start the frosting. Cold cream cheese won't blend smoothly into the butter, and you'll end up with lumps no matter how long you beat it.
✓Warm the extra lemon curd over a water bath rather than the microwave before pouring the drip. Gentle, even heat loosens it to pourable without scrambling the eggs in the curd.
✓Let the finished cake sit a day before serving if you can. The lemon and blueberry flavors settle into the crumb and the frosting firms up just enough to slice cleanly.
✓No buttermilk on hand? Stir 1 teaspoon of lemon juice into a cup of milk and let it sit 5 to 10 minutes. The acid thickens the milk slightly and reacts with the baking soda just like real buttermilk would.