Blueberry Cake

Low Fat Buttermilk – This is the very best option for soft and moist muffins! Scroll down to see some other options that’ll work in a pinch if you can’t happen to find any low fat buttermilk at the store. But note, substitutes never work as well!

Flour – All-purpose flour works best. Make sure you spoon the flour into the measuring cup instead of dunking the cup directly into the bag! Then, cut the excess at the top with the back of a knife to level. If you dunk the cup, you’ll pack the flour into the cup.

Baking Soda and Baking Powder – Make sure that both of these are not expired! In order for your baking soda and powder to work properly, you need to use them within 6 months of opening the containers.

Eggs – use large eggs and make sure to pull the eggs out of the refrigerator ahead of time and let them sit on the kitchen counter for about 30-45 minutes prior to using.

Cream cheese – make sure to use full fat cream cheese to make the frosting and remember to give it 10-15 minutes on the kitchen counter to soften and warm up to room temperature.

Butter – it’s best to use unsalted butter to control the amount of sodium in your dish. Much like eggs, let it warm up and soften on the counter 30-45 minutes before baking.

Lemon – you will be using lemon zest and lemon juice. If you have some extra lemons, make yourself a lemon drop martini or some strawberry lemonade.

Blueberries – Fresh blueberries would be BEST, but frozen can work in a pinch. (You can find more information on that below in my FAQ section.) Oh, and if you have any leftover blueberries, use them to make some Homemade Blueberry Syrup.

See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and lightly flour 3, 8-inch round baking pans (1). Beat butter in the electric mixer on medium-high speed, for about a minute. Pour in the sugars and beat for another minute or two, until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating on medium-high speed after each addition. Once incorporated, stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula.

PRO TIP: Crack eggs into a small bowl, and then add them to the batter one at a time. This way, you won’t accidentally drop the whole egg into the batter.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt together. Set the speed to “stir” and add half the flour mixture. Add half the buttermilk and vanilla extract. Add remaining flour and after it’s just incorporated, pour in remaining buttermilk and lemon juice. Let it incorporate, stop, and scrape sides and bottom of the bowl (2).

Fold in blueberries with a spatula until evenly incorporated (3). Separate the batter between the 3 baking pans evenly (5) and bake for 20-24 minutes (6).

PRO TIP: use a kitchen scale to make sure there is an even amount of batter in each baking pan (4).

Once baked, carefully run a butter knife between sides of the cake pan and the cake. Let the cakes cool for about 10 minutes and then take them out of the pans. Place the cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely (7).

Tip: gently tap the pans with the cake on the counter on its edges to loosen the cake from the pan. It will release easier

How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting

PRO TIP: do NOT add frosting to warm cakes or it will melt! Cakes should be completely cooled to room temperature when frosting.

Use a whisk attachment when possible. Beat butter and cream cheese together, on medium-high speed, until smooth, for a couple of minutes.

Lower the speed to low and beat in powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Turn up the speed back to medium-high and beat for another minute, until the frosting is light, smooth, and fluffy (8).

Once the cakes are cooled completely, use a large serrated knife to trim the very thin layer of the tops off the cake layers, just the domed part, to even the tops of cakes. Place 1 layer on your cake stand or a plate and evenly cover the top with some cream cheese frosting (9). Repeat with remaining layers and you can frost the cake sides if you wish after.

You can decorate the top of the cake with fresh blueberries, white chocolate, and or candy peels on top, as you wish.

Blueberry Cake Tips

• Remember to pull your cold ingredients out of the refrigerator and let them warm up. Pull eggs and butter about 30-45 minutes before baking. Pull butter for frosting about 30 minutes before making it and cream cheese about 15 minutes before.
• Grease and flour the baking pans! This will help save you a lot of headache trying to get the cakes out.
• Try to use three of the same exact pan. Thickness, size, and materials vary among the brands so the bake time will be affected.
• Weigh how much cake you add to the baking pans! This will help keep each layer of the baked even size and baked the same.
• Cool baked cakes on a wire rack. This will help cool the cake on top and bottom as well as prevent moisture building up on the bottom.
• Do not over-beat the frosting. Make sure not to beat the cream cheese and sugar for too long. Powdered sugar actually helps bring out the liquid out in the cream cheese so beating it for too long will result in runnier frosting. So beat butter and cream cheese first, and then add powdered sugar and beat just until incorporated.
• Use whisk attachment. The whisk attachment is better to use for most frosting recipes because it whips the ingredients and results into fluffier, more stable frosting.
• Refrigerate for a few minutes before frosting. If I feel like the frosting is a little too soft, or I left it at room temperature for a little while before frosting, I pop it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. It will hold up better to frosting and still be soft enough to spread easily. 

Recipe FAQs

Some More Recipes To Try

• Blueberry Syrup
• Blueberry Muffins Recipe
• White Chocolate Blueberry Cheesecake
• Blueberry Mini Cheesecake
• Blueberry Crisp