Blueberry Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting is a three-layer 20cm cake built around a concentrated fresh-blueberry reduction, whole berries, and a bright lemon frosting. The recipe records 30 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking for 55 minutes total and serves 12. Its order matters: the reduction must cool before it meets the batter, alternating wet and dry additions protect the crumb, and the cream cheese frosting stays smooth when mixed only as much as necessary.
Blueberry Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients
Blueberry Cake: 170g unsalted butter, softened; 400g white sugar; 3 large eggs, room temperature; 342g cake flour; 8g baking powder; 3g baking soda; 3g salt; 227g sour cream; 198g blueberries, pureed and reduced to 181g (cooked with 60ml water); 54g vegetable oil (e.g. canola oil); Optional: pink coloring gel for enhancing blueberry color; 66g whole blueberries, folded into the batter.
Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream: 339g unsalted butter, slightly softened; 226g cream cheese (brick, softened); 57g lemon juice (adjust as needed); Zest of 1 lemon; 863g powdered sugar, sifted and measured; Optional: milk, to thin consistency if necessary.
If you enjoy this recipe, you may also like No Bake Turtle Mini Cheesecakes.
How to Make Blueberry Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prepare Blueberry Reduction: Puree 198g blueberries. In a saucepan, cook the puree with 60ml water over medium heat until reduced to 181g (¾ cup). Cool completely before using. This can be prepared in advance and refrigerated.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pans: Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease and flour three 20cm (8-inch) round cake pans, each 5cm (2-inch) deep.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together 342g cake flour, 8g baking powder, 3g baking soda, and 3g salt for 30 seconds. Set aside.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: In another bowl, mix 227g sour cream, 181g blueberry puree, and 54g vegetable oil using a fork. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a mixer, beat 170g softened butter until smooth. Gradually add 400g sugar and mix on medium speed for 3–5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add Eggs: Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition until the yolk disappears.
- Combine Dry and Wet Mixtures: Add the dry mixture and wet mixture alternately to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the dry mixture (3 additions of dry and 2 additions of wet). Mix just until smooth. Optional: Add a small amount of pink coloring gel at this stage.
- Fold in Blueberries: Gently fold 66g whole blueberries into the batter without overmixing.
- Bake the Cakes: Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake at 175°C (350°F) for 22–25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with a few crumbs. Cool for 5–10 minutes in the pans, then turn out onto a cooling rack.
- Prepare Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream: In a mixing bowl, beat 339g softened butter until smooth. Add 226g cream cheese in pieces and blend until combined. Gradually add 863g sifted powdered sugar, followed by 57g lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix until smooth, but do not overmix. Chill for 10 minutes if the mixture becomes too soft.
For storage details after serving, the USDA leftovers and food safety guidance.
Why the Order Matters
Begin by pureeing 198g blueberries and cooking that puree with 60ml water over medium heat until it weighs 181g, or three-quarters cup. Cool it completely; making it in advance and refrigerating it is explicitly allowed. Heat the oven to 175°C or 350°F, then grease and flour three 20cm round pans that are each 5cm deep. Whisk 342g cake flour with 8g baking powder, 3g baking soda, and 3g salt for 30 seconds. Separately combine 227g sour cream, the 181g cooled reduction, and 54g vegetable oil. Beat 170g softened butter smooth, gradually add 400g sugar, and mix three to five minutes until light. Add three eggs one at a time. Alternate three dry additions with two wet additions, beginning and ending dry, then fold in 66g whole blueberries. Divide among all three pans and bake 22 to 25 minutes.
If you enjoy this recipe, you may also like Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake.
Critical Visual and Timing Cues
The reduction is ready only after the original puree and water have cooked down to the recorded 181g; weighing it removes guesswork and prevents excess liquid from weakening the cake. It must feel fully cool before mixing. Butter and sugar should become visibly paler and aerated during their three-to-five-minute mixing window. After each egg, mix until the yolk disappears rather than continuing unnecessarily. During alternating additions, keep the mixer controlled and stop as soon as the batter is smooth. Fold the 66g whole berries gently so they remain intact. Divide the batter evenly for level layers. Start checking at 22 minutes and remove by 25 minutes when a center toothpick carries only a few crumbs. Rest pans five to ten minutes before turning the layers onto a rack.
Serving and Storage
Cool every cake layer completely before frosting because warmth would loosen the cream cheese buttercream. Beat 339g slightly softened unsalted butter smooth, blend in 226g softened brick cream cheese in pieces, and gradually add 863g sifted powdered sugar followed by 57g lemon juice and the zest of one lemon. Do not overmix. If it becomes too soft, chill it for 10 minutes; optional milk is used only when thinning is actually necessary. Assemble all three layers with an even allocation of frosting, then slice into the recorded 12 servings. Refrigerate leftovers because the frosting contains butter and cream cheese, and cover cut surfaces to protect the cake from drying. Let a chilled slice lose its refrigerator chill briefly before serving for a softer crumb.
Practical Kitchen Notes
Keep the two blueberry amounts distinct: 198g is pureed and reduced with water to 181g, while 66g remains whole and is folded into the finished batter. Optional pink coloring gel may enhance the blueberry color but is not required and should be added only at the final combining stage. The recipe yields about seven and one-half cups of batter. Its cake-flour substitution tip says to replace two tablespoons of all-purpose flour per cup with cornstarch, then whisk thoroughly. Sour cream, vegetable oil, and blueberry reduction form one wet mixture; they are not added independently. Use three pans of the recorded size rather than changing the layer count, and preserve the 22-to-25-minute bake range even though the summary cook field records 25 minutes.
Details Worth Preserving
Measure the powdered sugar after sifting as the recipe specifies. Slightly softened butter and softened brick cream cheese should be pliable but not melted. Add the cream cheese in pieces so it disperses without prolonged beating, and adjust the 57g lemon juice only as needed while retaining that recorded amount as the recipe's reference. Prepare the pans before creaming so the aerated batter does not wait. A scale can divide the batter accurately among three pans and can also confirm the blueberry reduction. The listed allergens are dairy, eggs, and gluten. Do not introduce jam, food coloring other than the optional pink gel, extra lemon curd, or another berry, because none belongs to the verified ingredient set.
Recorded Recipe Tips
- Substitute cake flour by replacing 2 tbsp of all-purpose flour per cup with cornstarch and whisking to combine.
- This recipe yields approximately 7½ cups of batter.
Conclusion
Blueberry Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting makes One 3-layer 20cm (8-inch) cake in 55 recorded minutes, plus any separately stated baking, chilling, rising, resting, or cooling time. Preserve every listed quantity and instruction for the intended result.
Frequently Asked Questions
- → How many servings does Blueberry Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting make?
It makes One 3-layer 20cm (8-inch) cake and serves 12.
- → How long does Blueberry Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting take?
The recipe records 30 minutes of preparation, 25 minutes of cooking, and 55 minutes total, plus any separately stated baking, chilling, rising, resting, or cooling time.
- → Why must the blueberry reduction cool completely?
A hot reduction could soften the creamed butter and change the batter structure. Cool the cooked puree fully before combining it with sour cream and oil.
- → How many cake layers and pans does this recipe use?
It uses exactly three 20cm or 8-inch round pans and produces one three-layer cake serving 12.