This lemon blueberry cake is super moist and tender, infused with the bright flavors of lemon and dotted with bursts of juicy blueberries. It’s packed with flavor, has the most velvety crumb and is topped with a tangy cream cheese buttercream frosting – so so sooo good!
Why You’ll Love This Lemon Blueberry Cake
When developing this recipe, there were two things that had to be perfect – taste and texture! Here are a few notable ingredients that really allow this cake to shine:
Lemon zest: This lemon blueberry cake recipe is bursting with lemon flavor as it uses both fresh lemon juice and fresh lemon zest. The zest is creamed together with the butter and sugar which releases even more of the lemon flavor from the zest. Due to the acidic nature of lemons, it also gives the cake the most wonderful velvety texture. For more information on how acidic ingredients contribute to a soft cake, check out this blog post.
Yoghurt: This recipe also uses yoghurt, which adds great moisture and flavor to the cake. As yoghurt has a tart flavor to it, I find that it complements the lemon so so well, and helps that lemon flavor shine even more!
Vegetable oil: This recipe uses unflavored vegetable oil which just adds incredible moisture to the cake. Vegetable oil is liquid at room temperature, so substituting some of the butter for oil, makes for a moister cake.
Cornstarch: For a softer cake, I substitute some of the all purpose flour with cornstarch. For more information on how this helps with a soft cake, check out this blog post.
Blueberries: Ofcourse we can’t forget the blueberries! This recipe uses fresh blueberries that are folded through the cake batter. This adds a wonderful pop of juicy blueberry flavor throughout the cake. If using frozen blueberries, remember not to let them thaw otherwise you’ll end up with a purple batter!
For a more simple version with no frosting, check out my simple blueberry cake recipe.
How to Make Lemon Blueberry Cake
Begin by preheating your oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional and grease two 8 inch round cake pans (I use my homemade cake release), lining the bottoms with parchment paper as well as this cake tends to stick to the bottom. If using a fan function (also known as convection mode) then you will need to reduce the temperature to 160C (320F).
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix together using a whisk and set aside.
In a large bowl add in butter, vegetable oil, sugar and lemon zest. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer) on a medium speed, cream together for 3 minutes until light and creamy. If using a stand mixer then use the paddle attachment.
Add in the eggs one by one, mixing well in between addition.
Add in milk, yoghurt and lemon juice. Mix until well combined. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
Add your pre-sifted dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and using a spatula, fold together until just combined. Do not overmix.
To finish off, toss the blueberries in a tablespoon of flour (this will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake layers) and then add the berries to the batter, discarding any left over flour, and fold them in with a spatula until just combined. Again try not to overmix it.
Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins. Try to distribute the blueberries evenly so that you have some on the top of the cake as well. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Once baked, allow the cake layers to cool in the cake tins for about 15-20 minutes, and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool. Frost with the cream cheese buttercream.
How to Decorate Lemon Blueberry Cake
There are so many wonderful ways you could decorate a lemon blueberry cake, but here is how I decorated mine 🙂
Usually I start by trimming off the tops of my cake layers with a serrated knife so that they’re nice and flat (this makes them easier to stack), but these cake layers baked up quite flat so I left them as is.
I then went ahead and placed my first cake layer in the middle of a cake stand and smoothed out some frosting on the top with my offset spatula.
I then placed the next cake layer on top, and again smoothed out some frosting on top and sides of the cake, so that the cake was completely covered. I didn’t bother doing a crumb coat (check out this video for more info on what a crumb coat is), but you can do one if you prefer. I then used my cake scraper to smooth out the sides.
Now when you scrape the sides of a cake, you usually end up with a lip of frosting around the top edges. To get rid of this and get a ‘sharp edge’ on the top, slowly bring your offset spatula into the middle of the cake, catching that lip of frosting as you go.
I then finished off by doing some piping around the top edges using a 1A piping tip.
Commonly Asked Questions
How to store lemon blueberry cake
This cake can be left at room temperature for the day, however overnight it will need to be refrigerated due to the cream cheese in the frosting. The fat and sugar in the frosting will prevent the cream cheese from going off immediately, which is why you can keep it out at room temperature for an extended period of time.
When storing, place it into an airtight container, and into the refrigerator. Allow it to come to room temperature before serving.
Can I use frozen blueberries?
Yes you can – just make sure you don’t let them thaw otherwise it will turn your batter mushy and purple. Your cake will also likely need a little bit of extra cooking time.
How do you prevent blueberries from sinking in a cake?
The best way to prevent blueberries from sinking to the bottom of a cake is to coat them in flour. Toss the blueberries in about 1 to 2 tbsp of all purpose flour before folding them into the cake batter.
Moist Lemon Blueberry Cake
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Lemon Blueberry Cake
- 2⅓ cups (295 g) flour - regular, all purpose
- ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 6 tbsp (86 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- ¾ cup (141 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola oil
- 1⅔ cups (333 g) white granulated sugar
- 2½ tbsp lemon zest - about 2 lemons zested (see note 1)
- 3 large eggs - room temperature
- 2 tbsp (26 g) milk - room temperature
- ¾ cup (185 g) yoghurt - plain, unsweetened, room temperature
- ¼ cup (55 g) fresh lemon juice
- 1½ cups (250 g) fresh blueberries - see note 3 if you want to use frozen blueberries. Coat the blueberries in 1 to 2 tbsp of flour
Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Preheat oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional (see note 2 if using a convection oven with a fan) and grease two 8 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release), lining the bottoms with parchment paper as well as this cake tends to stick to the bottom.
- Sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix together using a whisk and set aside.
- In a large bowl add in butter, vegetable oil, sugar and lemon zest. Using a hand or stand mixer on a medium speed, cream together for 3 minutes until light and creamy.
- Add in the eggs one by one, mixing well in between addition.
- Add in milk, yoghurt and lemon juice. Mix until well combined. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
- Add your pre-sifted dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and using a spatula, fold together until just combined. Do not overmix.
- To finish off, toss the blueberries in a tablespoon of flour (this will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake layers) and then add the blueberries to the batter, discarding any left over flour, and fold them in with a spatula until just combined. Again try not to overmix it.
- Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins. Try to distribute the blueberries evenly so that you have some on the top of the cake as well. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once baked, allow the cake layers to cool in the cake tins for about 20 minutes and then carefully turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool. The cake layers are soft and delicate, so handle them carefully. Frost with the cream cheese buttercream.
Assembly
- See the end of the blog post above for assembly instructions or watch the recipe video for a visual demonstration 🙂
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
168 Comments
Made this yesterday and it’s even better the next day! Suuuper moist and delicate, I made half the portion for only one sponge but left the same amount of lemon juice so it was really lemon-y 😀
I don’t like buttercream so I made my own topfen (quark) whipped with cream filling and it was amazing <3
Yay! So so happy to hear you loved the recipe 😀
This is the first cake I’ve ever baked. I can’t believe how good it turned out. Sooo delicious. I found the instructions really easy to follow and it came out perfect. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Aww yay! So glad you loved the recipe Lily and that it turned out great as your first cake 😀
Simply the best!!!! Perfect!!!!
Awww thanks so much Erika! So glad you enjoyed the recipe 😀
My 9 year old son and I made this. US measurements were perfect. Turned out so moist and delicious! We loved your video also!
Thanks so much Jessica! So glad you and your son enjoyed the recipe 🙂
I love lemon and blueberry cake.
Can I use whipped cream instead instead of cream cheese and also add shredded coconut. If yes are the measurements still the same?
Hi Mmapseka! 🙂
So glad to hear you’re wanting to give the recipe a go. Do you mean whipped cream frosting instead of cream cheese frosting? If so, then yes you can totally use a whipped cream frosting – heres my stabilized whipped cream frosting recipe if you wanted to check it out (it’s great for layer cakes and won’t weep) – https://cakesbymk.com/recipe/stabilized-whipped-cream-frosting/
In terms of adding shredded coconut to the cake, I haven’t tried that myself but I think folding some in at the end shouldn’t be a problem! I would add no more than 1/2 to 1 cup to ensure it doesn’t affect the texture too much. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Can I use Greek yogurt instead of plain yogurt?
Hi Iris! 🙂
I’d recommend sticking with regular plain yogurt if you can, as Greek yogurt has a higher fat content and is much thicker, which can affect the texture of the cake. That said, if Greek yogurt is all you have, you can thin it out with a bit of milk (about 1–2 tablespoons per cup) to get a similar consistency to regular yogurt. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
What pan size should we use if we want to half the recipe
Hi Sumaiya! 🙂
If you want two cake layers then 6 inch pans (you may just need to reduce the cook time), or you could make one 8 inch cake with half the recipe 🙂
Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe!
This cake was gorgeous wish I could show you a picture
Yay! So glad you loved it Sally 😀
I know it’s so disappointing that photos can’t be shared on the comments! You could try tagging me on instagram or facebook if you have those platforms, I’d love to see the cake 😀
I make this cake alot for people and it is really good. The last one I made turned out heavy more like a pound cake. Why would this happen?
Hi Donna! So glad to hear you’re loving the recipe 😀
Hmmm if it was more dense than normal it could be due to over-mixing or too much flour in the batter. For best results I would recommend using a scale if you don’t already – it just provides a bit more consistency from batch to batch 🙂
Hope that helps for next time Donna and thank you for the wondereful feedback 🙂
I tried this cake and it turned out soo moist anf delicious!! This was the most tastiest blueberry lemon cake recipe I tried! Honestly You deserve appreciation! My most fav fav recipe!
Aww yay! Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback Azmina 😀
So glad you loved the recipe 🙂