This better-than-ever lemon blueberry layer cake is bursting with sunshine-sweet flavor and filled with juicy berries in every bite. Its tender, moist crumb is perfectly balanced with a bright, zesty lemon flavor. Finished with a rich and creamy cream cheese frosting, this is a delightfully fresh and luscious dessert that’s perfect for spring and summertime.
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and I have made a few small updates to produce a lighter, softer cake with just as much incredible flavor.
This cake has become one of my favorite spring dessert recipes and Easter dessert recipes—and for good reasons. It boasts a bright, superior lemon flavor; bursts with blueberries in every single bite; has a perfectly tender crumb; and is finished with a tangy cream cheese frosting that ties it all together.
I first published this recipe in 2014, but after receiving mixed feedback over the years, I knew it wasn’t quite perfect yet. While many readers loved the flavor and appreciated the denser-style crumb, others simply found it too heavy.
When I see a pattern of reviews with concerns over the same thing, I will revisit the recipe and try making various tweaks until I’m confident I’ve fixed the issues. After experimenting several variations of today’s cake, my team and I discovered 3 small tweaks that made a big difference in the cake’s texture. The result? A softer, lighter crumb while keeping all of the same sunshine-sweet flavor.
The updated recipe is below, with the earlier version in the Notes—just in case you loved the original!
One reader, Jen, commented: “Love the updated recipe! I’ve been making this cake for a few years now. It was a bit dense but still a great cake. It’s usually what people request from me for their birthdays. The update has a lighter and softer texture with the same perfect flavor. Thank you for the improved recipe just in time for my husband’s 40th birthday! ★★★★★”
3 Small Recipe Updates = Impressive Changes
- Sub in some oil: The recipe originally called for 1 cup of butter. While creaming butter with sugar produces a soft, airy base for cakes and cupcakes, if the other ingredients in the batter are also heavy (buttermilk, flour, eggs), too much butter will simply weigh everything down. I removed half of the butter (1/2 cup), and subbed in 6 Tablespoons of oil. Not a 1:1 swap because we didn’t want too much liquid in the batter.
- Sub in some baking soda: The cake called for 1 Tablespoon of baking powder, which wasn’t the ideal amount for its heavy crumb. Instead of increasing the baking powder, which could leave us with a chemical aftertaste, I subbed in some baking soda. Combining baking powder and baking soda enhances both the rise AND the flavor of the cake.
- Slightly reduce the buttermilk: Scale the buttermilk down to 3/4 cup, instead of 1 cup. The cake is still extremely moist without tasting heavy and wet.
Key Ingredients in Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Granulated & Brown Sugar: Use a mix of sugars. Brown sugar provides moisture and a little extra flavor. White granulated sugar adds sweetness without weighing the cake down.
- Eggs: You need 4 eggs, which provide structure, enhance the cake’s rise, and create a richer, more flavorful bite.
- Buttermilk: Known for providing exceptional moisture in baked goods, buttermilk leaves each bite tender. If you don’t have buttermilk, there’s no need to make a buttermilk substitute. You can use whole milk with no other changes to the recipe because there is enough acid in the lemon juice and brown sugar. (For the baking soda to react.)
- Fresh Lemons: Use fresh lemon juice and lemon zest in the cake batter. A citrus juicer and citrus zester are equally helpful here!
- All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour is ideal in this batter; skip cake flour because it’s simply too light to hold up to the heavy butter, oil, buttermilk, and blueberries.
- Fresh Blueberries: I strongly recommend using fresh blueberries. Frozen blueberries often let off too much moisture, which will weigh down the cake’s crumb.
I love this lemon blueberry cake because the blueberries DO NOT sink to the bottom of the cake. Why not? The batter is thick. When you have a thin batter, heavy fruit or add-ins will sink to the bottom. Still, toss the blueberries in a little flour… for extra insurance!
I recommend using 8-inch round cake pans, which produce thick, lofty cake layers. 9-inch pans can work in a pinch, but expect thinner layers.
Use Parchment Paper Rounds for Cakes
Line your cake pans with parchment paper rounds. I do this every single time I bake a round cake, whether I’m making a 1-layer sprinkle cake, a 9-layer Smith Island cake, or today’s lemon blueberry layer cake. Store-bought pre-cut parchment rounds are convenient, but it’s really easy to trace your pan on parchment and cut it out. You can cut the exact pan size you need, whether you’re making a 6-inch cake, an 8-inch cake, or a 9-inch cake.
Very lightly grease the cake pan with butter or nonstick spray. Place the parchment paper round inside, and then grease the parchment, too. Yes, you grease the pan and then also grease the parchment. This creates an ultra-nonstick environment for your cake. The cake won’t stick to the pan, and the parchment round won’t stick to the cake.
Once the cakes have baked and cooled, trim the tops using a cake leveler or a large serrated knife to create an even surface. A flat top ensures a sturdier and more stable layered cake. Here’s my how to assemble and decorate a layer cake video and tutorial if you want extra help.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Silky cream cheese frosting is the perfect finishing touch on this soft lemony cake—it tastes like spreadable cheesecake!
It’s light and creamy, so it glides onto the cake pretty effortlessly. I use a large flat icing spatula to frost the layers and exterior of the cake.
Crumb coat? While you can certainly add one, there’s no need for a crumb coat; the cake isn’t super crumbly and the frosting is ultra soft and creamy.
Decorate with blueberries, lemon zest, lemon slices, florals, coconut, and/or whatever you like!
You need 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice and 2 Tablespoons of lemon zest. To extract that much juice, 3 or 4 medium to large lemons is usually enough. For the zest, you’ll only need about 2. Zest the lemons first, and then cut open to juice them.
I recommend using 8-inch round cake pans, which produce thick, tall cake layers like you see in the photos. 9-inch pans can work in a pinch, but the cake layers will be thinner than what is pictured, and the cake will be shorter.
Yes, absolutely! Same amount. Toss them in flour before using, just as you do with the blueberries.
Need cupcakes instead? Use my recipe for lemon blueberry cupcakes. Or perhaps breakfast? Try my lemon blueberry muffins. How about pie? My lemony blueberry galette will hit the spot! Cookies? You’ll love these lemon blueberry cookies.
More Lemon Recipes For You
- Lemon Bars
- Lemon Meringue Pie
- Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Scones
- Homemade Lemon Cupcakes & Lemon Raspberry Jam Cupcakes
- Lemon Blueberry Babka
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This better-than-ever lemon blueberry layer cake is bursting with sunshine-sweet flavor and filled with juicy berries in every bite. Its tender, moist crumb is perfectly balanced with a bright, zesty lemon flavor. Finished with a rich and creamy cream cheese frosting, this is a delightfully fresh and luscious dessert that’s perfect for spring and summertime.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
- 6 Tablespoons (90ml) vegetable oil, canola oil, or avocado oil
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (180ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons lemon zest
- 1/2 cup (120ml) lemon juice (3–4 lemons), at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (210g) fresh blueberries (I do not recommend frozen)
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature*
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 and 1/2 cups (420g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) heavy cream*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 8-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add granulated and brown sugars and beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the oil and beat until combined and light and creamy, about 3 more minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until everything is completely combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed for a few seconds, then beat in the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice *just* until combined. Toss the blueberries with 1 Tablespoon of flour and gently fold into the batter. Batter is thick. Do not over-mix.
- Spoon batter evenly into prepared cake pans. Bake for about 22–26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan before assembling and frosting.
- Make the frosting: Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until no lumps remain, about 3 full minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Turn mixer up to high speed and beat for 3 minutes.
- Assemble and frost: (Note: See my how to assemble and decorate a layer cake video & tutorial if you want extra help with this step.) First, using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Place 1 layer on your cake stand. Evenly cover the top with cream cheese frosting. Top with 2nd layer, more frosting, then the third layer. Top with frosting and spread around the sides. The recipe doesn’t make a ton of frosting, just enough for a light frost. Top with blueberries or lemon garnish if desired. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes before cutting or else the cake may fall apart as you cut.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I like to use a cake carrier for storing and transporting.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare cakes and frosting 1 day in advance. Keep cakes at room temperature, covered tightly. Refrigerate prepared frosting in an airtight container until ready to use. Bring frosting to room temperature before spreading as it will be quite stiff after refrigerating. (Add a splash of cream or milk to thin out, if needed.) Frosted or unfrosted cakes may be frozen for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 8-inch Round Cake Pans | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cake Turntable, Cake Stand, or Large Serving Plate | Straight Icing Spatula | Offset Icing Spatula | Cake Carrier (for storage) | Citrus Juicer | Citrus Zester
- Sheet Cake: The batter makes a perfect sheet cake! Simply spread into a 12×17-inch half sheet/jelly roll pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until cooked through. It also fits nicely into a 9×13-inch cake pan. Bake for about 30–35 minutes or until cooked through.
- Bundt Cake: I recommend making my lemon poppy seed Bundt cake recipe. You can leave out the poppy seeds and add 1 and 1/2 cups (210g) fresh blueberries. I also have a lemon berry yogurt cake recipe. You can use all blueberries.
- Cupcakes: Here are my lemon blueberry cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting.
- 6-Inch Cake: Use my lemon blueberry cupcakes batter and follow my 6-inch cake baking instructions.
- Eggs: Room-temperature eggs are recommended because they mix easily and quickly into the cake batter, reducing the risk of over-mixing. Place eggs into a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes before using or set the eggs out when you set out your cream cheese and butter for the recipe.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk helps produce a supremely moist cake. If you don’t have buttermilk, use whole milk instead. No need for a buttermilk substitute. You can use lower-fat or nondairy milks in a pinch, but the cake won’t taste nearly as rich and moist.
- Cream Cheese: Use brick-style cream cheese, not cream cheese spread.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream with 30% or more milk fat gives the frosting the creamiest texture. Milk will work in a pinch!
- Updated in 2025: Based on reader feedback about the cake baking up flat and tasting too heavy, I made 3 small tweaks. The updated recipe is what you see above. To make the original recipe, leave out the oil and baking soda. Increase the butter to 1 cup (226g/16 Tbsp), the baking powder to 1 Tablespoon, and the buttermilk to 1 cup (240ml). The bake time is the same.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I love to cook and bake and am happy to come across the wealth of recipes on your site. I wanted to give feedback on this cake in particular. My mom loves blueberry/lemon anything so I decided to make this for her birthday. I followed the instructions explicitly and although this recipe is certainly not a fail, I noticed it came out rather dense. I was careful not to over mix and started checking it under the suggested baking time. Maybe that is the texture?
Thank you so much for trying my lemon blueberry cake recipe! It’s not quite as soft and fluffy as vanilla cake. This cake is a little denser, yes. If you decide to try it again, a 1:1 swap for cake flour will lighten up the crumb.
I made this cake and it was delish. How long will it keep frosted in the refrigerator?
If it’s covered well it should be ok for a week in the refrigerator!
Hey Sally! Can I make this cake 2 days in advance? Icing on the day 🙂
If you do not want to freeze the cake, then for the freshest taste I recommend baking it one day in advance and keeping it at room temperature covered tightly.
I love this recipe! Is it possible to cut it in half for a single layer cake?
Yes, you can halve the recipe. Enjoy!
Can I make this with raspberries instead?
Yes, absolutely!
Have you made this cake with your lemon buttercream frosting?
Yes!! It’s delicious if you really love lemon!
HIi Sally, can i use dried blueberries in this recipe?
Absolutely!
Sounds like a delightful change and easy to make. Eager to make it for my next fellowship.
Hi Sally
I have been a fan of yours for some years now, I have yet to bake a cake of yours that hasn’t come out perfect, first time & every time. So thank you for that!!
I am not a huge blueberry fan do you think I could sub for raspberries? And then maybe even lime instead of lemon? It’s my birthday next week and I’m looking for inspiration for a cake to bake for myself. (Also I love pink!)
Thank you! Cate
Hi Cate, you can absolutely make both substitutions! I hope you have a great birthday!
Hi Sally love your recipes! I live at 8,000feet above sea level, cake came out too dense and raw in places. Can you help me with the adjustments I should make for my altitude. Thanks
Hi Diana! I wish I could help, but I have zero experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Hi Sally, Is it possible to make this Lemon Blueberry Cake into mini bundt cake form? I am making your Red Velvet Cake for a friend’s birthday party this weekend and wanted to make something else as well. I love the combo of lemon and blueberry, but didn’t want to make another cake. I also made your sugar cookies and took them to our Saturday get together with friends, and no lie, they were gone within the hour of us getting there. Every one of your recipes I have made, has been utterly delicious! I loved all of you Sprinkled episodes, too. Thanks for being you and making baking so much fun! I didn’t mean to use this at a platform for all I love about what you do.
Hi Christine! Yes, you can make this as mini Bundt cakes although I’m unsure of the exact time. Thank you so much for the kind comment and I’m so happy to read that you are enjoying many of the blog recipes!
Hi Sally,
I love this recipe, it was an absolute hit! Just wanted to ask you if the texture of the cake would change if I omit the blueberries and make it a simple lemon cake?
You can certainly omit the blueberries. I’ve done it a few times before– and my cupcake version (linked in this post) has no blueberries either. Still fantastic texture and flavor.
Nope it’s not just you. I’ve made this cake twice in the course of two weeks because it’s driving me crazy too. I’m determined to get it right, lol. But mine came out dense and heavy also. The first time I know I definitely over mixed it. But the second I didn’t for sure. Next time I’m using cake flour and really cooking for 21 mins on the dot. Hopefully three times the charm
Hey there, Sally!
I’ve made this cake twice, and while I love the flavor, I think I did something wrong to achieve a weird texture. My cakes came out a tiny bit chewy and dense with pockets of dough-like texture troughout the cake. I tried not to overmix.
In step 2, do I have to mix until the mixture is completely smooth and the sugar is dissolved? It was still a bit grainy but I carried on anyway.
Hi Sally! I have to say, I have made a lot of your recipes & they NEVER disappoint! My youngest daughter turns 3 on May 3rd & she told me she wants a blueberry-cherry cake…I am going to be tweaking this recipe a bit by replacing some lemon juice with maraschino cherry juice & halving the amount of blueberries so I can put in sweet dark cherries. Keep up your amazing work, my husband definitely is a fan of your sweet roll & snickerdoodle recipes. Have a great night & thank you for knowing how to bake!
I baked this for Easter Sunday and it was a hit! It was such a fun recipe to make and I will be definitely doing again for the summer. Though, I may decrease the amount of lemons just because it was a bit too overpowering. An overall great dessert for spring and summer!
I made this cake this past weekend and it got rave reviews. It was on the dense side but very moist and flavorful. The only problem I had was getting the cakes out of the pans because they were stuck to the bottom. Next time I will butter and flour the cake pans again. But I will definitely make this cake again! Thank you so much for all these great recipes.
Cake was very dense and dry. Baked three layers and they came out quite thin as there was not enough batter. Icing recipe made far too much icing. Overall the cake i baked as a treat for my hubby was a major disappointment. Giving it two thumbs down.
I made this today, halving the recipe and baking it in a square baking pan and replaced most of the butter with applesauce and OMG IT IS AMAZING. Mine probably isn’t as buttery and fluffy as yours made with butter but my family has already devoured it, as it still tastes amazing. Thank you so much for the recipe; I’ll be sure to make this again as a layer cake. I’m not sure if I will be using applesauce again or butter though!
hi Sally – Do you think it would be strange or contradict the flavors if I added shredded coconut to the outside of the frosting? I love the combination of lemon and coconut, but I’m not sure how it would go with the blueberries.
Not at all! I think that would be incredibly tasty. You can even try toasting the coconut before adding it as garnish– 300 degree oven for about 8-10 minutes.
I don’t normally comment on blogs, but since I am making this cake for the fifth time as a family request for their birthday cake, I must! This has QUICKLY become a family favorite! Thanks for sharing! Once I made the cake and served it very chilled, everyone thought it was cheesecake! Very, very delicious recipe!
Refrigerating will help, of course. And yes, I suggest half cake flour half all-purpose if you’d like a semi-lighter crumb. So happy you enjoyed it!