Soft and buttery lemon cake with fresh blueberries throughout, frosted with a lightly sweet and fluffy whipped vanilla bean cream cheese frosting. The most perfect cake for summer hosting.
I saw this cake design on Pinterest and was immediately inspired to recreate it. It turned out absolutely stunning and was so easy to create. I just used fresh blueberries to create “clusters” and added mint leaves for a pop of green. I also added a few lemon triangles.
As for the cake layers, I made a soft and buttery lemon-based cake with fresh blueberries. The cake kind of reminded me of a lighter blueberry pound cake. I love how the blueberries really cut the sweetness of this cake and they pair so well with lemon.
The frosting is a whipped vanilla bean cream cheese frosting. Imagine a cross between fluffy whipped cream and tangy cream cheese frosting. The texture of this frosting is light and airy while the flavor is not overly sweet with a slight tang from the cream cheese. It pairs beautifully with lemon blueberry cake.
What you need to make lemon blueberry cake with whipped cream cheese frosting
For the cake you need, salted butter, coconut oil, granulated sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice, large eggs, sour cream, whole milk, cake flour, baking powder, salt, and fresh or frozen blueberries.
For the frosting you need, cold cream cheese, powdered sugar, salt, vanilla bean paste or extract, and cold heavy whipping cream.
Tips to ensure a soft cake for days
1. Make sure all refrigerated ingredients are room temperature! Cold ingredients will affect the texture of the cake, making the cake not as soft as you want it to be.
2. Use a combination of butter and oil. I personally love using coconut oil, but you could use any neutral oil or even olive oil.
3. Do not over mix your batter! This will result in a dense and heavier cake. Mix just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally to ensure you’re getting everything on the bottom of the bowl.
4. Do not over bake your cakes. Over baking is a great way to end up with a drier cake, start with 30 minutes and bake for an additional 2 minutes at a time until a toothpick inserted into the cakes comes out clean.
Keep scrolling to get the full ingredient list and step by step directions to make lemon blueberry cake from scratch.
If you make lemon blueberry cake with whipped vanilla cream cheese frosting, please rate and comment to support my blog.
Lemon Blueberry Cake with whipped cream cheese frosting
Ingredients
For the cake
- ¾ cup salted butter (1½ sticks) softened
- ¼ cup coconut oil room temperature
- 1⅓ cups granulated sugar
- zest of 2 whole lemons
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt room temperature
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup whole milk room temperature
- 4 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
For the frosting
- 6 oz cream cheese cold
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1¼ cups powdered sugar
- 1⅓ cups heavy whipping cream cold
For optional garnish
- blueberries
- small mint leaves
- small lemon slices
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 ℉. Grease and flour 2 (8-inch cake pans). In a medium bowl, combine the lemon zest and the sugar with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Set aside. In a large stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and coconut oil. Add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and sour cream and mix just until combined. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture along with ⅓ of the milk and lemon juice to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed just until combined. Repeat with another ⅓ of the flour mixture and the remaining milk and lemon juice.
- Fold in the remaining flour and blueberries just until combined. Pour into prepared cake pans and bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool most of the way on a wire rack. Use a butter knife to go around the edges of the pan and loosen the cake.
- Invert the cakes carefully onto a wire rack to cool completely. *If making the cakes ahead of time, wrap the cakes in plastic wrap while they are still warm and freeze. this will ensure the cake stays moist. Let the cake come to room temperature before frosting.
- Make the frosting. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese for a few seconds. Add the vanilla, salt and powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add the heavy cream and beat on medium-high speed until very stiff peaks form, scraping down the bowl occasionally.
- Frost the cake and decorate with lemon slices, clusters of blueberries and mint leaves for a fun summer touch. Store the cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
