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
Sally, this recipe turned out PERFECT. The combination of oil and butter made for a wonderful texture, airy, light and moist without being heavy. And for once, my layers (all three) were not puny, but fluffy and high!!!! In fact, I may use this recipe for other cakes. Thank you for your work to perfect it and to share!
This cake is fantastically good. I did add about 1/4 cup of blueberry compote between the layers which I think made it even better.
My whole family loved it! Definitely will be making it again. Another Sally’s recipe win!
Can i use sour cream instead of buttermilk?
Also the frosting seems way too sweet for me so how can i make it less sweet and more balanced.
Hi Rashed, buttermilk helps produce a supremely moist cake and you need the liquid to help thin out the batter. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use whole milk instead. If the cream cheese frosting is too sweet for you, you might like this whipped frosting instead.
Is it possible to make this cake without any of the oils? Can I just add more butter?
Hi Lidia! We really recommend sticking with the recipe as written for best results.
Hi,
I’d there a reason this recipe has brown sugar but the cupcake recipe for the lemon blueberry cake does not?
Hi Kari, great question. Brown sugar provides moisture and a little extra flavor and added structure, which is helpful for a heavier layer cake. White granulated sugar adds sweetness without weighing the cake down, which is why we use only granulated sugar in the cupcake recipe, since cupcakes are naturally lighter/fluffier than layer cakes. Hope this helps!
I baked this for my nephew’s 24th bithday and he said it’s the best one yet! The only change I made is I used lavender buttercream which was an amazing compliment to this cake.
Hi, I cant afford to buy three 8 inch pans, only one – maybe two if im lucky. How do I do it with only one? The recipe says to leave the cake in the pan until cool. But i need it for the two other cakes.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Amaal, if you do not have 3 cake pans, you can always bake the layers in batches, leaving the leftover batter covered at room temperature until there is a cooled pan to use. Hope you enjoy this cake!
I made this for a special occasion. Used a 9 x 13 pan. Baked it for 39
minutes, it seemed OK using the toothpick test, but fell while it was cooling. It needed to be baked a lot longer, it was still not done (the center section).
I’ve had success with your recipes before, I’m not sure what went wrong this time.
Do you know if anyone had success making the cake using a longer bake time?
Hi Karla, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. When cakes sink in the middle, it usually means that they are underbaked and could use a slightly longer bake time. Every oven can vary a bit, so it’s not a problem if you have to extend your bake time as needed. If it still seemed excessively dense in the middle, is it possible that the batter was over mixed? And were you using frozen blueberries by chance? We find fresh to work best here, as frozen berries (even when thawed and drained) can add too much additional moisture to the batter and make it difficult for the cake to bake through properly. We hope this helps for next time!
My oven isn’t big enough to bake three layers at a time. Is it ok to bake a layer at a time and keep the batter lying around?
Yes, that works!
I dont have 9inch cake pans, would oven safe clay cooking pots work? Theyre about 5 inches so is it possible to use them and scale down the recipe?
Hi Malaki, metal pans are best here. We haven’t tested clay cooking pots, but we fear the batter will not bake evenly and thoroughly. If you do decide to try it, know that baking time may change, and you will want to fill your pots no more than half way. Hope this helps!
Excellent!!
I’m not seeing when to add the buttermilk. I guess I’ll add it with the lemon juice?
Hi Kay, that’s correct! In step 3: beat in the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice *just* until combined.
I accidentally used 2 sticks of butter, instead of saving 1 for the frosting, so it took longer to bake and came out a bit crumbly and stuck to the sides. I also might use a smidge less sugar next time, but the flavors are great!
Hi! I’m excited to try this. If I wanted to add a slight bit of blueberry preserves to the frosting and add some extra kick, would you recommend adding any of the other ingredients to balance the frosting out? I was thinking of adding maybe 2 tbsp or so.
Thanks so much!
Hi Sarah! Adding blueberry preserves would add moisture and make the frosting more loose. One favorite way to add berry flavor to frostings is using ground freeze dried berries – like we do with our strawberry cake! You could use that frosting repine, swapping the freeze dried blueberries in for the freeze dried strawberries.
Could I use cake flour instead of all purpose? How would the measurements and texture of the cake differ?
Hi Gittel, all-purpose flour really is ideal in this batter. Cake flour is simply too light to hold up to the heavy butter, oil, buttermilk, and blueberries in this cake.
Have you ever made cupcakes with this recipe? If so, what would be the time for baking in oven ?
Hi Linda, here is our recipe for lemon blueberry cupcakes instead!
My mom makes this cake for my bday and my fiancés bday every year. It is the best cake ever and we try and savor every last bite!
Recipe turned out pretty well as written. I measure meticulously with a food scale and did not observe any problems with the batter being too runny that others noted. If anything, I was surprised at how thick and foamy the batter was; it held plenty of air and did a decent job supporting the mixed in berries.
I agree 100% with the comments that this is an insufficient amount of frosting, however. I should have taken the advice to double the frosting, but I didn’t buy enough cream cheese. There is NO WAY the pictures on this site were made using the default frosting amount. They have far more frosting between layers and a much thicker exterior coat than I was able to achieve with my batch.
That said, it tastes great and I don’t dislike it, but the pictures misrepresent what you will be able to achieve with this amount of frosting.
The other minor trouble I ran into is that the oil began to separate a bit from the batter as I was putting it into the oven. One of the pans has noticeable spots on top where you can see the oil pooled rather than fully integrating. I tried to be through when creaming the oil into the butter and sugar, but I guess some of it still separated out. I used vegetable oil; not sure if the problem would be mitigated with a different type, or different technique on my part.
If I make it again, the other revisions I plan to make are:
1. Use slightly more blueberries, and aim for smaller berries. I measured my blueberries by weight but I think they were too big and ended up having too few discrete berries.
2. Slightly increase the zest, just because I like lemons. I considered adding lemon extract to the frosting, but wasn’t sure it would be a great pair with cream cheese, so I did not.
Overall still a delicious recipe, I liked it a lot!
Hi Sally! Do you have a recommendation for an alternative to the cream cheese frosting? Would a butter cream work? Thank you!
Hi Brittany! Yes, we have a lemon buttercream frosting you could use instead! We’d recommend doubling or 1.5x this recipe for a 3-layer cake, depending on how much frosting you’d like for covering and decorating the cake. Hope this helps!
Hello! My stores nearby do not offer block cream cheese. Would it be possible to use cream cheese spreads? Thank you!
Hi Ksenia! Are you located outside of the US by chance? From what we understand, spreadable cream cheese sold in a tub in countries outside of the US is a little different from the spreadable cream cheese in the US. It’s thicker, sturdier, and more solid and should be OK to use in baking and frostings. Be sure to stir it well before using. We have no experience with it, but this is what we’ve heard from other non-US readers. If you are in the US, however, brick-style cream cheese is the only kind that will work for frosting. If you try it, let us know how it turns out! For a non-cream cheese version, you can use our lemon buttercream instead.