A golden-brown blueberry lemon cake adorned with creamy buttercream swirls and fresh berries, set on a flour-dusted marble counter with warm kitchen lighting, vintage mixing bowls, and rustic utensils, evoking a cozy homestyle atmosphere.

Blueberry Lemon Cake: Fresh, Bright, and Ridiculously Moist

Blueberry Lemon Cake: Fresh, Bright, and Ridiculously Moist

Blueberry lemon cake delivers everything you want in a dessert—bursts of juicy berries, zingy citrus, and a crumb so tender it practically melts on your tongue.

I’ve made this cake at least two dozen times, tweaking and testing until I got it exactly right. No dense, heavy texture here. No berries sinking to the bottom like little purple weights. Just pure, unadulterated cake perfection.

Key Info

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes (plus 2 hours cooling)
Servings: 12 generous slices
Difficulty level: Easy to Intermediate
Dietary tags: Vegetarian (easily adaptable to vegan)

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Equipment Needed

Simple alternatives:

  • Hand mixer works perfectly fine instead of a stand mixer
  • One 9×13 pan instead of layer pans (easier, less fussy)

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Ingredients

For the Cake:

Dry ingredients:

  • 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients:

  • ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • ½ cup (120ml) sour cream, room temperature
  • ½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lemon components:

  • Zest of 1 large lemon
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Berries:

  • 1½ cups (about 250g) fresh blueberries
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (for coating berries)
For the Lemon Buttercream:
  • 1½ cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 6 cups (720g) confectioners’ sugar
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream (if needed for consistency)

Common substitutions:

  • Greek yogurt instead of sour cream
  • Buttermilk instead of milk (skip the baking soda if using)
  • Frozen blueberries work in a pinch (don’t thaw them, and expect slightly more color bleeding)

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Method

1. Get organized first

Pull your butter, eggs, sour cream, and milk out of the fridge at least one hour before baking. Cold ingredients create a lumpy, stubborn batter that never quite comes together properly. Trust me on this—I’ve learned the hard way.

2. Preheat and prep

Set your oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour two 9-inch round pans thoroughly, then line the bottoms with parchment paper. This double insurance means your cakes will slide out without drama.

3. Combine dry ingredients

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

4. Prepare the lemon-wet mixture

In a separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. The mixture might look slightly curdled—that’s normal and actually desirable.

5. Cream butter and sugar

Beat softened butter with sugar in your stand mixer on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until pale and fluffy. This step incorporates air, which creates that light, tender crumb everyone obsesses over.

6. Add eggs one at a time

Crack in one egg, beat until fully combined, then add the second. Scrape down the bowl between additions.

7. Alternate adding dry and wet ingredients

Here’s the pattern that matters:

  • Add ⅓ of the flour mixture, beat on low until just combined
  • Add ½ of the sour cream mixture, beat until just combined
  • Add another ⅓ of flour, then the remaining sour cream mixture
  • Finish with the final ⅓ of flour

Stop mixing the second you don’t see streaks of flour anymore. Overmixing creates tough, chewy cake—the enemy of everything good.

8. Coat and fold in blueberries

Toss your blueberries with 1 tablespoon of flour in a small bowl. This coating prevents them from sinking straight to the bottom during baking. Gently fold the berries into your batter using a rubber spatula, not your mixer. You want whole berries, not blueberry soup.

Overhead view of a pristine kitchen counter arranged with ingredients for blueberry lemon cake, including fresh blueberries, whole lemons, softened butter, and gleaming measuring cups, illuminated by warm morning light.

9. Distribute batter evenly

Divide the batter between your two prepared pans. Use a kitchen scale if you’re obsessive like me—it ensures even layers. Tap each pan firmly on the counter a few times to release air bubbles.

10. Bake until golden and springy

Bake for 28-32 minutes. Start checking at 28 minutes—insert a toothpick into the center, and it should come out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The tops should be golden, and the centers should spring back when gently pressed.

11. Cool properly

Let cakes cool in their pans for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire cooling rack. Cool completely—at least 2 hours—before frosting. Warm cake + buttercream = melted disaster.

12. Make the lemon buttercream

Beat softened butter on medium speed for 2 minutes until creamy. Add confectioners’ sugar one cup at a time, beating on low between additions. Pour in lemon juice and salt. Beat on high for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. If it’s too thick, add heavy cream one tablespoon at a time.

13. Assemble and frost

Place one cake layer on your serving plate. Spread about 1 cup of buttercream on top. Place second layer on top. Apply a thin “crumb coat” of frosting all over the cake, then refrigerate for 20 minutes. Apply final layer of frosting, smoothing with an offset spatula.

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