Lemon blueberry cake: the recipe for a mouthwatering moist dessert
Exceptionally light, moist, and zest, this lemon blueberry cake is a stunning dessert to make for special occasions or just because. It's unbelievably delicious, especially if you bake it during summer and can get fresh, in-season blueberries. The decorations are simple yet elegant, and the bright lemony flavor combined with ripe blueberries is truly a thing of beauty. It's not too difficult a recipe to make – you can go from mixing bowls to finished cake in about an hour. Bake it up as a treat to enjoy with afternoon tea or a sweet something to stick your fork into on a balmy summer evening.
How to Make Lemon Blueberry Cake
Let's see how to make lemon blueberry cake step by step.
For the cake base:
Preheat your oven to 340°F. Lightly grease 3 6-inch baking circular pans with butter or cooking spray, then lightly dust with a tablespoon flour.
In a large mixing bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Mix gently. Pour the wet ingredients into a separate mixing bowl and beat well. Put the blueberries and lemon zest into a small bowl and dust with 2 tbsp flour.
Combine the wet ingredients with the dry until the batter just starts to come together. Gently fold in the berries and mix until loosely combined.
Spread the mix evenly across the 3 pans. Bake for 30 minutes. The cakes should be light and springy to the touch. Set to the side and allow it to cool.
For the blueberry reduction:
Heat blueberries, lemon, sugar, and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Crush the blueberries with a fork, then stir. Reduce the heat and allow the mix to simmer. Once reduced by half, strain the blueberry mixture into a small bowl to cool.
For the lemon buttercream:
Cream the butter until fluffy, then sift in the confectioners' sugar one cup at a time. Combine thoroughly.
Add 1 tablespoon at a time of lemon juice until you get the texture and taste you want.
Remove ¾ cup of lemon buttercream to a medium bowl and add 1 tablespoon at a time of the blueberry reduction, tasting as you go, and stopping once you've achieved the flavor you want.
Put the lemon buttercream and the lemon-blueberry buttercream into two separate piping bags. Don't forget to cut off the tips!
How to Decorate Lemon Blueberry Cake
Remove the cakes from the baking pans. Pipe the blueberry buttercream over each layer, then pipe a generous loop of the lemon buttercream around the edge of the cake. Place the second cake over the first, then the third over the second. Pipe the buttercream along the sides of the cake, then gently smooth.
Affix a decorative piping nozzle to your piping bags. Alternating between the lemon and the blueberry, pipe a circle of buttercream in the center of the cake. Garnish with frozen blueberries, serve, and enjoy!
Can I use frozen blueberries in a lemon blueberry cake?
If you don't have fresh blueberries on hand, frozen ones will work just as well. If you do opt for frozen, let them thaw out first, then dry them gently, and dust with a tablespoon of flour. Just be sure to leave a ½ cup for decorating the cake at the end.
Tips for the perfect lemon blueberry cake
If you're worried about your blueberries sinking, simply mix them with a spritz of lemon juice and a tablespoon or two of flour. Be sure to break up and blueberry clumps so they're evenly distributed throughout the cake.
It's essential to measure your flour properly. Too much flour leads to a dense cake. To keep your cake light and moist, consider investing in a kitchen scale.
To keep the edges of the cake a lighter shade, cake strips. Wet them and place them around the edge of your cake pans. This will prevent your edges from browning or even worse, burning.
Instructions
For the cake base:
Preheat your oven to 340°F. Lightly grease 3 6-inch baking circular pans with butter or cooking spray, then lightly dust with a tablespoon flour.
In a large mixing bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Mix gently. Pour the wet ingredients into a separate mixing bowl and beat well. Put the blueberries and lemon zest into a small bowl and dust with 2 tbsp flour.
Combine the wet ingredients with the dry until the batter just starts to come together. Gently fold in the berries and mix until loosely combined.
Spread the mix evenly across the 3 pans. Bake for 30 minutes. The cakes should be light and springy to the touch. Set to the side and allow it to cool.
For the blueberry reduction:
Heat blueberries, lemon, sugar, and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Crush the blueberries with a fork, then stir. Reduce the heat and allow the mix to simmer. Once reduced by half, strain the blueberry mixture into a small bowl to cool.
For the lemon buttercream:
Cream the butter until fluffy, then sift in the confectioners' sugar one cup at a time. Combine thoroughly.
Add 1 tablespoon at a time of lemon juice until you get the texture and taste you want.
Remove ¾ cup of lemon buttercream to a medium bowl and add 1 tablespoon at a time of the blueberry reduction, tasting as you go, and stopping once you've achieved the flavor you want.
Put the lemon buttercream and the lemon-blueberry buttercream into two separate piping bags. Don't forget to cut off the tips!
Remove the cakes from the baking pans. Pipe the blueberry buttercream over each layer, then pipe a generous loop of the lemon buttercream around the edge of the cake. Place the second cake over the first, then the third over the second. Pipe the buttercream along the sides of the cake, then gently smooth.
Affix a decorative piping nozzle to your piping bags. Alternating between the lemon and the blueberry, pipe a circle of buttercream in the center of the cake. Garnish with frozen blueberries, serve, and enjoy!
