This bluberry lemon cake is filled with a creamy lemon curd and topped with lemon buttercream frosting. It’s elegant and absolutely AMAZING.
If there was a show called “Cake Fails” I would definitely be on it.
Despite my best intentions, my cakes just don’t always turn out well.
I mean, they taste delicious. But something in the construction goes horribly wrong 9 times out of 10.
This year, Jack requested a lemon blueberry cake (he’s so sophisticated in taste, I know. Ha!) I was so excited to make the cake, and I wanted to make sure it was perfect.
I made sure I used my secret to baking with blueberries. I used my fancy Cake Boss cake pans and used cooking spray specifically for baked goods. When I took them out of the oven, they were perfect. I just about shouted for joy when I saw that they had risen to perfection.
When they came out of their cake pans without a crumb falling out of place, I was so happy. I told Forrest that maybe, just maybe, the cake would turn out perfectly this time.
Well, next time I won’t be saying anything until the first slice of that supposedly perfect cake is cut.
Forrest suggested I use a seven-minute frosting recipe for the cake, and since that usually tastes good, I agreed. I made one that night, and I couldn’t remember exactly what it was supposed to look like, it seemed right. I put it on the cake, which I then put in the fridge, and went to bed, satisfied with my perfect cake.
Well, the next morning I woke up and went to take the cake out of the fridge to show Jack. Imagine my horror when I opened up the fridge to find a white, sticky mess covering the entire bottom shelf of the fridge.
Imagine my horror even more when I realized the frosting was bringing down parts of the cake with it. It was a disaster.
After taking a few minutes to mourn my beautiful cake, I ended up cutting off about one-inch of the cake from all sides, and I made a lemon buttercream frosting instead. Here’s the aftermath:
It actually turned out looking pretty good (just a little smaller), and it tasted fantastic.
Moral of the story? Always use buttercream.
Lemon Blueberry Cake with Lemon Curd Filling
Yield:
0
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups sifted cake flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 3 large eggs
- 1½ cups buttermilk, (or 1 1/2 cups milk, minus 1 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Mix together and let sit at room temperature for about two minutes.)
- Zest of one large lemon
- CURD
- 5 egg yolks
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup almond milk or regular milk
- ½ tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Prepare two 9-inch round cake pans by spraying with cooking spray and shaking flour around evenly.
- Mix together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar in a medium bowl.
- In a bowl of an electric mixer (or a large bowl if you are using a hand mixer), beat oil, shortening, vanilla bean paste, and lemon juice. Beat until light and fluffy.
- Beat in one egg at a time.
- Fold in the lemon zest.
- Stir in the dry ingredients a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk.
- Fold in 8 ounces frozen blueberries - washed and floured
- Be careful not to overmix batter.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. Check at 35 minutes.
- Allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes before removing from pans.
- ASSEMBLY:
- Prepare the lemon curd recipe below.
- Prepare your favorite buttercream recipe, adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped lemon peel.
- After the cakes are completely cool, spoon a layer of lemon curd on top of the first layer. Top with the over layer.
- Frost with buttercream.
- Decorate with blueberries and lemon slices.
CURD
- In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Set aside.
- Put a strainer over a bowl.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, add heavy cream and other milk. Turn stove top to medium heat until it starts to lightly bubble, stirring occasionally.
- Remove bubbling milk from stove top and pour a very thin stream into the egg yolk mixture whisking the entire time. Be very careful not to pour too much in at a time, or else the eggs will scrambled.
- Pour this back into the sauce pan and whisk continually until liquid starts to bubble and thicken over medium heat. When this happens, whisk for an additional 30 seconds.
- Pour the mixture into the strainer and strain. Immediately whisk butter, vanilla paste, and lemon juice.
- Put in the fridge, covered with plastic, until it's set (mine set in about 30 minutes.)
Katie is a Colorado-native, BYU graduated, and most importantly, wife to one and mother to three beautiful boys. She is passionate about sharing her experiences with others – especially about pregnancy, breastfeeding, cooking, and crafts. She is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. She loves spending time with her family and helping others find joy in family life.
David says
Hi Katie! I’m really excited to try making this cake. I had a hard time finding your lemon curd recipe–can you help direct me to it? Thank you so much! -David
Katie says
I’m so sorry for such a delayed response! For some reason, the whole recipe didn’t convert over when I changed recipe cards. The curd recipe should be in the post now!