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 currently training to be a Certified Lactation Educator. 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!