This beautiful lemon layer cake is a real show-stopper. Soft, buttery lemon cake layers are stacked with rich blueberry buttercream frosting to create a summery treat that’s sweet, citrusy, and so pretty.
This cake is light, fresh, and perfect for spring and summer gatherings, birthdays, holidays, or anytime you’re craving an impressive homemade dessert. The combination of lemon and blueberry is always a winner, and the soft cake layers paired with creamy frosting make this dessert absolutely irresistible.
For more summer, fruity desserts, try my mini strawberry lemon crunch cheesecakes, orange bundt cake, and lemon cupcakes.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Soft and moist lemon cake layers
- Fresh blueberry buttercream frosting
- Perfect balance of sweet and citrusy flavors
- Great for birthdays, holidays, and celebrations
- Beautiful presentation
- Homemade frosting tastes incredible
- The perfect summer dessert
Key Ingredients
You’ll find the full list of ingredients and their exact amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Butter: The key to a rich, soft cake and creamy frosting. It gives everything that classic homemade bakery flavor.
- Lemon Juice & Zest: Make the cake bright, fresh, and full of real lemon flavor, not just sweet.
- Buttermilk: Keeps the cake extra moist and tender while adding a slight tang that works perfectly with the lemon.
- Blueberries: Create the sauce that transforms a basic buttercream into a fruity, vibrant frosting packed with blueberry flavor.
Variations
- Add Lemon Curd: Add lemon curd between the layers for even more citrus flavor.
- Swap the Blueberries: Any of your favorite berries will work for the sauce. Try them all.
- Round Cake: You can easily bake the cake layers in round cake pans if you prefer.
- Make Cupcakes: Bake the batter in cupcake pans for a huge batch of lemon blueberry cupcakes.
How to Make Lemon Layer Cake with Blueberry Buttercream Frosting
Step 1: Whisk the dry ingredients and set aside. Then, beat the butter until creamy. Mix in the remaining wet ingredients.
Step 2: Gradually alternate adding the flour and buttermilk to the wet ingredients until just combined.
Step 3: Divide the batter among four prepared rectangular cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans. Then, turn out the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack.
Step 4: Cook the sauce ingredients until the blueberries burst and the sauce has thickened. Cool.
Step 5: Beat the butter for the frosting until light and creamy. Then, gradually beat in the powdered sugar. Beat in the blueberry sauce.
Step 6: Place a cake layer on a dish. Then, top with buttercream. Repeat until the layers are assembled. Then, frost the entire outside with the remaining frosting.
Expert Tips
- Room-temperature butter and eggs help create a smoother batter and a softer cake texture.
- Mix just until combined to keep the cake light and tender.
- Be careful to fully grease and flour the entire inside of each cake pan to keep the cakes intact when you turn them out.
- Gently tap the sides and bottom of the pans to help the cakes release before turning them out.
- Warm cake layers can melt the buttercream, so make sure everything is fully cooled first.
Lemon Layer Cake FAQs
Yes, you can. Cook them the same way you would fresh blueberries, until the sauce thickens.
Room-temperature ingredients like butter, eggs, and buttermilk mix more easily, resulting in a smoother batter and a softer, more even cake texture.
Overmixing is generally the cause of a dense cake. Overmixing activates the gluten in the flour, causing the cake to become dense and tough as it bakes.
Buttermilk adds moisture, tenderness, and a slight tang to cake.
Lemon layer cake will last for up to 5 days when refrigerated in an airtight container. It can also be frozen for up to 2 months.
Wrap the unfrosted cake layers tightly in plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Frosted cake can also be frozen. However, the frosting’s texture may change a bit.
More Bright, Fresh Lemon Recipes You’ll Enjoy
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Lemon Layer Cake with Blueberry Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 2 cups butter softened
- 8 eggs
- 4 ⅔ cups all purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups sugar
- 4 teaspoon lemon peel grated
- 4 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 cups buttermilk
Blueberry Sauce
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Blueberry Buttercream Frosting
- 1½ cups butter
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- ¾ cup blueberry sauce, approximately (use all of the blueberry sauce)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour (4) 10x6x1.5-inch rectangle cake pans, or (4) 9-inch round cake pans.
- Allow the butter and eggs to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Lemon Cake
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on high for 1 minute. Add sugar, lemon peel, and lemon juice. Beat until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. Add flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, Mix on low speed after each addition until well combined.
- Pour into prepared cake pans.
- Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack and remove from pans after 10 minutes.
- Cool cakes completely before frosting.
Blueberry Sauce
- In a small saucepan, add fresh blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch.
- Heat over medium heat, and cook until the blueberries have burst and the sauce has thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool.
Blueberry Buttercream Frosting
- Beat the butter until light and creamy.
- Gently add the powdered sugar and mix until well blended.
- Next, add all of the blueberry sauce once the sauce has cooled completely.
- Beat until well combined.
- Add frosting to each layer, and frost the sides and top. Garnish with fresh blueberries, if desired.
Notes
- Room-temperature butter and eggs help create a smoother batter and a softer cake texture.
- Mix just until combined to keep the cake light and tender.
- Be careful to fully grease and flour the entire inside of each cake pan to keep the cakes intact when you turn them out.
- Gently tap the sides and bottom of the pans to help the cakes release before turning them out.
- Warm cake layers can melt the buttercream, so make sure everything is fully cooled first.
Nutrition
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