Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake

lemon_blueberry_layercake3 Spring is here! I have been enjoying the sunshine and craving something lemon and blueberry. Don’t you think lemon and blueberry make the perfect combination? The lemon curd filling is perfectly tart and goes so well with the blueberries.

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After several failed attempts, I finally was able to find a recipe that ensured my blueberries wouldn’t sink to the bottom.  The first try was a mess.  The blueberries sank to the bottom and turned the cake purple.  The cake wouldn’t stay together.  Although it was delicious, it was not presentable! The second try was with a cake mix.  This turned out a little better, but still even though I covered the blueberries in flour, they would not stay put! So the third recipe I tried was VERY thick batter!  This seemed to do the trick!

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The lemon curd was fairly easy to make and delicious!!

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The tips I will give you for making this cake: Coat the blueberries in flour before folding them into the batter, and use a thick cake batter.  Make a dam with stiff frosting to hold in the lemon curd (if you don’t do this, the lemon curd will seep out the edges and bulge out of the sides of the cake.  I learned the hard way!) .  Make the Lemon curd the day before and let it cool over night.

Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake

Ingredients

    Cake
  • By Sally's Baking Addiction
  • 1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 and 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature*
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour, careful not to overmeasure*
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk*
  • zest + juice of 3 medium lemons*
  • 1 and 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh (258g) or non-thawed frozen (275g)
  • 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • Frosting
  • By Sweetapolita
  • 1 cup (2 sticks)(227 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) lemon zest
  • 5 cups (625 g) icing sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) whipping cream (35% cream)
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1.25) pure lemon extract
  • a pinch of salt
  • yellow food gel, optional
  • Lemon Curd
  • *loosely adapted from Williams Sonoma
  • Yield: ~ 1-3/4 cups
  • 4 lemons (or 6 Meyer lemons), or 2 oranges, or 5 limes (or 8 Key Limes), preferably organic
  • 2 whole eggs plus 4 egg yolks
  • 1 cup sugar (200 grams) (7 ounces)
  • 4 tablespoons (60 grams) (2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into small even cubes

Instructions

    Cake
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray three 8x2 inch cake pans with nonstick spray. Set aside.
  2. Make the cake. Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high until creamy - about 1 minute. Add granulated and brown sugars and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until everything is combined, about 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Set aside.
  3. In a large sized bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed for 5 seconds, then add the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Remove from the mixer and stir lightly until everything is just combined. Toss the blueberries in 1 Tablespoon of flour and fold into the batter. Batter is extremely thick. Do not overmix at any point. Overmixing will lend a tough, dense textured crumb.
  4. Spoon batter evenly into 3 prepared cake pans. Bake for about 21-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.
  5. Frosting
  6. Cream butter and lemon zest in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, about 3 minutes. Slowly add icing sugar, mixing on low speed for about 2 minutes.
  7. Add remaining ingredients and beat on med-high for 3-4 minutes until very fluffy. If using color gel, add a drop or two , then beat until blended.
  8. Lemon Curd
  9. 1. Wash citrus really well (with a bristled brush under cold water) and using a Zester, remove all of the coloured portion of the peel from the fruit (not the white pith–it’s bitter!) into a bowl or onto a piece of wax paper.If you don't have a zester, you can use the small side of a cheese grater. Rotate fruit as necessary to get as much of the zest off. Repeat until you have 2 teaspoons (30 mL) of the zest, and set aside.
  10. 2. Slice the citrus in half crosswise (I find room temperature citrus is best for juicing) using a sharp knife, and extract as much of the juice as you can using a citrus reamer, or I use a small Citrus Juicer. Just be sure to catch all of the juice in a bowl and to completely strain the seeds before using. Repeat the juicing until you have 2/3 cup (5 fl oz/160 mL) of the strained juice.
  11. 3. Get your double boiler ready by filling a saucepan with 1? of water, then placing a metal bowl on top of the saucepan. You will need to ensure the bowl fits snugly into the top of the saucepan and that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water (important, or your eggs will cook!). You can now remove the bowl and continue with making the curd.
  12. 4. Whisk the juice, whole eggs, egg yolks and sugar in the bowl until smooth. Add the butter cubes to the bowl, but don’t stir.
  13. 5. Heat the water in the saucepan over low heat until it simmers (not boils) and place the bowl atop the rim. Stirring gently, but constantly, using heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, cook until the curd has thickened and all of the butter has melted and is incorporated, about 10 minutes (this can vary). To test if the curd is thick enough, remove the spatula or spoon from the curd and check that it’s coated.
  14. 6. Strain the curd over a bowl using a fine-mesh sieve and then stir in the zest. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly against the curd (to prevent a skin from forming) and chill for at least 3 hours (I like to chill it overnight). It also thickens up a bit more while chilling.
  15. Assembly of cake
  16. Spread thin dollop of frosting on an 8-inch thin cake board or cake plate. Transfer 1 cake layer to board, face up.
  17. Create a dam around the perimeter of the layer using frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a coupler, then spread lemon curd (apprx 1 cup) inside the dam--this prevents the curd from reaching out over edges.
  18. Top with second layer, face-up; repeat frosting around perimeter and lemon curd filling.
  19. Top with third cake layer, face-down (brown smooth side up). Spread thin layer (crumb coat) of over top and sides of cake, using offset palette knife and bench scraper for smooth finish. Place cake in refrigerator for about 30 mins to chill.
  20. from refrigerator and using same method, frost cake with generous layer of frosting, smoothing again.
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Enjoy!

Shamene

Other cakes you may like!

 

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This cake was featured here!


 

Linked up here: The Country Cook

24 thoughts on “Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake

  1. Wow, that looks amazing! I love the combination of flavours and the end product looks spectacular.

    My weekly Say G’Day link up is on right now and I’d be so thrilled if you could join in and share your post.

    Best wishes,
    Natasha in Oz

  2. I am speechless, not only does this cake sound delicious it looks amazing! I especially like the little lemon decoration you made. I had to pin, I’m going to try to make it but I know it will not look as great as yours. I’ll share with you how it came out though. Found you on the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop. :)

    • Thank you Silvie for your kind words! Also thank you for the pin! I would love to see a pic once you make it. I hope you like it!

  3. Loving all your recipes, just came across your blog via The Hawaiian Cake, which I had never heard of or even tried (mango/passionfruit-What kind of baker am I lol) but I was looking for a Mango cake idea in hopes of remedying that and there you were 😉

    I’ve been craving blueberries/lemon and like you, kept coming across the same issue grrr I was going to make a white/or maybe even a light lemon cake with a blueberry puree marbled through the batter, layered with lemon curd and cream cheese icing (a flavor combo from Shannon Bond Cake Design that sounds amazing) now I’ll just have to try both! Thanks so much!

    PS Loving the tall cake tiers & especially excited to try your MilkBar variation with Cookie Dough, brilliant!

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