This Blueberry Birthday Cake Recipe is what dreams are made of. Vanilla cake with fresh blueberries and a blueberry cream cheese frosting. I don't know how it can get better than that - it's the perfect Blueberry Layer Cake!
Originally posted July 2019, updated June 2024
Jump to:
Blueberry Birthday Cake
I have been obsessed with berries lately (remember the Blackberry Peach Cobbler and the Fresh Blueberry Muffins?) and I thought what better way to use some blueberries than with a cake! I've always loved sharing recipes that are simple so that anyone can create them and be proud!
This fresh blueberry cake is just that! Simple to make but will impress your birthday guests when you bring this perfect cake to the table! And obviously it's not just for birthdays! You can make this amazing cake for any special occasion and it will impress every single time.
Blueberry Layer Cake
It's ironic to me that my kids rarely want fancy birthday cakes that I love to make - they'd much rather have an OREO Ice Cream Cake or a simple layer cake like this blueberry cake that's loaded with flavor!
But that's okay. This is one of the best cakes I make and I love having recipes on hand to use up our huge supply of blueberries in the spring. This year we've put eight gallons in the freezer in addition to all the fresh ones we've used for baking and snacking!
Why You'll Love this Blueberry Cake Recipe
- You can use fresh or frozen blueberries - although I highly recommend fresh if possible. Fresh blueberries are what makes this cake AMAZING!! If blueberries are not in season you can use frozen, but there is nothing better than biting into a fresh, plump blueberry in a cake!
- This is a from-scratch recipe with very simple, easy-to-find ingredients. I don't make a lot of scratch cake recipes, but this one is so worth it!
- Both the white cake and the frosting have the pop of blueberry flavor - so delicious!
Tools Needed
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Cake
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder (remember to know the difference between baking powder and baking soda)
- Salt
- Butter - I bake with salted butter all the time, but unsalted butter would work just fine here too.
- Sugar
- Egg whites - you can separate eggs to use here or buy egg whites in a carton. One large egg has about 2 tablespoons of egg white.
- Vanilla extract - homemade vanilla or store-bought will work!
- Milk - I use whole milk but I think 2% milk would work just as well.
- Fresh blueberries
- Fresh lemon juice
For the Blueberry Frosting
- Butter
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- Fresh blueberry puree
How to Make a Blueberry Birthday Cake
Making the Cake Batter
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare (3) three 6-inch cake pans or (2) 7-inch round cake pans with cake release or homemade Baker's Joy (aka cake goop). Spray the bottom of the pan and the sides.
- Combine all dry ingredients (minus sugar) into a small bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the milk and vanilla and set aside.
- Cream the butter in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Slowly add in the sugar until fully combined. This step will make the cake light and fluffy.
- Add in the egg whites one at a time, making sure to combine each before adding the other.
- Add in about ½ of the flour mixture while mixing on a low speed. Alternate adding in dry and wet ingredients until they are all combined. Mix for an additional 3 minutes on a medium speed.
- Place the blueberries in a small bowl and toss with lemon juice. Then toss with a tablespoon of flour until coated well. Fold into the cake mixture.
- Divide batter evenly between them making sure no blueberries are clumped up together and evenly distributed through the cake batter.
- Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
How to Make Blueberry Frosting
Okay, I may have lied.. the frosting may be my favorite part of this recipe. For this recipe I took my normal cream cheese buttercream and added fresh pureed blueberries. It was hard not to just take a spoon and eat this blueberry buttercream straight from the bowl!
- Cream together the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy and there are no lumps.
- Add in the pureed berries and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Add in the confectioners' sugar one cup at a time while on a low speed.
- Mix at high speed for about 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy.
To Assemble the Cake
The only thing left to do is assemble this delicious cake!
- Just take a layer of cake and place it on a cake board or stand, add about 1 ½ cup of frosting on top in the middle of the cake and smooth it out evenly.
- Repeat with the next two cake layers.
- After you have all the cake layers assembled, cover the outside of the cake in a thin layer of cream cheese frosting and chill for 15-20 minutes. This is called a "crumb coat" and will make decorating the cake easier by sealing in all of the crumbs so you will have a beautiful outside layer of buttercream.
- After your cake has chilled, add the final layer of frosting on and top with some fresh blueberries and serve!
- Enjoy!
Pro Tips
- Bring ingredients to room temperature. This might be the most important thing I say. If your ingredients are cold, your batter is more likely to be lumpy and it will not bake evenly.
- Don't skip coating the blueberries! Blueberries are full of juice and if you just put them directly into the batter they will sink right to the bottom of the bowl. To keep this from happening, I toss the blueberries in a little bit of lemon juice and then add 2-3 tablespoon of flour and coat them. The flour absorbs some of the juice and allows the berries to distribute evenly throughout the batter.
- Sift or not? Feel free to sift, but it isn't necessary with this recipe. Most of the time I take a whisk and whisk through the dry ingredients to get any large clumps out. Just make sure not to over-mix your batter!
- No Cake Release? Place about a quarter size amount of my homemade Baker's Joy in the cake pans and brush in with a pastry brush or a paper towel. You can find the full recipe here but it's a combination of shortening, vegetable oil, and flour. Keep the remaining in an airtight container and keep it handy for the next time you make a cake! You could also line the pans with parchment paper which helps tremendously with preventing cakes from sticking.
Storage Instructions
Store any leftover cake in an airtight container or wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
More Amazing Recipes
- Red White and Blueberry Cheesecake
- Lemon Blueberry No Bake Cheesecake (with fresh blueberry filling)
- Lemon Cake with Blueberries (Loaf Cake)
- No Churn Blueberry Ice Cream
- Instant Pot Blueberry Jam
- Sour Cream Banana Muffins
- Lemon Ice Box Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- The Best One Bowl Chocolate Cake
- Homemade Whipped Cream
Recipe
The Best Blueberry Birthday Cake Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
Description
This Blueberry Birthday Cake Recipe is what dreams are made of. Vanilla cake with fresh blueberries and a blueberry cream cheese frosting. I don't know how it can get better than that - it's the perfect Blueberry Layer Cake!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the cake:
- 2 ¾ cup + 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 ⅔ cup sugar
- 5 egg whites
- 2 ½ tsp vanilla
- 1 ¼ cup milk
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
For the frosting:
- 2 sticks softened butter
- 1 8 oz. package of softened cream cheese
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup fresh pureed blueberries
Instructions
Making the Cake Batter
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare (3) three 6-inch cake pans or (2) 7-inch round cake pans with cake release or homemade Baker's Joy (aka cake goop). Spray the bottom of the pan and the sides.
- Cream the butter in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Slowly add in the sugar until fully combined. This step will make the cake light and fluffy.
- Combine all remaining dry ingredients into a small bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the milk and vanilla and set aside.
- Add in the egg whites one at a time, making sure to combine each before adding the other.
- Add in about ½ of the flour mixture while mixing on a low speed. Alternate adding in dry and wet ingredients until they are all combined. Mix for an additional 3 minutes on a medium speed.
- Place the blueberries in a small bowl and toss with lemon juice. Then toss with a tablespoon of flour until coated well. Fold into the cake mixture.
- Divide batter evenly between them making sure no blueberries are clumped up together and evenly distributed through the cake batter.
- Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
How to Make Blueberry Frosting
- Cream together the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy and there are no lumps.
- Add in the pureed berries and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Add in the confectioners' sugar one cup at a time while on a low speed.
- Mix at high speed for about 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy.
To Assemble the Cake
- Just take a layer of cake and place it on a cake board or stand, add about 1 ½ cup of frosting on top in the middle of the cake and smooth it out evenly.
- Repeat with the next two cake layers.
- After you have all the cake layers assembled, cover the outside of the cake in a thin layer of cream cheese frosting and chill for 15-20 minutes. This is called a "crumb coat" and will make decorating the cake easier by sealing in all of the crumbs so you will have a beautiful outside layer of buttercream.
- After your cake has chilled, add the final layer of frosting on and top with some fresh blueberries and serve!
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Bring ingredients to room temperature. This might be the most important thing I say. If your ingredients are cold, your batter is more likely to be lumpy and it will not bake evenly.
- Don't skip coating the blueberries! Blueberries are full of juice and if you just put them directly into the batter they will sink right to the bottom of the bowl. To keep this from happening, I toss the blueberries in a little bit of lemon juice and then add 2-3 tablespoon of flour and coat them. The flour absorbs some of the juice and allows the berries to distribute evenly throughout the batter.
- Sift or not? Feel free to sift, but it isn't necessary with this recipe. Most of the time I take a whisk and whisk through the dry ingredients to get any large clumps out. Just make sure not to over-mix your batter!
- No Cake Release? Place about a quarter size amount of my homemade Baker's Joy in the cake pans and brush in with a pastry brush or a paper towel. You can find the full recipe here but it's a combination of shortening, vegetable oil, and flour. Keep the remaining in an airtight container and keep it handy for the next time you make a cake! You could also line the pans with parchment paper which helps tremendously with preventing cakes from sticking.
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 35
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Recipe Card powered by
Ashley
Really delicious cake, and the colors are beautiful!
Esme Slabbert
Love blueberries and now in season and as we went picking the other day will have to make this cake
Found your post at Pam’s Party & Practical Tips: It's Time to Dare to Share! My entries this week are numbered #29+30
Please join and share your posts with us https://esmesalon.com/tag/seniorsalonpitstop/
Rose Atwater
I hope you love it!
Marla
Look I have been a subscriber for a long time. Why are you making us re-input our name and email address to view this. I was notified on my email about this recipe. All I wanted to do is look at it. I don’t wanna go through the hassle of filling out a subscriber box yet again. Why don’t you just keep it simple??
Rose Atwater
I'm so sorry - I haven't made any changes on the website. Were you possibly on a new device? Or if you deleted history or cookies, it may see you as a new reader.
Also, you should be able to click on the top right corner and close the subscription box. I apologize for any inconvenience.
Maia Detrani
I am 12 years old and made this cake all by myself. I accidentally used bread flour instead of regular all-purpose flour which made the cake a little dense, but it still turned out DELICIOUS and possibly one of the best cakes I’ve ever had. Seriously, I cannot stress how delicious this cake was! It’s wonderful topped with fresh blueberries and the blueberry puree makes the icing a lovely light purple. You have to go make this cake now!!!
Rose Atwater
Awww, thank you so much for commenting and I'm so happy it turned out great for you!
David Woodall
The frosting portion says to add the vanilla but the ingredients for the frosting don’t include vanilla. How much vanilla for the frosting? Thanks!
Nanajee Travels
This Blueberry Birthday Cake sounds like a dream come true! The combination of vanilla cake, fresh blueberries, and blueberry cream cheese frosting makes it truly irresistible. It's hard to imagine a more perfect blueberry layer cake for any special occasion. What a delightful recipe—thank you for sharing!