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 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 2/3 cup sugar
- 5 egg whites
- 2 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/4 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 blueberries, pureed
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 1/2 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 tbsp 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
