HEYhi I have about 293864091 pictures of my recipe today because I may be a smidge excited about it. Say hello to spring with lemon blueberry lavender cake with mascarpone buttercream frosting!
In case you can't tell, I'm super proud of myself. Baking is not my forte so whenever I create a recipe and it comes out I get SO excited. This one I'm particularly proud, and here's why:
First, it's a layer cake. Those can be intimidating in general, at least in my opinion.
Second, this lemon blueberry lavender cake is soooooo good. A lot of layer cakes can end up dry and tasteless. This one, I promise you, is neither of those things. Buttermilk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and plenty of butter make sure the cake layers are moist and full of flavor. Plus, it's coated with homemade jam and infused mascarpone buttercream frosting. No shortage of yums here.
Third, the layers are also light and fluffy. Ever had a white layer cake that's soggy and dense? Gross. The secret: egg whites. Just two in place of one whole egg does a WORLD of difference.
Fourth, it's pretty ๐. This lemon blueberry lavender cake is my new go to spring cake. As I'm sure you're aware, I have a strong love of chocolate. But this cake gives the skyscraper chocolate cake I made for my wedding a run for its money!
When you check out the recipe below, it might seem like a lot of steps (especially compared to my usual recipes). However, a good white layer cake with an airy but flavorful frosting usually does. It's SO worth it, trust me.
Now I'm going to stop talking and just show you the bajillion pictures I took of my lemon blueberry lavender cake pride and joy. Get spring baking friends!
Lemon Blueberry Lavender Cake with Mascarpone Buttercream Frosting
- Total Time: 1 hour
Description
A springtime sky high cake stacked with fresh blueberries and zesty flavor, layered with homemade blueberry lavender jam and mascarpone buttercream frosting.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 ยพ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 egg whites, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lavender extract
- 1 ยฝ cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ยฝ cups buttermilk
- โ cup lemon juice
- 1 ยฝ cups fresh blueberries, plus extra for garnish
- Lemon slices, culinary lavender buds for garnish
For the Jam
- 6 ounces blueberries
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons water
- ยผ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons dried lavender buds
For the Frosting
- 1 ยฝ cups unsalted butter
- 8 ounces mascarpone
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lavender extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste (if unavailable, you can substitute vanilla extract)
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Make the Cake Layers
- Preheat oven to 350หF. Grease 3 8โณ straight edge cake pans. Line with parchment paper and grease.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Whisk until completely mixed.
- In a standing mixer or with a hand held mixer and a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Whisk in eggs, egg whites, vanilla extract, and lavender extract on a high speed until combined, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides as needed.
- On a low speed, whisk the flour mixture to the egg mixture until just combined.
- Still on a low speed, pour in the buttermilk and lemon juice, mixing until just combined.
- Gently fold in blueberries until just combined.
- Pour batter evenly into greased layer pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of each cake. Set on a wire rack to cool, at least one hour, or frosting will melt.*
Make the Jam
- In a small pot, stir all ingredients together for the jam over medium high heat.
- Bring to a boil and gently mash. Turn the heat down to low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour into a container and let cool completely. Chill until ready to use.
Make the Frosting
- In a standing mixer or with a handheld mixer, whisk butter and mascarpone until light and creamy. Sift in the powdered sugar. Add lavender extract, vanilla paste, and heavy cream. Whisk until completely smooth.
Assemble the Cake
- When the cake layers are cooled, place one of the cake layers with the flat side down on a plate or cake stand. With an offset spatula, spread the top with about 1 cup of frosting and โ of the jam.
- Place the second layer on top of this frosted layer and spread another 1 cup of frosting and another โ of the jam.
- Add on the final layer, flat side up to make the cake even. Lightly frost the rest of the cake with half of the remaining frosting. Mix a couple spoonfuls of frosting with the remaining jam. Frost the tops and sides of the cake with the mixture as desired. Place cake in fridge and chill for 10 minutes.
- Remove cake from the fridge and frost with remaining frosting. Garnish with fresh blueberries, lemon slices, and culinary lavender buds.
- Place in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes to an hour, until frosting is set.
- Cover cake tightly and store in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Notes
You can make the cake layers the night before! Let them cool on a wire rack, cover with some plastic wrap (still in the cake pans), and place in the fridge to chill until your ready to assemble the cake the next day.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
Erin says
I made this cake for my cousins bridal shower and it was such a big hit! One of the best cakes Iโve ever had. Thank you for the amazing recipe.
Felice says
Any tips for a novice baker? Iโm attempting g it this weekend for my daughterโs birthdayโฆ..
Thanks
Bennette R Purvis says
This cake is incredible! My daughter is getting married next year in April and wants me to make this cake for her wedding so I did a trial run today. I have been baking for over 40 years and I think this is one of the best cakes I have ever made! Excellent mix of flavors and very moist and tender with a light crumb.
Alina says
Hello!
Is there any way to rework this recipe with pure lemon extract for the cake? Iโve got a bottle at home and really want to use it but also like your recipe. Thank you in advance!
Kirsten Walther says
Made this cake and it was delicious! The only thing is, and this may be a rookie mistake, the icing curdled. I assume from over mixing the mascarpone icing. Is there anyway to prevent this? Should I mix the butter and powder sugar first and then fold in the mascarpone??
Candace says
It's from overmixing! I'd look up mascarpone icing videos on youtube ๐
Heather says
Hello I will be moving this recipe tomorrow but only have three 6inch cake pans. Any recommendations on how to make this work?
Fabiola says
Can I cover this cake with fondant? Is the frosting safe to use with fondant?
Aberdeen says
I'm not a fan of fondant and have never used it. Give it a go though!
Ori says
Has anyone frozen the cake before? I need to travel about 2 hours with it and was wondering if I could freeze it overnight and travel with it while it thawed.
Lisa says
I made a โpractice run cakeโ for my nieces bridal shower but I had to make it gluten free. After baking the cake I wrapped each layer in plastic wrap as soon as I could handle them and froze them until I needed to frost. I Usually assemble and frost a cake the night before an event, put it in the fridge and decorate the morning of. Itโs Super easy to assemble while frozen and the cake is unbelievably moist.
Barbara Wrenn says
the recipe says "homemade blueberry lavender jam" however there is no lavender called for in the jam recipe. am I supposed to put lavender extract in the jam? thank you!
Aberdeen says
๐คฆ๐ผโโ๏ธ Yes! Itโs not too much, about 1/4 teaspoon, less if itโs not your favorite thing. Thank you for pointing this out, Iโll update the recipe as soon as I get to my work computer.
Jules says
How much lavender extract do you add to the jam? (I donโt see it posted in the recipe) thanks!
Aberdeen says
Actually I used dried lavender buds for the jam, fixed the recipe to include the measurements!
Elena says
I love this recipe as is, but so far I have used the exact same recipe to make lavender vanilla cupcakes and now even chocolate cake! I actually subbed whole milk yogurt for the buttermilk, and it's absolutely dreamy. I've never been able to make a cake I actually really love before this, so thank you from the bottom of my heart (and stomach!)
Angela says
Made this cake today for a progressive dinner we had in our neighborhood. It was the star of the evening. Itโs a very special cake indeed. Iโm looking forward to making your chocolate skyscraper on our next occasion!
Quick Q: how long should we all be mixing the butter, sugar and mascarpone ? My curdled a bit too... but the taste was the same.
Chelsea says
Hello! Can't wait to make this for my mother's birthday! I would love to turn these into cupcakes though, do you have a suggested bake time for this recipe with cupcakes? Is there any other advice you would give for them?
Aberdeen says
What a great idea! I would still heat the oven to 350ยฐF and use a standard 12 cup cupcake tin with cupcake liners, fill baking cups about 3/4 of the way full. Try baking them for 18-20 minutes, checking for doneness with the toothpick method. Then be sure to Let cool on a wire rack completely before frosting. Let me know how it goes!
Amy says
I can't find lavender extract, can I just leave it out and make a blueberry lemon cake?
Aberdeen says
Sure! Also, you can switch out the lavender extract for regular vanilla extract.
Melissa says
I have lavender essential oil. Do you have any idea, would I be able to sub this for the extract? Do you think itโd be a 1:1 sub or reduce the amount of oil? Thanks for any help you can provide!
Aberdeen says
I actually haven't a clue! I do know that essential oils are more potent but I would just the creep the internet/ask a medical professional ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ.
Romaunda says
FYI, Essential oils are not suitable for consumption.
Betty says
There are several essential oils that are suitable for consumption. I sell essential oils and have consumed them myself. You just have to know which ones they are. Also when consuming essential oils always be sure that you are purchasing them from a reputable company that oversees the oils from the time the plants are planted to the time that the oils are bottled for sale!
Tracy Smyth says
Hi! I have edible dried lavender could i use it instead. If so how much?
Thank you!
Ariel says
I'm also wondering if I could use dried lavender instead of extract - thanks for any info!
Cosima says
This cake is SO GOOD. Fairly time consuming but among my favorite cakes of all I have made. As I assembled it the layers felt quite sturdy and buildable, but biting in the cake was fluffy and moist. Amazing ๐๐ป
Bryana Prettyman says
This was SO GOOD!! Only thing I had trouble with was the icing at the end when I tried putting it on the cakes, even though they were completely cooled, it would come right off of some parts when I tried to spread it... managed to get it all on there, mine definitely wasnโt as pretty but it was extremely good!!!
Ebony says
I need to make a small batch of this cake. I am making a 2 to 3 layer 6 Inch cake. What do you suggest? Would I just cut all the ingredients in half?
Thanks
Felice says
Iโm going to try this recipe with 6 inch pans. How did yours go? What adjustments did you make to the recipe? Iโm hoping to make a 3 layer 6 inch cake.
anna says
Hi, Just made this cake last week and everyone loved it! best recipe ive tried!
One important question though, how long will the frosting keep in the fridge? and can i freeze it?
thank you
Kristin says
Hi,
I have a lot of frozen blueberries, could I sub them for the fresh blueberries in the cake/jam without compromising the flavor/texture?
Thanks
Anja says
This cake is such a hit I was asked to make it again! My new go to!
Jenn says
Making this for a friends bday and canโt wait. Question- how did you get the streaky purple effect in the frosting pictured?
Erica says
Does this cake freeze well?
Madison Ryan says
Can I use cake flour in this recipe?
Jean Kirchhevel says
I'm excited to try this recipe. Can you taste the lavander in it? Thanks!
Aberdeen says
I can definitely taste it! Hope you enjoy it ๐.
Fran says
Hi, by any chance have you got the UK measurements for the ingredients? I want to make this on Saturday for Motherโs Day,
Thanks, Fran.
Elizabeth Sanford says
Can I substitute cream cheese for the mascarpone? Will it make a difference?
Amelia says
Tried this with a 6 inch pan by halving the ingredients - not sure why the cake cracked!
but the favours were amazing, and so was the jam
Found the frosting to be very heavy & too buttery for my liking. I added a lot of lemon juice to make it more tangy but still not a huge fan.
Anastasia Feldman says
for the jam, instead of using fresh blueberries, could I use frozen blueberries instead?
Sara says
This cake looks amazing!! I am planning to make it this weekend, but I only have 6 inch pans. Any suggestions to cut the ingredients.
Tom says
Tried to bake it for me and my son. Cake cracked a bit but nothing terrible... Jam super... Cream... It is so heavy... As we are not pretty big friends of butter creams, this taste great, but the consistency is really heavy... So as Elizabeth ask, what if to use cream cheese instead butter??? I used mascarpone with cream cheese in spinach cake and it was delicious...
Mariam says
You mentioned that you did the gluten free version of this cake in the comments. Any chance you could write if there are any other changes except GF flour ?
Thanks in advance.
Phillip says
This recipe looks amazing!! Has anyone done it with cake flour? And what would the conversion be from AP?
Jess says
Hi!
Iโm in a pinch and canโt find lavender extract near me. Is it possible to use lavender syrup instead?
Cashel says
Did you try it with syrup?
Vicki says
This is seriously my favorite cake. I stumbled across the recipe and made it for Mother's day and will make it this week for my sister's birthday. I originally picked this recipe because it was beautiful so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out how good it tastes. Thanks for the fabulous recipe!
Emma says
I have made this cake probably 6 times and I LOVE it! It is constantly a crowd pleaser and turns out perfectly every time, every time I make it I get more and more requests for it to be made for more birthdays. This cake has quickly climbed its way to the top of my go to cake roster. It is absolutely phenomenal thank you:)
Leah Coleman says
This cake may be intimidating and time consuming for a novice baker, but it's 1000% worth it! I'm not much of a baker, and I just recently made it twice! Made with in season blueberries, this is easily the best cake I've ever made! It's luxurious and decadent without being overly sweet. I'm not usually a frosting person, but this mascarpone buttercream is divine! As in, just give me the bowl and a spoon, it's that good! Really. Quite often, cakes may look fancy, but are actually dry, too sweet or just unimpressing. This cake however, is gorgeous and delicious. I will definitely make again and highly recommend it! It will not fail to impress!
* One thing I changed was..the jam seemed a little runny after cooling. I reheated it with 2 T cornstarch and this made it just the way I wanted it,
Maeve Grant says
I don't know what I did wrong but the frosting was horrible which make the cake fall on itself! The only thing I changed was that I put lemon juice instead of lemon zest could it be the reason its texture was so wrong?
Deb MacKenzie says
A question on the frosting. The ingredient list shows 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, but the zest is not included int he instructions for the frosting. I wasn't sure whether or not to add it.....was the error in the ingredient list or the instructions? I decided not to add it and the frosting tasted just fine, but I've been asked to share the recipe so I want to confirm whether the zest should be added to the frosting. Oh, and obviously the cake was a big hit since I've been asked to share the recipe!
Sarah Viotto says
When I got to the step of mixing the jam with the frosting the frosting curdled because the jam was cold. Any way to correct that?
Racquel says
Made this cake-was lovely but the frosting did not work out. Im not sure its my naรฏvety or the fact i did it with a hand electric mixer and not a stand mixer.
Everything else was great
Tamika says
This has become my go to cake for any occasion! I first made it for my motherโs birthday a few years back and it was an absolute hit! It has since been my brotherโs wedding cake, my own anniversary cake, many times family members birthday cakes and it will be served at my sonโs 1st birthday on the weekend ๐ซถ
Aberdeen says
๐๐๐
Elizabeth says
Helped my daughter make this for one of her coworkers. It was sooo good. Agree with the comment about the frosting being too buttery, however everyone at her work liked it. Iโm definitely going to make this cake again.
Aberdeen says
Thank you! Appreciate your feedback, it's definitely on the list to take a look at/retest the frosting section of this recipe.
Galina says
The cake turned out great, but it's very very sweet! I would dial down on the powdered sugar in the frosting.
Lindsay says
I found this cake to be very dry. The layers didnโt โblendโ so when cutting, every layer fell apart from itself. Including the frosting.
Tamika says
This has become my go-to cake recipe - I love love love it! It's such a beautiful flavour that's not too overpowering. Since first finding it several years ago it has been everything from a 1st birthday cake to an 80th! I made it for my brother's wedding, my daughter's christening, my 30th and more. It's a hit every time ๐ I only wish blueberries were in season all year round!
Alicia Goldy says
I loved how the cake portion turned out, but as a total beginner, it would have been nice to know that everything for the icing needed to be very cold. Mine completely separated, and all I had on hand at that point was cream cheese, so I made a frosting with that, did a crumb coat, and added jam on top. Iโll try again another time, I guess.