Lemon Blueberry Cake — The Petit Biscuit

This is a very refreshing summer recipe; but it will cheer you up in the middle of winter as well. Ingredients used are not difficult to find and it just brings little bit of sunshine to your life with all the fresh lemon we use.

Be cautions while following steps – it is not the easiest cake to bake, but it is not the hardest/most difficult. When you take the cake out of the oven and it is not even, do not worry – you can make it up with frosting.

Lemons make this cake very moist, that’s why it is so delicious. When you make this cake, do not over bake it even if it seems that it is not baked through.

***good advice*** weigh the bowl you will use for the batter. You will need to split the batter into 3 equal parts. When the batter is ready for baking, you can just deduct the weight of bowl from the overall weight and split it in 3 equal parts. This way you will know exactly how much batter to put into cake pan.

Most important ingredients in this recipe are lemons.

How to choose a good quality lemons?

Lemons should have a thick skin – they are not that acid and lemon flavour in a cake comes out beautifully. Lemons with thick skin are usually quite big.

Ingredients

230g butter, softened to room temperature

250g granulated sugar

100g packed light brown sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

345g sifted all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

240ml buttermilk

2 Tablespoons lemon zest

120ml lemon juice (3 medium lemons)

260g blueberries

1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Frosting

225g Philadelphia cream cheese, softened to room temperature

115g butter, softened to room temperature

420g confectioners’ sugar

15-30ml double cream – at least 33% fat

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

pinch salt

4 tablespoons blueberry jam

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease 23 cm cake pan and line with baking paper on the bottom.

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 white sugar and brown sugars and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2-3 minutes.

3. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until everything is completely combined, about 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

4. Dry ingredients - In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed for 5 seconds.

6. Then beat in the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice *just* until combined.

7. Toss the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of flour.

8. Gently fold into the batter. Batter is extremely thick. Do not over-mix. Over-mixing will lead to a tough, dense textured crumb.

9. Check the weight of the batter in a bowl and split batter evenly into prepared cake pan.

Bake each layer for about 21-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan, remove baking paper before assembling and frosting.

10. Make the frosting: Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until no lumps remain, about 3 full minutes.

11. Add confectioners’ sugar, 1 tablespoon cream, vanilla extract and salt with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes.