Description
This delightful Vanilla Cake with Blueberry Filling features moist, tender vanilla cake layers paired with a luscious homemade blueberry filling and rich vanilla buttercream frosting. Perfect for special occasions or as a scrumptious treat, this cake balances fruity freshness and creamy sweetness beautifully.
Ingredients
Scale
Blueberry Filling
- 6 oz fresh or frozen blueberries (170g)
- â…“ cup granulated sugar (70g)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (15ml)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (8g)
- 2½ tablespoons water (37.5ml)
Vanilla Cake Layers
- 2½ cups all purpose flour (312g)
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (170g)
- 1½ cups granulated sugar (300g)
- 3 medium eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon light vegetable oil
- 1 cup whole milk (250ml)
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1½ cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar (360g)
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup heavy cream or heavy whipping cream, room temperature (125ml)
- some fresh blueberries (for garnish)
Instructions
- Make the blueberry filling: Combine blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and water in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbling and blueberries soften, about 3–5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, simmer 5 more minutes while stirring constantly and mashing some blueberries until thickened. Remove from heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least 1 hour.
- Prepare cake pans and preheat oven: Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and flour cake pans, tapping out excess flour, line bottoms with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, sift together flour and baking powder, stir in salt, and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar: In a large bowl, beat softened butter for 1–2 minutes until softened. Add sugar all at once and beat for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping sides as needed.
- Add eggs: Incorporate eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Combine wet ingredients: Mix in vanilla extract and vegetable oil until just combined.
- Add flour and milk: Gradually add flour mixture and milk alternately to the butter mixture, starting and ending with flour. Mix on low to medium speed just until combined; avoid overmixing.
- Bake cake layers: Divide batter evenly between pans, bake 30–35 minutes until tops are lightly golden and toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.
- Optional leveling: For even cake layers, wrap cooled cakes in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator 45 minutes or freeze 20 minutes before trimming.
- Make vanilla buttercream frosting: Beat softened butter for about 2 minutes until smooth. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and cream, mixing on low speed initially, then increase to medium-high and beat 10 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat low for 1–2 minutes to reduce air bubbles, then stir with spatula.
- Assemble cake: Place one cake layer on serving plate. Stir chilled blueberry filling to spread. Spread ¾ cup buttercream evenly on cake top, pipe ¾ cup buttercream border around edge, and spoon blueberry filling into center. Gently spread to border.
- Add second layer and crumb coat: Place second cake layer on top. Apply thin crumb coat of buttercream over entire cake and chill in refrigerator 30 minutes (or freeze 10 minutes) to set.
- Final frosting and decoration: Frost top and sides with final layer of buttercream, smoothing with offset spatula or bench scraper. Pipe swirls of reserved frosting around top edge and garnish with fresh blueberries if desired.
- Serve and store: Slice, serve, and enjoy immediately. Store leftovers in fridge up to 4 days and bring to room temperature before serving.
Notes
- Use fresh or frozen blueberries for the filling; thaw frozen is fine.
- Ensure eggs and butter are at room temperature for better mixing.
- Do not overmix batter to maintain cake tenderness.
- Chilling cakes before leveling helps achieve clean, even layers.
- Buttercream can be adjusted in consistency by adding more powdered sugar to thicken or cream to thin.
- Store cake in an airtight container to maintain freshness.
