Slightly adapted from Bon Appetit, August 2001
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Two recipes in a row feels a little bit like I’m forgetting to talk about Nora [JPG, 1.29 MB], but this cake is ridiculous, so I had to share. It’s was the perfect cake for our tea party and would be great for any brunch or other events where you want something a little lighter. The cake is lemony and light; studded with blueberries, which make for a beautiful slice on a plate. The frosting is dreamy cream cheesey, light on the powdered sugar; perfect for those of us whole want more depth of flavor than just overpowering sweet. The only really notes I have about this recipe is that it works best as a two-layer, rather than the three that I did. Those three layers were mighty thin. If you’re looking to make something sky-high or with three good layers, I’d recommend 1.5 times-ing the recipe. Also, this amount of frosting just barely covered the cake and gave me a tiny bit extra to put on a “2;” if you like more frosting or plan to decorate it, I would recommend doubling. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups fresh blueberries
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon grated/zested lemon peel
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional: 2-4 tablespoons pureed blueberries for color
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two or three (see note above) 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper; butter paper. Dust pans with flour. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Transfer 1 tablespoon flour mixture to large bowl. Add fresh blueberries and toss to coat. Set remaining flour mixture and blueberries aside.
Stir whole milk, vanilla extract, and grated lemon peel in small bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in another large bowl until light and creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in flour mixture alternately with milk mixture in 3 additions each, just until blended. Fold in blueberries. Divide batter equally among pans.
Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Run knife around pan sides to loosen. Turn cakes out onto racks to cool completely.
Fro frosting: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Beat in vanilla and, if using, pureed blueberries. Cover and refrigerate until just firm enough to spread, about 30 minutes.
Transfer 1 cake layer to platter. Peel off parchment paper. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over cake layer. Top with another cake layer; spread with 3/4 cup frosting. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Cake can be prepared up to 1 day ahead of time. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature before serving.
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