A super moist, delicious, and easy to make mini lemon layer cake paired with a simple all-natural blueberry buttercream frosting!

Ahhhh guyyyysss!!! I’m so stupidly excited to share a few things with you.

First things first, today is Butter Be Ready’s 3rd birthday woohoo 🎉🎉🎉

Yup, blogs can have birthdays too, some call it a blogiversary, I think. But we’ll just stick to calling it a birthday. Around this time 3 years ago, I hit publish on my very first blog recipe post. Which reminds me, I need to update those terrible photos too. I was nervous, I was worried about who the hell would even read this site, and everything else in between. I remember forcing my family and friends into checking out my site haha. There wasn’t a soul who did not hear about it either << I was probably the most annoying person. But I was so excited about starting this blog and did so during a really tough time in my life; I had no idea just how much this little website would mean to me.

I’ve met some really dope people in the blogging world. I made some new friends both in real life and in the virtual sense. And most importantly, I’ve gotten to connect with so many readers and online friends. Building community and fostering a sort of online family through food has been so nice. This blog exists because you guys keep up with me and my posts. You all read my blog, you comment, you share my posts, and you make my recipes. When I started this blog back in 2016, I honestly didn’t think that it would last longer than a year.

At the time, I kinda looked at it as a little hobby to keep me busy and take my mind off of things. Post after post, I felt encouraged and it felt good to share my love of food + photography with so many of you. You all truly inspire me to continue sharing this little passion of mine. Furthermore, it makes me want to level myself up by producing even more (and better) content in the future.

Alrighty then, let’s discuss this mini lemon blueberry cake now sheesh!

If you follow me on the ‘gram you already know how much I love lemon flavored baked goods…and really lemon anything. My love for lemons know no bounds, seriously. There’s something about lemon that signifies fresh, flavorful, tasty, and good vibes to me. Check out this lemon sheet cake that I made last year if you’re feeling all the lemon sweets like me.

I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate BBR’s 3rd year milestone with anything other than another lemon cake. This one is a mini layer cake that’s baked up in the cutest mini 6×2 inch cake pans. Since it’s a mini cake there isn’t a whole lot of fuss and it feeds 2-4 depending on how you cut your slices. Large layer cakes with a whole lot of jazz and steps involved frustrate me and I’m willing to bet that they annoy you too.

The lemon cake is fresh, extra moist, and bursting with, you guessed it…lemon flavor! This mini lemon layer cake also yields a nice tender cake crumb that will have you going back for seconds within minutes. Or maybe that was just my greedy behind, who knows.

One of my favorite parts of this mini lemon layer cake is the luscious blueberry frosting that I pair it with. Everyone knows how much blueberries compliment lemon flavor, right? I’m using freeze-dried blueberries that you can find in your local grocery store, I got mine specifically from Trader Joes. Using fresh fruit in buttercream is not a good idea as fresh fruit has a high water content that will destroy your buttercream. Instead, freeze-dried blueberries will yield a fresh, natural tasting/looking, and yummy buttercream frosting with no dyes needed to achieve that gorgeous color.

If I didn’t already mention it, this cake is perfect for a small crowd. It’s mini, it’s cute, it’s simple, it’s insanely delicious, and it makes the perfect little treat for all occasions. I want to extend a hearty and loving THANK YOU for making my recipes and hanging out with me in this crazy digital world.

Wowwww, 3 years have come and gone so fast but I am so pumped for the future of Butter Be Ready, love you friends 💜

Mini Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake

Author: Quin
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 35 mins
Yield: 2-4 1x

Print Recipe

Description

A super moist, delicious, and easy to make mini lemon layer cake paired with a simple all-natural blueberry buttercream frosting!

Scale

Ingredients

For lemon cake
1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tbsp instant lemon pudding mix
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp almond extract
Zest of 1 small lemon
For blueberry buttercream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups freeze-dried blueberries
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp heavy cream

Instructions

For lemon cake
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease two 6″ x 2″ cake pans and line with parchment paper. Then set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon pudding mix, set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy- about 3-4 minutes. Add in egg and mix until fully incorporated. Then add in both lemon/almond extracts and lemon zest.
With mixer on low speed, alternate adding in the flour mixture with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Make sure everything is fully incorporated.
Divide batter evenly between both cake pans. If you have a kitchen scale it will help measure batter precisely. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, approximately 20-25 minutes.
Let cakes cool in pans for 15 minutes then invert onto a cooling rack.
For blueberry buttercream
Using a blender or a food processor, pulse freeze-dried blueberries until they reach a powdery dust. A few chunks/pieces are perfectly fine. Combine blueberry dust with powdered sugar in a medium bowl then set aside.
Cream butter in a mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and slowly add in powdered sugar/blueberry mixture. Beat until smooth and add in heavy cream. Continue to beat until fully combined.
For the cake assembly: make sure cakes are level- you can use either a cake leveler or a serrated knife to trim cakes to an even level. On a platter/plate, place a small dollop of buttercream in the center to prevent cake from sliding. Place the first layer down and spread an even layer of buttercream on top. Add second layer and repeat process. You can frost cake entirely or leave it rustic looking- add fresh blueberries/lemon slices as garnish, if desired.

Category: Dessert
Cuisine: American