Lemon Blueberry Birthday Cake

I recently asked a friend if I could make her birthday cake. I just love making cakes! This one can be made as a single layer cake with a simple glaze or make it into a delicious double layer cake, like I did. The original recipe is from The Barefoot Contessa's Blueberry Crumb Cake. Click on the link to bring up the original single layer recipe. I merely took it and changed a few things to make it my own version for a fresh ingredient birthday cake. This was a hit at my daughter's first birthday party, too!

Cake Ingredients

12 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

4 extra large eggs, at room temperature

1 tbsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp grated lemon zest, you'll need two or three large lemons (like the ones in the pic above)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (you can use the same lemons you grated for this part)

1 1/3 cup sour cream

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 1/2 - 3 cups fresh blueberries

Buttercream frosting:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

gel food coloring

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

4 tbsp milk

raspberry or strawberry preserves

1 box fondant; you can find at Walmart in the cake decorating/party isle.

Preheat your oven to 350. Butter and flour two 9-inch baking pans. 

1) I started by grating two lemons and setting them aside. Be very careful that you are aware of how you're holding the lemon if you're using a large grater! You don't want to grate yourself! Set the lemons aside to use for your fresh lemon juice, later.

2) Cream the butter and sugar in the butter in a large mixing bowl on high for five minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. 

3) Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs one at a time. I usually will set out my eggs in the morning so they have at least three hours to warm to room temperature before I use them. Because they are warmer, they will crack open easier. I cracked mine into a small bowl first, just to make sure egg shell didn't get in the mix.

4) Go ahead and add the vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice (from the lemons you grated), and sour cream.

5) Keep your mixer going, since you want everything well blended. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

6) With your mixer on low, gradually add in the flour mixture until just combined. 

7) Rinse your blueberries and gently fold into the batter with a spatula.

8) Spoon or spatula  the batter equally into the prepared pans. Use a knife or spatula to spread it out. 

9) Bake in the oven at 350 for 40 - 50 minutes. Allow to cool before continuing.

10) Once cool, place the cakes on plates or whatever work space. If the tops of the cakes are too "puffy", feel free to trim so that they are level.  Usually, I prefer to use raspberry preserves for this next part, but strawberry preserve works too. Using a knife, spread a layer evenly on on cake and placing the other cake on top.

To make your buttercream frosting:

11)  In a bowl, sift together 4 cups powdered sugar and 1/4 tsp salt. If you skip this part, the frosting will tend to be a bit chunky.

12) With your electric mixer or with a fork by hand, beat together the 1 cup room temperature butter with the sifted sugar. If you're using a mixer, start on low and then increase to medium. Mix until you everything is well mixed, about a minute or two on medium.

13) Add in the milk one tbsp at a time. If you feel like the consistency is too thin, you can always add in a bit of powdered sugar to thicken it back up again. Likewise, add another tbsp of milk to thin it out again. Mix until nice and fluffy.

14) Using a spatula, carefully spread a thin layer of buttercream over your double layer cake. This will act as an adhesive for the fondant. Keep the extra buttercream for decorating later!

15) Take out the fondant out of the box. This will be much easier to work with after kneading it for awhile. I used latex free gloves while working with mine. Take some powdered sugar to smooth over your work space. This will keep the fondant from sticking.

16) I wanted to color my fondant mint green, so I took half of my fondant and worked with that part first. I used gel coloring, adding a little at a time, til I got the color I wanted. My technique for working with my fondant was to twist and fold. You always add more coloring, but you can't take it out! For mint, I used three parts yellow to one part blue, letting the whiteness of the fondant make it even lighter.

17) When you get the fondant to the color you want,  put the it on your prepped work area. With some powdered sugar also on your rolling pin, roll out the fondant, making sure to turn the fondant and repowder the work surface as needed so that it doesn't stick.

18) When the fondant is rolled out enough, gently drape it over your rolling pin and put it over your cake.With a tool, smooth the fondant over the buttercream and work out any kinks or bumps. Cut off the excess fondant around the bottom and tucking under with your smoothing tool.

19) Now decorate as you want! I used the excess buttercream, coloring it to the same color as my fondant. I used it as adhesive for edible sugar pearls and for the ribbon of fondant going across. I used a frosting kit, $20 from Bed Bath and Beyond. When you're finished, it is best to put the cake in the fridge for a bit so that the buttercream will harden and to keep it from sweating. 

Here it is again!---->

Enjoy!