MUST. MAKE.
This was the body of the email my friend Sherra sent me with a link to the recipe I am sharing with you today.
The recipe was for a Lemon Blueberry Marble Cake.
We celebrated my mom’s birthday this last weekend so I thought that was the perfect opportunity to give it a try. I love baking cakes. Cakes like this one take a little time and effort and I really enjoy that process and time in the kitchen. This is not a “quick I need a dessert” type recipe. This cake is for when you want to create something pretty and delicious for someone special. Like your mom. Like your mom who is turning 82! (sorry mom I had to tell)
I’ve got great genes don’t I!
I love the flavor combination of lemon and blueberry and this cake did not disappoint.
The cake is a 3 layer cake made from scratch using cake flour with lemon zest and lemon extract so it has a nice lovely light lemon flavor.
The original recipe had a recipe for homemade blueberry lemon jam but I used storebought blueberry jam that had lemon juice in it so we were good to go. I love this brand of jam and I love their jars even more. I use them in myvcraft room to hold all kinds of treasures.
To help with time, I made the cake layers the night before and after they cooled I wrapped them in plastic wrap.
You reserve part of the cake batter and mix in some of the blueberry lemon jam and then swirl it in with the other cake batter.
After your layers are cool you are ready to start assembly of the cake. Use half of the blueberry jam on top of the bottom layer of cake and then place the second layer on top of that and spread with the remaining jam. Add the third layer and you are ready to frost it.
I had never made frosting like the one called for in the recipe. If you like butter you will like this frosting. It has ALOT of butter in it (1 1/2 C) and not only tastes like butter but has a very butter like consistency to it. There is actually very little sugar (only 1 cup) in this recipe.
You do need a candy thermometer to heat the sugar and water to a soft ball stage. The syrup is then added into the beaten eggs. You need to be sure you add the hot syrup slowly and allow it to pour down the side of the bowl. You don’t want it to hit the beaters or it may splash all over you. More lemon extract is added and you then beat this mixture for a while – a long while. Fifteen to twenty minutes to be exact. At first it will look like you did something wrong – at least I thought I did. It will be very runny.
But keep beating and it will turn into this!
And then you take all that buttery creaminess and cover your cake in it. And you have this!
Amazing yumminess!
So pretty and delicious!
So if you have someone celebrating a birthday at your house or even if you don’t you MUST. MAKE. Thanks Sherra!
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Lemon Blueberry Marble Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 sticks butter room temperature
- 2 C granulated sugar
- 2 tsp grated lemon zest
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 7 egg whites
- 3 C cake flour
- 4 tsp baking power
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 C whole milk
- 1 13 oz. jar blueberry jam with lemon juice
Frosting
- 1 C granulated sugar
- 1/4 C water
- 2 eggs
- 3 sticks 1 1/2 C butter, room temperature
- 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease and flour 3 eight inch cake pans and line bottom with wax paper.
- Cream together butter, sugar, lemon zest and lemon extract until fluffy.
- Add in the egg whites gradually, a couple at a time. Beat well between additions and scrape down sides of bowl.
- Mix together in another bowl the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Alternating flour and milk, beat the dry ingredients and milk into the butter mixture. Beat on medium speed for one minute to eliminate any lumps.
- Set aside 1 cup of batter in a small bowl.
- Divide the remaining batter between the three cake pans, smooth top with spatula.
- Add 2 1/2 Tbsp jam to the reserved batter and mix well.
- Drizzle by the teaspoon over the batter in the pans.
- Use a wooden skewer to swirl the blueberry mixture into the lemon batter without mixing it in.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and cake pulls away from the sides.s
- Let cool for 10-15 minutes and remove from pan onto a wire rack. Cool completely.
Frosting
- In a small pan combine the sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stir to dissolve sugar.
- Continue boiling without stirring. Use a pastry brush and some water to wash down the sides of the pan to remove sugar on the sides of pan. Heat until syrup reaches the soft ball stage or 238 degrees. Immediately remove from heat.
- In a large mixer beat the eggs briefly on medium speed.
- Slowly add the hot syrup in a thin stream, pouring it down the sides of the bowl. Do not allow it to hit the beaters or may splash.
- After all the syrup has been added raise speed to medium high speed and beat until the mixture is fluffy and cooled to body temperature. About 15-20 minutes.
- Reduce speed to medium low and gradually add the softened butter 2 - 3 Tbsp at a time, beat well between additions.
- Add in lemon juice and zest.
- To assemble cake place one layer on cake stand and spread with half the blueberry jam. Place second layer on top and spread with the remaining blueberry jam. Add third layer and frost the cake on top and the sides with buttercream. Garnish with blueberries and lemon slices
- Serve and enjoy.
- Recipe from www.lickthebowlgood.blogspot.com
Thanks also to Lick The Bowl Good where the recipe came from.
This looks amazing! I want to make a lemon/blueberry marbled cake for my wedding. Would this recipe be sturdy enough to add a second tier of 2-3 6″ layers on top (with dowels of course)?
I think it would but I would be sure and experiment first before the wedding!
Just made this for my husbands birthday cake tomorrow and I can wait to have a slice! The crumbs and initial taste tests are delicious. Here are the variations that I did:
1. Hubby requested raspeberries instead of blueberries. I intend to make the original recipe for my best friend next week.
2. The icing while buttery was delicious. I had a few panick moments during the icing recipe. First I couldn’t get the syrup up to specified temp according to my candy thermometer. It only got to 220, but it stil came out ok. It was very fluffy before adding the butter then the whole fluff collapsed once adding the butter *panic*
I then beat it on med high and it separated *panic* I then beat on high for eternity and it came back together and whipped up beautifully. It was delicious as is but I added 2 cups of powdered sugar to offset the raspberry tartness in the rest of the cake and stretch the frosting a bit. Also the icing recipe calls for “2eggs” but that didn’t sound right to me so I used 2 egg whites.
3. I recommend making extra icing to use in between the layers along with the jelly. I only say this because it helps to level your layers with icing first (if you are obsessive about a perfectly level cake like I am). I then chilled my cake before crumb coat to keep the whole thing sturdy and stable.
Hope this helps!!
Love the idea of adding raspberries to it.
This looks like an absolutely perfect summer dessert! Do you think it could be made with a different lemon frosting just to reduce the time? I don’t always have time to make desserts that take a long time, but I’m thinking a lemon cream cheese frosting would also do this justice, although not nearly as much as the original!
Christina, I am sure it would be delicious!
Hi! This cake sounds so yummy! I’m making it for Easter, this Sunday. Can I make it tonight (Friday) And will it stay okay?
Thank you!
It should be fine – enjoy!
I have made this cake three times and each time it turns out perfectly. This is one of my favorite cake recipes thank you so much for sharing!
I recently made these into cupcakes using blackberries instead of blueberries and they turned out amazing! I featured these on my blog: http://www.easyaspiebysjp.com/recipes/2015/3/3/blackberry-lemon-marble-cupcakes
Thank you for being such an inspiration!
-Samantha
Samantha, Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment. I love that you love the cake too!! Thanks for the link to the cupcake recipe – sounds yummy!!
Hello! I made this cake today, but my layers came out to only be maybe 3/4″ thick. I can’t figure if maybe I used too much liquids or beat the mixture too long? Or maybe I needed to tweak this recipe for high altitude? Please let me k ow if this has ever happened to you and what I can do for the net time I make it. Thank you!!!
That was exactly what happened with mine!
It was delicious nonetheless, and there was plenty to go around-
just wish it had the height for added elegance!
Made two versions of this cake for a family gathering – lemon blueberry cake as in recipe and another one using mango jam. Both cakes were a hit! Thank you for sharing such a delicious treat. I haven’t made a cake from scratch in decades (literally!), but this recipe was very easy to follow. I used the whipped topping frosting, as one post suggested – with lemon pudding on the blueberry cake and vanilla pudding on the mango cake. This recipe is a keeper!
This would be sooo good frozen! Mmmm…I’m having a party in my mouth just thinking about it!
I made this cake yesterday for our belated Mother’s Day celebration and it was TO DIE FOR. I had 18 people at my home and EVERYONE loved this cake. I did not make the frosting that went with the recipe as some said it tasted too much like butter so instead made my own using lemon pudding, half the milk it calls for on the box and 8 oz. tub of cool whip. Wanted something light and it was the perfect combination. Everybody raved about this cake! You will not be disappointed. My mom said it was the best cake she ever ate. Thank you so much for the recipe. This will definitely be a keeper in my book of recipes!!!!!
I am so glad it was such a hit! I love to hear that. I will definitely use a different frosting recipe also the next time I make it. Yours sounds delicious!
Hi can’t wait to try this recipe, was wondering could you use half the butter for frosting? Also could you share the blueberry homade jam recipe. We have lots of blueberries from farm picking. Thanks so much look forward to hearing from you 🙂
Just discovered your comment – so sorry!! You could definitely cut down on the butter and I will next time. I did not make the blueberry jam but bought it.
I have to have this cake…and I really don;t like cake:) looks SO amazing
This one may make you a cake fan!
Hi! I found this on Pinterest and clicked on the link because my boyfriend had picked it for our parties’ dessert tonight off my pinned desserts and WOW. Sooooo beautiful, this cake was amazing thanks so much, made me feel like a pro 😉 i just had to let you know that I attempted this and was a great success.
So glad all went well and you enjoyed it.
Do you actually mean wax paper or parchment paper? I had always heard that you shouldn’t put wax paper in the oven.
Thanks!
You can use either. I use wax paper all the time and it works just fine.
Would it be possible to make the layers ahead of time and freeze them for a few days until assembling the cake?
I haven’t done it but I think it should work just fine. Just wrap them up nice and tight so they don’t dry out..
This is such a beautiful cake Leigh Anne! Love that your Mom made a cameo as well, she is adorable! 🙂 So cute!
Thanks Niki – isn’t she a cutie!
I am already a huge fan if this cake! It looks simply heavenly delicious!!! Your pictures are beautiful and so is your mom! You’re so sweet to make this for her birthday, but I’m sure she was delighted!!
Blessings,
Leslie
Made this over the Christmas holiday and it was such an amazing hit! I’m already planning other flavors for all the upcoming family birthdays!! Thank you!
So glad it was a hit!! Yeah!!
Made this cake not long ago for a dinner party. The cake was FABULOUS. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about the icing. It tasted like I spread a stick of butter over the top of the cake. I would definitely make this cake again, but will find another icing to substitute!
Glad you enjoyed the cake and you are right about the frosting – it is very buttery!!!
I agree, it was a littler too buttery for me, so I just added confectioners sugar to it and it came out to die for.
hello ! I tried this recipe yesterday and the cake was soooo delicious ! I just had lots of trouble with the frosting… I’m a beginner and I’m sure I did something wrong but i tried to follow the instructions step by step so I was wondering if you could please tell me what I did wrong… i first whipped only the 2 egg whites so it would be fluffly and then I added the sugar that was more like a syrup and I then beat it more and from this moment on it was super liquid and it never again had frosting consistency… I added the butter (not melted, the complete sticks) and it was even more liquid… then i added the lemon zest and the lemon juice and it was sooo delicious but it was not consistent… 🙁 I would appreciate a lot if you told me what I did wrong…I used an electric beater…Thank you !!!
Couple of questions – did you use a candy thermometer for the temperature of your sugar mixture? Also it will be liquid and look wrong in the beginning but you may not have beat it long enough. I used a stand mixer not a hand mixer. Thinking maybe it was the temperature of your sugar mixture??
thank you so much for answering !! I would really like to get your cake and frosting right since it tasted delicious !! I didn’t use a candy thermometer… I waited until it was syrupy and the sugar was all melted…but then it started boiling and was becoming really liquid so I removed it from the fire and put it in the egg mix. Another thing…I only used the egg whites and beat them until it was really really fluffy…is that correct? I don’t think I didn’t beat long enough though, I beat it for a loong long time….
Do you think it was the temperature of the candy ? How long does it take approximately for it to get to the ball stage?
Thank you so much !! I enjoy a lot your website !
I think not using a candy thermometer could definitely effect the results. I really don’t know how long it takes to get to the ball stage as each stove is different. Whether you use gas or electric can all affect the amount of time. I would recommend if you are going to try it again that you use a candy thermometer.
I will try it again soon and definitely use a candy thermometer… thanks a lot !
I am wondering what you put between the layers…It looks blue…Is it just more Blueberry jam? It seems like you would have to use bunch.
Yes, I used Blueberry Jam. The recipe explains how much I used, etc. Just one jar.
This recipe looks delicious but I don’t know how to adjust 2 sticks of butter into grams or cup.Can you help me please .
2 sticks of butter is equal to one cup
2 sticks of butter would be 226 grams
Hi there, I would love to try this recipe, but am wondering, are what are the correct measurements for the butter? I am not sure if you are referring to American stick of butter or..? It would be good if you can provide the measurements in grammes. Thanks!
An American stick of butter is equal to 1/2 Cup I don’t know what the gram measurement would be – sorry
AHH! another perfect recipe for the baby shower!. I LOVE THIS!.. and your Mom is just DARLING! Hapy Happy Birthday !!!
I’ll take a big bowl of that frosting and a spoon please!! Sounds incredible.
No way! I thought your mom was in around 60 yo! She looks great! And so does this cake!
Thanks Cindy I hope I look that good at 82!
Your mom is so beautiful you are definitely her daughter! I mentioned the other day on the reading post a friend recommending wild. I started reading it and although the story is good the F word is very prevalent just wanted to clarify that since I didn’t know before reading!
What a gorgeous looking cake…I love all the swirls and blueberries in it!!!
Your mom is beautiful! You do have great genes – lucky you! She is lucky also to have such a delicious cake for her birthday. I love blueberry and lemon, this may be my next birthday cake too.
Looks good. You look just like your mom. Linda Gerig in. Mi
This cake looks so good! And your mom looks amazing 🙂 Beautiful pictures as well.
Happy birthday to your mom! What a gorgeous birthday cake – I adore blueberries and lemons together, they’re totally perfect.
Happy Birthday to your sweet, young-looking mom! ?
You beat me to making the cake – no surprise since you cook at least 10x as much as I do! It’s tough to turn on the oven in this summer heatwave! It looks delicious and I’m intrigued by your description of the butter frosting now. I don’t like super sweet frosting and I’m thinking everything is better with butter, right?! Happy Birthday to your mom – she does look fabulous!
Let me know when you make the cake. I think next time I will try it with raspberries.
#1 your mom is beautiful
#2 how did she know to wear a beautiful blue shirt to offset the beautiful yellow cake 🙂
#3 this cake looks absolutely devine!!! I really want to try this!!
#4 thanks for posting!
Bonnie – she was dressed perfectly for the photo op! Thanks
Oh my this cake looks amazing and delicious! Two of my favorite flavors for sure! What a nice treat to celebrate your mother.
I hope I look that good when I turn 82. Happy Birthday ! 🙂
Me toO!!
Me three!
This is a beautiful blueberry marble cake and it is so very healthy! We are going to serve this as a Memorial Day treat this evening for our dieting group, my daughters will help me with this recipe. The blueberries are beautiful and they cause great weight loss, this is a healthy scone with all those blueberries. See my latest post on Berries