Lemon Blackberry Cake

This lemon blackberry cake is flavored with lavender and fresh lemon! It’s a moist three layer cake with fresh blackberries and tangy lemon cream cheese frosting. It is the perfect recipe for spring and summer!

Fluffy Lemon Blackberry Cake is full of lemon flavor and the perfect hint of lavender. It is layered with fresh blackberries and luscious lemon cream cheese icing!

If you’re looking for more lemon recipes, try my Lemon Blackberry Cupcakes, my Lemon Sour Cream Cookies and this Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Cake.

Why You’ll Love This Cake

• This blackberry lemon cake is a moist and delicious.
• It’s flavored with lemon and hinted with lavender just like my glazed blueberry lemon scones.
• The cream cheese frosting has a tangy flavor from the cream cheese and lemon zest! It brings out the lemon flavor of the cake. It’s also delicious on my cupcakes with blueberry filling.
• This lemon and blackberry cake is filled with juicy blackberries! Lemon and blackberry make an amazing combination! Looking for another amazing lemon cake? Try this chocolate lemon cake recipe.

Ingredients

Below are useful notes on some of the ingredients for this lemon and blackberry cake.

• All purpose flour and almond flour: This recipe uses mostly all purpose flour plus a little almond flour. Almond flour gives the cake a nice, tender crumb.
• Culinary lavender: Lavender adds a lovely hint of flavor. It’s delicious with the lemon and berries. English Lavender is the most common type of lavender used for baking. For more information about lavender, check out this What Makes Lavender Culinary post.
• Blackberries: This lemon cake with blackberry filling is made with fresh blackberries just like my delicious blackberry almond cake.
• Unsalted butter: Use room temperature unsalted butter for the cake and the frosting.
• Lemon zest: Lemon zest adds fresh, tangy flavor. Zest only the yellow part of the peel. For more lemony cakes, try my recipe for Fruity Pebbles cake and preserved lemon tea cake.
• 3 large eggs: 3 large room temperature eggs.
• Sour cream: Use full fat room temperature sour cream. Sour cream makes this cake tender and delicious. If you have leftover sour cream, be sure to try my lemon sour cream cookies!
• Milk: Use whole, room temperature milk for the cake.
• Cream cheese: Use full fat, room temperature block style cream cheese. Do not use cream cheese spread. 
• Powdered sugar: Sift powdered sugar before using. This will ensure your frosting is free of bumps from the powdered sugar.

See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and their measurements.

Substitutions & Variations

• Plain whole fat yogurt can be used in place of sour cream.
• Use all purpose flour in place of almond flour.
• If you do not have lavender or prefer not to use it, you can leave it out. The cake will still be delicious!
• Buttermilk is a good substitute for the milk in the cake. You can use heavy cream in place of the milk in the frosting.
• Fresh blueberries or raspberries are great substitutes for blackberries.

Step By Step Instructions

Below are directions for making this lemon cake with blackberry frosting.

STEP 1: Combine the dry ingredients.

STEP 2: Using a mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.

STEP 3: Add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla extract.  

STEP 4: Stir in half the dry ingredients with a spatula. Stir in the sour cream or yogurt followed by the milk. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients. 

STEP 5: Pour batter evenly into 3 6″ straight edge cake pans. Bake for 26-32 minutes. Cool layers on cooling racks.

STEP 6: Beat the butter and the cream cheese until combined. Add the rest of the ingredients. Beat until light and fluffy.

STEP 7: Place the first layer on a cake stand. Frost the layer and top with blackberries. Add the next layer and top with frosting and blackberries. Place the third layer of cake upside down. Frost the top and on the sides of the cake. If making a naked cake, use a cake scraper to scrape off any excess frosting. Top with blackberries if you like!

Recipe FAQs

Expert Tips

• Tip #1: Use a scale to weigh your cake pans while you’re adding the batter. This is the easiest way I’ve found to make sure my batter is distributed evenly.
• Tip #2: When assembling the cake, look at the cake from all sides to make sure the layers are on evenly.
• Tip #3: Use full fat, block cream cheese for the frosting. Do not use cream cheese spread. 
• Tip #4: I recommend using a microplane to grate the lemons. A microplane has a long, narrow blade with sharp edges. It’s perfect for zesting citrus.

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Lemon Blackberry Cake

Natalie

This three layer Lemon Blackberry Cake is moist, fresh and delicious. It's layered with lemon cream cheese frosting and filled and topped with fresh blackberries! 

5 from 18 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 2 hours hrs

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Cakes

Cuisine American

Servings 10 servings

Calories 796 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Mixing bowls
• ▢
  Hand mixer
• ▢
  kitchen scale
• ▢
  3 6 inch cake pans

Ingredients

 

0.5x1x2x

Lemon Cake

• ▢ 2 cups (250 g) all purpose flour
• ▢ 1/2 cup (118 g) almond flour or use additional all purpose flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons culinary lavender optional
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoons salt
• ▢ 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter room temperature
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• ▢ 3 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/4 cup (61 g) sour cream room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 cup (118 ml) whole milk room temperature

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

• ▢ 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter room temperature
• ▢ 7 ounces (198 g) cream cheese full fat, room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 tablespoons whole milk or use heavy cream, add a little more if needed
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• ▢ 3¼ cups (390 g) powdered sugar sifted, add an extra ¼-½ cup if needed
• ▢ pinch salt

Blackberry Filling

• ▢ 12 ounces (340 g) blackberries fresh, for layering and topping

Instructions

 

Lemon Cake

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 3 6″ straight edge cake pans. Line  with parchment paper. 
• In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the  all purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, lavender and salt. Set aside.
• In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a hand held mixer cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and mix two more minutes on medium high speed. 
• Stir in half the dry ingredients with a spatula. Stir in the sour cream (or yogurt)  followed by the milk. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients. 
• Pour batter evenly into greased layer pans. Bake for 26-32 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of each cake. Remove from oven and place a cooling rack on top of each cake pan and invert. The cake should fall to the rack on its own. 
• Allow cakes to cool at room temperature before trimming tops. Once cooled, use a cake leveler or a sharp bread knife to trim the tops of the cakes to make sure you have even layers. Wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and freeze before frosting. 

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and the cream cheese on medium until combined. Turn  the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of the milk or cream, lemon zest, vanilla extract  and salt. Beat 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, add up to a tablespoon more of milk until desired consistency.

Assembling and Decorating

• Dab a tablespoon of frosting in the middle of the cake stand or cake board to help keep the cake in place. Place the first layer on the cake stand. Spread an even layer of frosting overtop. Arrange an even layer of blackberries on top. Add the next cake on top and look at it from all sides to make sure it is on evenly. Spread an even layer of frosting on top and arrange another even layer of blackberries. 
• Place the third layer upside down to make sure that the top is as even as possible. Use a spatula to dollop the rest of the frosting on top and on the sides of the cake. If making a naked cake, use a cake scraper to scrape off any excess frosting. Add some or all of the remaining blackberries to the top of the cake. Zest additional lemon on top, if desired. 

Notes

Almond flour: Use more all purpose flour in place of almond flour.

Sour cream: Use plain whole fat yogurt as a substitute for sour cream. 

Lavender: If you do not have lavender or don’t want to use it, you can simply leave it out of the recipe. The cake will still be delicious!

Storage: Store leftover blackberry lemon cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Freeze leftover cake slices in an airtight container for up to 30 days. Unwrap and thaw slices on a plate in the fridge about 2 hours before serving. The cake layers can be frozen. Wrap cake layers in a layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil. Place layers in a large freezer safe container and freeze for up to 30 days. Thaw the layers in the refrigerator while they are still wrapped.

Cream cheese: Use full fat, block cream cheese. Do not use cream cheese spread. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 796kcalCarbohydrates: 97gProtein: 9gFat: 44gSaturated Fat: 23gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 147mgSodium: 295mgPotassium: 169mgFiber: 4gSugar: 72gVitamin A: 1321IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 147mgIron: 2mg

Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.

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