For Easter, I thought I would try this Facebook recipe for the “Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake”. Omar’s mom loved lemon desserts, so it seemed like a no brainer.
First off, you can get the full recipe HERE.
I made this recipe as 1 1/2 times as much as I wanted extra for cupcakes to sample.
It is a fairly simple recipe. The arbitrary amount is the “juice from 3 lemons”. Doesn’t really say how much juice you are supposed to get from this.
It was a bit difficult to incorporate the buttermilk and juice without “overworking” the batter that it keeps warning you not to do. Perhaps that is where the cake went, for me, a bit south.
I thought the overall texture of the cake was heavy and very dense. With a lemon cake, you want it light and airy, which this was definitely not. I find blueberries in themselves a bit bitter sometimes. I am not sure if it was the buttermilk in the recipe that had an odd flavor, but between the denseness of the cake, and odd overtones of the buttermilk, I was just not a fan of this cake.
Part of the problem is as well, when you make a cake with a cream cheese frosting, it has to be refrigerated. That in itself dries a cake out. Even if you let the cake return to room temperature before serving (which I did), it still seemed a bit dry.
The verdict on this cake was mixed. Some liked it, some did not. I was not a fan. My recommendation to you all if trying this recipe:
When you get to the “adding the buttermilk and lemon juice portion” try adding all at once and carefully folding in. I tried to alternate as I was afraid the lemon juice would curdle the buttermilk (which I am sure it does, also part of the problem). It is this alternating that I think overworked my batter.
I would also make it and serve it the same day if possible so you don’t have to refrigerate right away.
Or better yet, just make a boxed lemon cake (shh… I won’t tell) and add some blueberries and homemade frosting. Sometimes you gotta go with what works!! I would not make this again. I would with the lemon boxed cake method, since A. Its easier and B. Tastes better.