Frosted Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake is perfect for summer because it feels...fresh. There's a little zip from the lemon and blueberries bursting throughout. The cake is soft and tender. Oh, and there's frosting. A cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese frosting is welcome any time of year.
First, let's talk about preparing a Bundt pan. Y'all. There is no rushing or doing this halfway. If you don't do it right, you'll be scraping cake out of your pan and wishing you could go back in time.
The Bundt pan I used here is the Nordic Ware Heritage Bundt Pan. Any Bundt pan that holds 10-12 cups will work. A 6-cup Bundt pan will be too small. (This particular pan comes in both sizes.)
To prepare a Bundt pan, grease it with shortening. Shortening works better than butter. Don't get mad at me - I'm just the messenger. Use a paper towel and a basting/pastry brush to get the entire surface, including crevasses.
Then, you'll spoon flour into the pan, and tap it all the way around, making sure to coat all of the shortening. If you notice a bare spot, use your finger to strategically add more shortening in that area. Then flour it.
Tap the excess flour out. It's better to do this over the trashcan than in the sink. Flour plus water in the sink will leave a sticky mess.
Now we're ready to make our Frosted Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake!
The cake recipe is straightforward. It's your typical creaming butter with sugar, adding eggs, then alternating the liquid and dry ingredients.
I use buttermilk in this recipe for that tangy flavor that goes so well with the lemon.
Here's a trick to keeping the blueberries from sinking straight to the bottom. Pour the cake batter into the pan, then add the blueberries, using an icing spatula to gently swirl them in.
Once the cake is baked (see how the blueberries didn't sink?), let it rest in the pan for a few minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cake is cooling, brush it with Pure Lemon Paste if you have it. It's not essential but just adds a bit more lemon flavor. (If you do have it or purchase it for this recipe, be sure to make these Lemon Sweet Rolls!)
Make the frosting, then spoon it into a large piping bag. Snip the tip, leaving a large opening. Pipe onto the cake, using the shape of your Bundt pan to guide where you add frosting.
I like to let this set up in the fridge before serving...or cutting in half for a half birthday celebration.
Oh, and these little containers are PERFECT for half birthday cakes - or if you just want to send half of a cake to your neighbor. They're also good for transporting cookies and all sorts of goodies!
Frosted Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
for the cake:
2 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup salted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
[NOTE: shake the buttermilk well before measuring.]
Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour a Bundt pan. Use shortening to grease and a pastry brush to get every bit of the pan.
Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt together.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
Add the flour in three additions, alternating with buttermilk. Mix just until combined.
Pour into the prepared pan. Use a cake spatula to gently stir in blueberries. Bake for about 1 hour until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan.
After 5 minutes, invert a wire cooling rack on the top of the cake. Use oven mitts to flip the pan onto the rack. Wait one minute, then remove the pan. The cake should come out cleanly. If not, run a knife along the edge and try again.
