This blueberry cake gets its natural violet color from freeze dried blueberries. This cake is sure to wow even your most jaded guest.
This stunning blueberry layer cake achieves its gorgeous natural purple hue without a drop of food coloring. As a professional pastry chef, I’ve spent years perfecting this recipe that combines freeze-dried blueberries for intense color and fresh blueberries for moisture.
The result? A tender, flavorful cake with blueberry cream cheese frosting that’s become one of my most-requested recipes!
Why This Recipe Continues to be a Reader Favorite
Since publishing this recipe’s predecessor years ago, I’ve received countless messages and photos from readers. My favorite came from a mother who made over 100 blueberry cupcakes for her daughter’s wedding using this recipe as her base.
What makes me happiest about this cake is how it brings people together. It’s impressive enough for special occasions but approachable enough that home bakers feel confident tackling it. That’s exactly what I aim for with every recipe I share—professional techniques made accessible.
The natural purple color never fails to wow guests. In an age of artificial everything, serving a cake that gets its stunning hue from real fruit feels special. It’s a conversation starter that also happens to taste incredible.
Ingredient Highlights
For the Blueberry Cake:
The key to success is using freeze-dried blueberries (found at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, or Amazon) ground into a fine powder. This gives you concentrated blueberry flavor and that signature purple color. Fresh blueberries are pureed and strained to add moisture without creating pockets of fruit that can make the cake soggy.
Buttermilk and a touch of lemon zest keep this cake bright and balanced—a technique I learned in professional pastry kitchens.
For the Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting:
Equal parts butter and cream cheese create the perfect frosting consistency—sturdy enough for layering but still creamy and spreadable. More freeze-dried blueberry powder ensures the frosting matches the cake’s gorgeous color.
How to Make Blueberry Layer Cake
Step 1: Prepare Your Blueberry Powder
Use a food processor to grind freeze-dried blueberries into a fine powder. This takes about 30 seconds. You’ll need two 1.2 oz packages total—one for the cake, one for the frosting.
Step 2: Make the Blueberry Puree
Blend 7 oz fresh blueberries until smooth, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove skins. You should have about 5-6 oz of smooth puree after straining. This step is crucial for a smooth, professional texture.
Step 3: Mix the Cake Batter
Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, ensuring each is fully incorporated. Alternate adding the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, blueberry powder) with the wet ingredients (buttermilk, blueberry puree, vanilla) in three additions, starting and ending with dry.
Pro Tip: Don’t overmix once you add the flour. Mix just until you no longer see streaks—overmixing develops gluten and creates a tough cake.
Step 4: Bake to Perfection
Divide batter evenly among prepared pans (I use four 6-inch rounds for dramatic height, but three 8-inch pans work beautifully too). Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
Baker’s Note: Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto cooling racks. This prevents crumbling.
Step 5: Make the Frosting
Beat softened butter and cream cheese until completely smooth with no lumps. Add blueberry powder, vanilla, powdered sugar, and salt. Beat on low speed first to avoid a sugar cloud, then increase to medium-high for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Step 6: Assemble and Decorate
Level your cake layers if needed for perfectly flat tops. Place the first layer on your serving plate or cake board, spread with about ¾ cup frosting, and repeat with remaining layers. Use remaining frosting for a simple crumb coat and final coat, or go rustic with a naked cake look.
Decoration Ideas: Top with fresh blueberries, edible flowers, gumpaste/fondant flowers, or leave it simple—the natural purple color speaks for itself.
Tips From a Professional Pastry Chef
Measure Your Blueberry Puree After Straining: You need 7 oz of blueberries to yield about 5-6 oz of strained puree. If you measure before straining, you’ll end up with too little liquid and a dry cake.
Room Temperature Ingredients Are Essential: Cold eggs and butter don’t emulsify properly, leading to a dense cake. Set everything out 30-60 minutes before baking.
Don’t Skip the Lemon Zest: It’s not about making this a lemon cake—the zest brightens the blueberry flavor and cuts through the richness. Think of it as seasoning, not a primary flavor.
Check Your Baking Powder: Old baking powder won’t give you proper rise. Test it by adding ½ teaspoon to hot water—it should bubble vigorously.
Make-Ahead & Storage Notes
Make-Ahead: Bake cake layers up to 2 days ahead. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature. For best results, may frosting the day you plan to frost and assemble.
Freezing: Unfrosted cake layers freeze beautifully for up to 3 months. Wrap in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before assembling.
Storage: Finished cake keeps at room temperature for 2 days or refrigerated for up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before serving for the best texture and flavor.
Common Questions
No, fresh blueberries won’t give you the color or concentrated flavor. The freeze-dried blueberries are what make this recipe special. You can find them in the dried fruit section or order online.
Absolutely! This batter makes about 24 cupcakes. Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes. Check out my original blueberry-blackberry cupcakes for inspiration.
I don’t recommend it for this recipe. Butter provides structure and flavor that oil can’t replicate. The creaming method (beating butter and sugar) is also crucial for the texture.
Baby showers, bridal showers, spring and summer birthdays, Mother’s Day, or any time you want to serve something truly special. I’ve had readers make this for weddings!
Related Berry Recipes
Blueberry Cake with Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Blueberry Cake:
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour (450 g)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1.2 oz package freeze dried blueberries, ground into a powder*
- 1 cup unsalted butter (227 g), room temp
- 1 ⅓ cup granulated sugar (265 g)
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar (135 g), packed
- 1 teaspon finely grated lemon zest
- 4 large eggs, room temp
- ¾ cup buttermilk, room temp
- 7 oz fresh blueberries, pureed and strained (about 6oz after straining)*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste, or pure vanilla extract
Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (227 g), room temp
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla paste, or pure vanilla extract
- 1.2 oz package freeze dried blueberries, ground to a powder
- 4 cups powdered sugar (480 g)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Blueberry Cake:
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line four 6-inch cake rounds (or three 8-inch rounds) with parchment paper. Lightly butter and set aside.
- Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and blueberry powder. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. Add lemon zest.
- Add Eggs: Add eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed until each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Scrape down bowl between additions.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: In a measuring cup, whisk together buttermilk, strained blueberry puree, and vanilla.
- Alternate Mixing: With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Mix just until no streaks remain. Do not overmix. Scrape down bowl to ensure even mixing.
- Bake: Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Smooth tops with offset spatula or back of spoon. Bake for 30-35 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
- Cool: Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks. Cool completely before frosting (about 1 hour)
Blueberry Frosting:
- Beat Butter and Cream Cheese: In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until completely smooth with no lumps. Scrape down bowl as needed.
- Add Remaining Ingredients: Add vanilla paste, blueberry powder, powdered sugar, and salt. Mix on low speed until combined, then increase to medium-high and beat for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Assemble: If desired, level cake layers with a serrated knife. Place first layer on serving plate or cake board. Spread with about ¾ cup frosting. Repeat with remaining layers. Use remaining frosting for crumb coat and final coat, or create a rustic naked cake look. Top with fresh blueberries if desired.
Notes
- To make blueberry powder, pulse freeze-dried blueberries in a food processor for 30 seconds until finely ground. You’ll need two 1.2 oz packages total for this recipe.
- IMPORTANT: Measure blueberries AFTER pureeing and straining, not before. You should have 5-6 oz of smooth puree after removing the skins.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Hi! Should this cake be refrigerated before serving?
You can keep the cake refrigerated until you are ready to serve. Allow the cake to warm up to room temperature before serving.
Hi i was wondering if you can use cake flour instead of AP for a even more tender cake?
Hi Nicole, I haven’t tested this recipe using cake flour. I’m not sure how it will turn out.
HI! I just found this recipe this morning looking for a 1st birthday cake for my son who loves. . .blueberries! I have only two 6-inch cake pans on hand. Would you recommend I bake shorter layers in two batches or do you think I can bake two layers and cut them with a serrated knife? what a lovely recipe and I would never have known to use freeze dried blueberries.
Looks beautiful! Can you freeze the baked cake layers? Also, could you make as a standard 2-layer cake in 9″ cake pans? I don’t have the smaller versions. Thanks!
Hi Kristin, I have not tested freezing this cake. Yes, you can bake this in a 9″ cake pan- however, the layers will be rather short.
Hi, I love this blueberries cake so much.. the color is so nice. Would like to make this cake for my son 2 years old birthday in this February. It is a bit hard for me to get the freeze dried blueberries at my area. Is it ok to replace with dried blueberries? Thanks a lot.
No, you cannot substitute dried blueberries. Freeze dried blueberries are devoid of moisture. Dried blueberries still have a ton of moisture. You can simply omit the dried blueberries in the recipe, however the cake/frosting won’t be same color as the photos. I hope that helps!
Hi,
I love the idea of your cake so much but couldn’t get my hands on tried blueberries.Will it taste the same if I use blackberries? i hope you can reply before Aug 17th,it’s my husband’s b’day.
This recipes works with any freeze dried fruits. You may have to adjust the amount of sugar if you use blackberries.
Hi Ellen, yes I used four 6-inch cake pans. I ended up slicing the cakes into two layers each. I didn’t use all the layers. You can also use this recipe to bake in four 8-inch cake pans.
Hello! I have plans to make this lovely cake for an event on Saturday. As far as the pan sizes, do you just use (4) 6×2 cake pans? The picture looks like your cake has 5 layers. Thanks so much!
What if I used dehydrated blueberries. Would be easier to use my dehydrator then to order freeze dried off amazon.
Hi Sequoia. Freeze dried blueberries have 99% percent of the moisture removed. Dehydrated blueberries have a bit more moisture in them. I’ve never tried it in this recipe, so I’m not sure how it will turn out.
Hi. When you mean freeze dried blueberries do you mean the ones that are actually whole or the powder version? Cause when I look up freeze dried blueberries it just looks like whole blueberries dried up.
I purchase whole freeze dried blueberries and then grind them in a food processor to a fine powder.
Hello…the cake is gorgeous, and it looks very delicious! I am on a crazy hunt for the best way to make a pink cake for my daughter’s birthday. I don’t want to use any dye. I’ve had MANY failed attempts, please visit my blog if you like to see disasters. :) Do you think freeze dried strawberries or raspberries could add enough color to make the cake pink? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Amanda at luckynumber3.com
Hi Amanda, thanks so much! I suggest using freeze dried raspberries. They have a darker, richer color than freeze dried strawberries. You’ll need to use a lot to make the cake pink. To make the color really pop in the cake, you should use a recipe that doesn’t use egg yolks. The yolks will turn the cake tan/brownish. I think your best bet would be to use freeze dried raspberries in a light sponge cake recipe that uses all egg whites. I hope that helps.