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Lemon Blueberry Cake (6 Inch Small Batch Cake)

Lemon blueberry cake with lemon curd filling and torched meringue is the perfect celebratory cake - in a small packaging. This is a 6 inch cake, perfect for smaller gatherings. Even though we can't always justify big cakes, we can always have delicious cake!

 

Lemon blueberry cake filled with lemon curd.

 

Small cakes for smaller gatherings

 

It is inevitable. Our gatherings have drastically minimized during the last year, and I see that in what recipes people want. You want recipes for smaller cakes, and smaller cake recipes I will give you. 

 

Flat-lay with multiple cakes and hands reaching for the cake stand in the middle.

 

This is part 1 of 3 in my small cakes series, the two others will be uploaded in the next 4 weeks. Update: here's cake #2 The Salted Caramel Chai Cake with a delicious coffee chocolate buttercream and #3 Chocolate Raspberry Cake with a luxurious Baileys buttercream.

 

They are all compiled in this 6 Inch Cakes and other small batch desserts round-up!

 

All of them use the same base recipe for the cake batter, with just minor alterations to create vastly different cakes. 

 

Fun fact: it is actually a variation of my basic cupcake recipe. Almost like a pound cake recipe, with just a few basic ingredients. This cake needs to be easy, and it definitely is!

 

Two slices with blueberry cake and the whole cake on the side. Flatlay.

 

1, 2 or 3 layers to this cake

 

I considered making 3 layers to this cake, but then I thought it wasn't so small batch cake anymore. 2 layers can also be a lot if you're just two, but it keeps pretty well for several days and I highly recommend making 2 layers so that you can fill it with lemon curd!

 

However, I wanted to make a table of how you can alter this recipe for 1, 2 and 3 layers. And you could also make this recipe into cupcakes! Cupcakes are easy to freeze if they are unfrosted, so that's a great idea if you don't want to eat everything in 3-4 days.

 

Chart on how to make this cake with 1, 2 or 3 layers.

 

Lemon curd filling

 

Lemon curd is the reason for why this recipe originally has two layers instead of one. Now you can add fillings into it, aka the best lemon curd ever. Or if you want to make a new cake out of this, use mango lime curd instead!

 

You only need about ½ cup of lemon curd for this cake, and that's not so easy to make. I have reduced the recipe a bit for this cake, using 3 lemons, 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk, ½ cup sugar, pinch salt and 1 stick of butter. Same instructions as before. That makes about 1 cup of lemon curd, which is perfect for a 3 layered 6 inch cake. 

 

Lemon blueberry cake filled with lemon curd.

 

Leftover lemon curd can be frozen, or it can be used in these recipes:

 

There's no problem in using store-bought lemon curd too, if that's more your thing!

 

For this lemon blueberry cake recipe you will end up with 2 extra egg yolks (or 3 if using store-bought lemon curd), these can be used in a crème anglaise vanilla custard sauce, in these wild mushroom ravioli, or in vanilla pastry cream

 

The whole lemon blueberry cake in the front and hands holding a plate with a slice in the background.

 

The Meringue Marshmallowy Frosting

 

As I have mentioned previously, making Swiss meringue isn't as terrifying as many make it to be. It is actually very easy! Swiss meringue is egg whites and sugar heated on the stove and then whipped until peaks. 

 

My go-to is French meringue, which is uncooked. That is what I use in macarons and pavlova. However, I think Swiss works better in frosting because it is more stable.

 

There's one extremely important rule when it comes to all kinds of meringue, and that is that everything needs to be fat-free. If you get just the tiniest speck of egg yolk in your egg whites, the meringue will not stiffen. 

 

Cake topped with torched meringue on a small brown cake stand.

 

That means you also should clean the bowl of your stand mixer and the balloon whip, and anything that will come in direct contact with the meringue. No matter if you think it's already clean. If you do that, and make sure there's no egg yolks, it is really hard to mess up. 

 

To make extra sure, you can wipe the bowl with a little lemon, but I have never found the need to do so. 

 

Place the stand mixer bowl on top of a small saucepan with simmering water, and add egg whites, sugar and a pinch of salt. Stir with a spatula until the sugar crystals have melted and the mixture is all smooth, add in vanilla extract.

 

Now place the bowl back into the stand mixer and while gradually increasing the speed, whip until soft peaks (the peak of the meringue will droop a little). This takes somewhere between 5-10 minutes. 

 

Cake with torched meringue on a brown cake stand. Blue background.

 

If you find that you have too many egg whites leftover, you can also use them in a matcha dalgona, whiskey sour or gin fizz (perfect if you have only one leftover), or of course macarons or pavlova if you have more. 

 

Fresh or frozen blueberries in cakes?

 

Frozen blueberries are frozen when the blueberries are at their peak, so they are guaranteed to be as tasty as can be. The nutrients and flavor are preserved when frozen. In this recipe, I have used frozen European blueberries as they are so much more flavorful than the large American blueberries. 

 

You are most likely to find these smaller blueberries in the freezer section anyway, so I'd look there before going for the fresh ones. I also think the frozen berries are easier to fold into the batter without breaking them. 

 

Two small bowls, one with large American blueberries, and one with smaller European blueberries.

 

They may bleed a little bit once baking, but I don't think it's a problem. Do you think my cake looks too purple? If you do, then I would choose fresh, American blueberries. The cake won't be as flavorful, but it will still be delicious. 

 

That is the preferred blueberries in this blueberry pie recipe as well, I refer to them as wild blueberries.

 

How to make this lemon blueberry cake

 

This lemon blueberry cake recipe is designed to be super easy to make, to make it extra low threshold to actually get your spatula out even though you just have a small gathering!

 

4 first steps to make this lemon blueberry cake.

 

Pre-heat oven to 350F (175C). Line two 6 inch cake pans with parchment paper and grease the sides. If you have only one pan, you can do this in batches (like I did!). Set the extra batter a cold place until the other cake is cold enough to take out of the pan. Then continue.

 

Begin by combining the dry ingredients in a small bowl: flour, baking powder and salt - sed aside. Now add softened butter to a large bowl and whip until creamy, about 1 minute. Then you can add in the sugar and whip until pale and fluffy, about 3 more minutes.

 

The next 4 steps to make the cake.

 

Add the eggs one at a time and whip some more, then pour in the buttermilk, vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest. Whip to combine before folding in the dry ingredients. Lastly, fold in the frozen blueberries.  

 

This batter will be quite thick and it can look a bit grainy if your butter wasn't perfectly room temperature. No worries, it will taste good! Divide the batter in the two pans, and then bake for about 30-35 minutes on the middle rack. 

 

Steps to fill and assemble the cake.

 

Once a toothpick inserted in the middle, comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs, it's done. Take it out of the oven and let completely cool in the cake pan. 

 

Once cold, add ½ cup of lemon curd on top of one, then place the other cake on top of that and spread the meringue on top. It is extra beautiful if you torch it with a kitchen torch, but it's not necessary. 

 

Keeps for 3-4 days in a cold room in a cake box. Enjoy!

 

Taking a slice out of the cake.

 

Did you like this lemon blueberry cake? Here are more lemony desserts I think you will like:

 

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment below or tag me @thegingerwithspice on Instagram. And don’t forget to Pin it for later! To make sure you’re never missing another recipe, please feel free to subscribe to my newsletter. As a thanks you will receive a free e-cookbook Travels Through the Seasons, with many delicious recipes from around the world that suit different seasons of the year. 

 

In order to keep the blog up and running this post may contain affiliate links, it will be at no extra cost to you, please read the disclosure for more information.

 

 

📖 Recipe

Lemon blueberry cake filled with lemon curd.

Lemon Blueberry Cake (6 Inch Small Batch Cake)

Yield: 10 slices
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Lemon blueberry cake with lemon curd filling and torched meringue - the perfect celebratory cake, for smaller parties as it is a 6 inch cake.

Ingredients

Lemon Blueberry Cake

  • 1 cup + 3 tablespoon all purpose flour (150g)
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup + 2 tablespoon softened butter (150g)
  • ¾ cup sugar (150g)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoon buttermilk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 lemon (juice + zest)
  • ⅔ cup frozen blueberries (130g)*
  • ½ cup lemon curd**

Swiss Meringue Frosting

  • 3 egg whites
  • ¾ cup sugar (150g)
  • pinch salt
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Instructions

Lemon Blueberry Cake

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350F (175C). Prepare two 6 inch cake pans with parchment paper and grease the sides.***
  2. In a small bowl, mix the dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, whip softened butter until creamy, about 1 minuts, then add in the sugar and whip until pale and fluffy, another 3 minutes.
  4. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix between each addition. Then add in the buttermilk, vanilla extract and lemon juice and zest.
  5. Fold in the dry ingredients before folding in the frozen blueberries. Divide the batter between the two pans, it will be really thick.
  6. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs, about 30-35 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Swiss Meringue Frosting + Assembly

  1. Make sure the bowl of your stand mixer, the balloon whip and a spatula are squeaky clean. Add egg whites, sugar and salt and give it a good mix with the spatula.
  2. Place on top of a small saucepan with simmering water (aka a double boiler), and let the mixture melt. Once the sugar crystals have melted, mix in the vanilla extract and place the bowl back into the stand mixer.
  3. While gradually increasing the speed, whip until soft peaks (the meringue tops will droop a little), somewhere between 5-10 minutes.
  4. To assemble the cake, place one on a cake stand and spread ½ cup lemon curd on top. Place the other cake on top of that before spreading the meringue all around the cake. You can torch it with a kitchen torch, if desired. Keeps for 3-4 days in a cake box in a cold room.

Notes

* Look for the smaller ones, they are more flavorful. You can use fresh blueberries as well, but I think the frozen are easier to fold into this thick batter.

** You can follow this recipe for lemon curd, although to make a smaller batch you can use 3 lemons, 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk, 90g sugar, pinch salt, 113g butter, but the same procedure. That makes 1 cup, you can freeze the rest. Store bought is also fine.

*** If you only have one pan, you can do this in batches. Keep the batter cold in-between.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 214Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 188mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 1gSugar: 36gProtein: 3g

Nutrition information isn't always accurate, estimate for informational purposes only.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or tag @thegingerwithspice on Instagram, I'd love to see!

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Miranda

Wednesday 26th of April 2023

I just made this Sunday and it was so good and loved by everyone! I don't have 6-inch pans, so I used the adaptation for three layers (thank you for doing the math!) and I poured it into two 9-inch tins, which worked wonderfully. I also appreciate the measurements being in grams, as I hate using measuring cups.

Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice

Sunday 30th of April 2023

Hello Miranda. I'm so glad you liked it! A 6-inch pan is not very common here either, so it's nice to have the ratios easily accessible. Grams is and will always be superior in baking, right? Have a fantastic rest of the weekend!

Alexis

Tuesday 16th of March 2021

I love how this is a smaller cake which leaves less leftovers after a celebration. The lemon pairs so amazingly with the blueberries. It's a huge hit in our family.

Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice

Wednesday 17th of March 2021

Thank you. It is convenient to not have to have leftovers for days!

Ramona

Monday 8th of March 2021

I absolutely love lemon and blueberry as a combo, they just go super well together! This cake looks so delicious and moist, which is really tempting me. Thank you for sharing this recipe, I cant wait to make this pretty cake!

Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice

Wednesday 10th of March 2021

Thank you, Ramona. It is one of my favorite combinations!

Chef Dennis

Sunday 7th of March 2021

What a perfect-sized cake for the two of us! It was amazingly delicious!!

Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice

Wednesday 10th of March 2021

Thank you so much, I'm so glad you liked it!

Jacqueline Debono

Sunday 7th of March 2021

This cake looks scrumptious. I love lemon curd and lemon and blueberries is such a yummy combo. This is also a great recipe because it's versatile. Your chart with quantities of ingredients for making different layers or numbers of cupcakes is excellent. Pinning for later!

Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice

Wednesday 10th of March 2021

Thank you so much, Jacqueline! I'm glad you found it useful!

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