Blueberry Cake with Lemon Cream
Cake from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Filling from Tartine

Yield: 1 four-layer 8″ cake
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

For the cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tbs lemon zest
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup lemon juice (about 3 medium or large lemons)
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw if frozen)
2 tbs all-purpose flour

For the lemon cream:
1/2 cup + 2 tbs lemon juice (about 3-4 medium or large lemons)
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks), cut into tablespoon pieces and chilled

For the frosting:
Half of whipped cream frosting recipe

Assemble the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350* F. Line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment and nonstick cooking spray.

Cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and then vanilla until well-combined.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients in three additions, mixing on low speed until just combined.

Add the buttermilk and lemon juice to the batter, and stir by hand, folding the batter until just combined. It’ll look a little weird, but it’ll come together, don’t worry!

In another bowl, toss the blueberries with the 2 tablespoons flour. Add the blueberries and flour to the batter and fold in gently. Be careful not to overmix! Use as few motions as possible.

Divide the batter into the two pans, level the tops, and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 40-50 minutes. Let the cakes cool for 5-10 minutes in the pans before turning them out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Make the lemon cream:
Fill a small saucepan with about 2 inches of water. Turn the heat to medium-low and let the water come to a low boil or strong simmer.

In a glass or stainless steel bowl that will fit snugly on top of the saucepan but not touch the water in it, whisk together the lemon juice, whole eggs and yolk, sugar, and salt until uniform. Place this over the saucepan of now-simmering water.

Whisk the mixture constantly until it thickens and reaches a temperature of 180* F. This will take about 10 minutes. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and let it cool down to 140* F, whisking the mixture occasionally.

When it has reached 140* F, put it into a blender and run the blender on the “liquify” setting. Blend in the butter one tablespoon at a time until it is smooth. Put into a sealed container and chill in the fridge until you’re ready to fill the cake, up to 5 days.

Make the frosting:
Follow these instructions to make the frosting.

Assemble the cake:
When the cake is completely cooled, carefully split each layer into halves. Between each cake slice, spread a layer of the lemon cream before topping it with another cake slice. Frost the entire thing with the whipped cream frosting and decorate as you please!

Let this chill in the fridge for at least one hour before serving so that it will firm up (I usually chill it overnight).