This high altitude blueberry vanilla cake has three layers of soft, fluffy and tender vanilla cake, filled with sweet blueberry jam, and frosted with blueberry buttercream. Each bite is bursting with blueberry flavor in this delicious cake!
Looking for more blueberry recipes? Be sure to check out my brown butter blueberry crumb bars, the best blueberry crumb muffins, and blueberry buckle coffee cake.
This site contains affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means that I may make a small commission if you purchase a product using those links. This in no way affects my opinion of those products and services. All opinions expressed on this site are my own.
Why You’ll Love This Cake
The Best Vanilla Cake. I started this recipe with my favorite high altitude vanilla cake recipe. It always turns out perfectly, and is so moist, soft and tender. I just love it as a base for so many cake flavors.
Versatile and Adaptable. I used blueberry jam as a filling between the cake layers, and freeze dried blueberry powder in the buttercream. The blueberry powder adds vibrant color and an intense blueberry flavor, but you can also use jam in the buttercream if you’re not able to find the powder. And if you want to use another fruit, you absolutely can! A strawberry or raspberry version of this blueberry vanilla cake would be fantastic.
Easy to Make. The cake batter is quick and easy to whisk up in a bowl. And the buttercream whips up in minutes with a stand mixer.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake
Dry Ingredients: Sugar, Cake Flour, Baking Powder and Salt
Liquid Ingredients: Eggs, Egg Whites, Buttermilk, Unsalted Butter, Vegetable Oil, Vanilla Extract
Be sure to get all my tips on making the best vanilla cake in this post!
Filling
For the filling, all you’ll need is some good quality blueberry jam. You can even make your own with my wild blueberry preserves recipe.
Blueberry Buttercream
For almost all my cake recipes, I frost them with my Perfect American Buttercream. The ratio of butter to powdered sugar ensures a buttercream that’s flavorful, fluffy and not too sweet. Meringue powder adds stability and improves the texture, salt balances the sweetness, and vanilla extract adds flavor. For the blueberry flavor and lovely color, I used freeze dried blueberry powder, although you can also use more of the jam if you like.
Instructions
Cake
- Prepare one recipe Vanilla Cake as instructed.
- Cool the cakes in the pans before frosting. If making the cakes in advance, wrap the cooled cakes individually in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature overnight, or freeze for up to 3-6 months.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth. Beat in the blueberry powder or blueberry jam.
- In a separate bowl, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients by spoonfuls, mixing just until combined; the frosty will be clumpy.
- Add the vanilla, and whip the buttercream on medium speed for 4-5 minutes, adding milk as needed for desired consistency, and scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy. If you used jam, you will most likely not need to add any milk.
Assembly
- Place one of the cakes on a cake board or cake pedestal. Frost the top of the cake with a thin layer of buttercream. Use an icing spatula to create a “dam” of buttercream around the edge that’s higher than the middle.
- Spread a layer of jam over the buttercream, stopping at the edge next to the dam. Use about 1/4-1/3 cup of jam.
- Stack the next cake layer on top, and repeat with another layer of buttercream and jam. Stack the last cake layer on top.
- Frost the cake all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream, then refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill the crumb coat. Keep the bowl of buttercream covered, so it doesn’t crust over.
- Frost the cake all over with a final coat of buttercream. If you like, dab a little jam onto the buttercream and swirl it in.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, fresh blueberries are delicious in this vanilla cake. I’d suggest pouring the batter into the pans first, then sprinkling the blueberries over the top of the batter. This will ensure they’re evenly distributed and helps them not to sink down to the bottom of the pans.
Tip 6B.
You might be able to find freeze dried blueberries at your local Target or major grocery store, which you can easily crush into powder. You can also find the powder here.
An alternative to using blueberry powder is to use blueberry jam. About 1/4 cup of blueberry jam will give you beautiful color and flavor in your buttercream. If your jam is chunky, like preserves tend to be, I’d suggest blitzing it in a food processor to get it nice and smooth, before adding to your buttercream. The jam can be added to the buttercream in place of the milk, although you may still need a little milk for desired consistency.
To make a smaller cake, make 1/2 the cake recipe and bake it in three 6-inch pans. If you want enough buttercream for the decorative piping, you should make 3/4 of the buttercream recipe for a smaller cake.
You Might Also Like
Please check out my Amazon Shop for a curated collection of some of my favorite cake pans from trusted brands, baking tools, ingredients, pretty things and fashion finds. I recommend products that I buy and use every day!
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Blueberry Vanilla Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake
- 1 recipe Vanilla Cake
Filling
- ½ – ¾ cup (146-219g) blueberry jam
Blueberry Buttercream
- 2 cups (452g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 tbsp (16g) freeze-dried blueberry powder (or 1/4 cup blueberry jam)
- 4 cups (560g) powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp (9g) meringue powder (optional)
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 tsp (8g) vanilla extract
- 1-3 tbsp (16-50ml) milk, only if needed
Instructions
Cake
- Prepare one recipe Vanilla Cake as instructed.
- Cool the cakes in the pans before frosting. If making the cakes in advance, wrap the cooled cakes individually in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature overnight, or freeze for up to 3-6 months.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth. Beat in the blueberry powder or blueberry jam.
- In a separate bowl, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients by spoonfuls, mixing just until combined; the frosty will be clumpy.
- Add the vanilla, and whip the buttercream on medium speed for 4-5 minutes, adding milk as needed for desired consistency, and scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy. If you used jam, you will most likely not need to add any milk.
Assembly
- Place one of the cakes on a cake board or cake pedestal. Frost the top of the cake with a thin layer of buttercream. Use an icing spatula to create a "dam" of buttercream around the edge that's higher than the middle.
- Spread a layer of jam over the buttercream, stopping at the edge next to the dam. Use about 1/4-1/3 cup of jam.
- Stack the next cake layer on top, and repeat with another layer of buttercream and jam. Stack the last cake layer on top.
- Frost the cake all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream, then refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill the crumb coat. Keep the bowl of buttercream covered, so it doesn't crust over.
- Frost the cake all over with a final coat of buttercream. If you like, dab a little jam onto the buttercream and swirl it in.
Thank you for sharing this delightfully easy, mouthwateringly delicious recipe. Have baked this cake several times since I first tried it a few weeks back and it’s been a huge success each time!
Question, really. Will a high-altitude recipe work for us sea-level dwellers?
You’ll probably need to make some minor adjustments, like reducing the flour by 2-4 tablespoons, and increasing the leavening slightly. I suggest reading this article for guidance: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
Happy baking!