Blueberry Jam Cake

This blueberry jam cake is the perfect Spring celebration cake! The cake is filled with a vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream and blueberry jam, and is then frosted with a blueberry Swiss meringue buttercream. I'll walk you through how to make Swiss meringue buttercream, a bakery worthy frosting!

A blueberry jam cake topped with blueberries on a wooden cake stand

A slice of blueberry jam cake being lifted out with a silver cake server

Tell me about this cake!

Flavor: this vanilla cake is filled with a vanilla buttercream and blueberry jam. The cake is then frosted with a blueberry jam buttercream. The perfect pairing for Spring!
Texture: this soft and tender cake is frosted and filled with a creamy (and dreamy!) Swiss meringue buttercream. The cake is made using the reverse creaming method which gives you a soft crumb. Topping with fresh blueberries not only makes your cake look beautiful, but gives amazing texture
Ease: the frosting is a bit more complex than your regular American buttercream, but is 100% worth it! The cake is very simple to make and one of my favorites!
Time: the longest part of this process is making the frosting, which takes about half an hour. You'll also need to set aside time to assemble the cake as it will need to chill before finishing it off.
Would I make this again? Definitely! This is the perfect Spring or Summer cake and perfect for any occasion.

Ingredients you'll need

overhead shot of vanilla cake ingredients — Cake Ingredients

An overhead shot of Swiss meringue buttercream ingredients — Cake Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

Butter: I use European style butter in this recipe, this gives you a much creamier taste than regular butter. Make sure that when making the cake and the buttercream that the butter is at room temperature.
Yogurt: full-fat yogurt makes this cake extra moist and tender. Don't sub it out for more milk!
All-purpose Flour: this is already a very tender and soft cake, so no need to use cake flour in this recipe.

Making the Cake

This is a really simple cake to make and is used in a few recipes on my site! The reverse creaming method gives you a soft and tender cake.

First off, make sure all of your ingredients are room temperature. Take out the eggs, butter, milk and yogurt about 2 hours before baking.

Start off by mixing all the dry ingredients together in your mixer. Cube your butter, and add it to your mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment until it resembles coarse sand.

Add in your egg whites one at a time. Make sure you fully scrape the bowl after each addition! Have you ever poured your cake batter into your pan and the last bit of the batter just looks..weird? That's from not mixing your batter properly and not getting every bit mixed. Finally, add in your whole egg.

In a large jug, whisk together your milk, yogurt and vanilla extract. Pour in a third of the wet ingredients and mix. Repeat twice more. Your batter is going to be very liquidy!

Pour into your greased and lined cake pans and bake.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

This kind of buttercream is so dreamy! Forget everything you know about grainy and overly sweet buttercream, this is the frosting you'll find at fancy bakeries.

A stiff meringue peak on a whisk attachment

Swiss meringue buttercream is made by dissolving the sugar and egg whites together over heat before whipping into a meringue. Make sure your bowl is clean and dry before using, and don't have any egg yolks in your egg whites or it won't whip up.

Place a small saucepan over medium-low heat with about an inch of water and let it come to a simmer. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add your egg whites and sugar. Place the bowl over the water but make sure it isn't actually touching the water! Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves. Check it's ready by lifting the whisk up and touching the mixture. Once it's completely smooth, it's ready!

Place in your stand mixer and whip with your whisk attachment for 10-12 minutes on high speed. It will become glossy with stiff peaks. By this time, your bowl should be room temperature. If your bowl is too warm, the butter that you add will melt.

Decrease the speed to low and add the butter a tablespoon at a time. Don't worry if it looks curdled! It'll come together by the end. Finally, add in your vanilla and salt.

For this cake I wanted the buttercream in the centre to stay vanilla, so I scooped out about ¾ cup worth of frosting and set to the side. I then added blueberry jam to the rest of the frosting.

Swiss Meringue Troubleshooting

There are a few ways your buttercream can go wrong though, so let's go through those:

It looks soupy! This is either because you didn't allow the bowl to cool enough before adding the butter, or your butter is too warm. You can take ice cubes and hold them against the bottom of the bowl while it is whipping.
It looks way too curdled and cold! Your butter was too cold. You can either keep whipping up the buttercream or use a blowtorch to warm up the bottom of the bowl.

Assembling the Cake

This is a part of cake making that intimidates some people, but I promise there are no fancy steps and you can come out with a beautiful (and delicious) cake. Before we get started, make sure your cakes are completely cool before starting. I make my cakes the night before then wrap them in clingfilm.

Overhead of vanilla cake filled with vanilla buttercream

Overhead shot of a vanilla cake frosted with swiss meringue buttercream. The centre is filled with blueberry jam.

Place the first layer down. Pipe out a dam of frosting around the edge of the cake. This will stop the jam from seeping out. Dollop frosting in the middle of the cake, then use a small offset spatula to spread the frosting in an even layer.
Use another offset spatula or spoon to evenly cover the frosting with jam. Make sure it isn't touching the dam that you piped out earlier though!
Place your other layer on top and press down gently. Scoop out frosting and apply a very thin layer across the top and sides of the cake. Make sure there are no empty spaces, you can basically spackle those areas. Place the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.
Take the cake out and frost the whole cake! I like to use a small spoon to create swoops and swirls. With this cake I used a cake scraper to make the sides of the cake smooth and left the top swirly.

A slice of blueberry jam cake on a silver cake server

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a different frosting?

Yes! I think this cake would be delicious with a cream cheese frosting, like in pistachio carrot cake.

How do I store this cake?

This cake is best stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Can I make this ahead of time?

You can make the cake layers two days ahead of time, just make sure they are wrapped in clingfilm. You can also freeze the cake layers for two weeks. When you're ready to use them, defrost them on the counter for about an hour or two. You can also freeze the buttercream. Freeze in an airtight container. Once you're ready to use, place the container on your counter at room temperature until it has defrosted. You'll need to rewhip it in your stand mixer until smooth.

How do I get a clean cake slice?

Use a large, sharp knife and run it under hot water before each cut. After you've run it under the hot water, quickly wipe it dry with a kitchen towel. Repeat for each slice.

Three slices of blueberry jam cake on small beige plates

Other Cake Recipes to Try:

Make sure to tag me on Instagram @alpineella and leave a review below if you’ve made this cake! If you want more baking ideas, you can follow me on Pinterest.