Blueberry and lemon are paired perfectly in this mini blueberry lemon upside down cake. This 6-inch cake bursts with flavors with vanilla, lemon, and caramelized fresh blueberries. A refreshing cake to enjoy on a hot day!
Mini Blueberry Lemon Upside Down Cake
When Spring rolls around the corner, I just can’t resist blueberries! And what better combination than blueberry and lemon? Like my refreshing blueberry lemonade or you’d never know they are gluten free blueberry crumb bars.
So, rather than just throwing some blueberries into a lemon cake batter, let’s keep the tart deliciousness of the blueberries intact and amp up the flavor of the cake overall?
To accomplish this could mean only one thing. An upside down cake! Some of the little blueberries burst while baking and you are left with a saucy blueberry compote on the bottom of the cake or top in our case.
6-Inch Mini Cake
To make this upside down blueberry cake, we need to first make it mini (obvs). My recommendation is a 6-inch round cake pan. Typically the 6-inch cake pan is used for the top tier of a wedding cake, or any tiered cake for that matter. In our small batch baking world, it is my standard size cake pan.
Lemon + Blueberry Spring and Summer Cake
Lemon and blueberries go together like peanut butter and jelly. And, the sweet + tart combination is a refreshing treat on warmer days.
- Lemon – The base of our cake is a vanilla cake that is flavored with lemon. We use fresh lemon so we can add both the juice and the zest to give the cake a bright flavor.
- Blueberry – The blueberries on the bottom (top) of the upside down cake is no different than pineapple upside down cake.
- Fresh blueberries are sprinkled with sugar first.
- The sugared blueberries go into the bottom of the pan.
- As the cake bakes, the sugar will caramelize. Plus, (and this is a delicious plus) some of the blueberries will burst, leaving you with a blueberry syrup that is very similar to a compote.
Now, I will let you in on a little secret. Some of the blueberries try to escape their home on the bottom of the pan and may rise into the cake batter. I would not worry about this. I consider it extra flavoring in the cake and a sweet surprise when you bite into it!
Tips For Making Blueberry Upside Down Cake
- Grease and flour the cake pan – This makes getting the cake out of the pan easy, and intact. I use a baking spray that has flour in it.
- Use room temperature ingredients – Specifically the butter, egg, buttermilk. With all of the ingredients at the same temperature, they mix more evenly. Plus, it helps for an even bake on the cake.
- Sugar the blueberries – Highly recommend this so your blueberries bake into a sweet and tart compote. Delish!
- Cool the cake in the pan – For 10 minutes. Bakes are still baking when they come out of the oven, so we want to give them time for this. I ALWAYS cool my bakes in the pan set on a wire cooling rack – for adequate air flow.
- Carefully invert the cake – You don’t just want to plop the cake on to the wire rack to finish cooling. Otherwise we may end up with blueberry mess everywhere.
- Some blueberries may stick – A few rogue blueberries may stick to the parchment, and that’s ok. Just snuggle them back onto the cake.
- Top the cake with whipped cream – You can use store-bought, or try the recipe for whipped coconut cream that I have linked to in the ingredients. It is just as light and fluffy as its dairy counterpart.
More Mini Cake Recipes
- Mini Cherry Coffee Cake
- Easy Chocolate Mini Cake
- Honey Orange Snack Cake
- Classic Mini Yellow Cake (Neapolitan Cake)
- No-Bake Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake
Mini Blueberry Lemon Upside Down Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- pinch salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup, plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- zest of one lemon
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
- Whipped Coconut Cream (for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line the bottom of a 6-inch cake pan with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit. Grease and flour the pan and paper.
- In a small bowl, mix the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Spread the blueberries evenly into the bottom of the cake pan.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar. Use a hand held mixer on medium speed and beat until light and fluffy. Add the lemon juice, zest, vanilla extract and egg. Beat until well combined.
- Add one-third of the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix until just combined. Add half of the buttermilk – mix until combined. Repeat two more times adding one-third of the flour and half of the buttermilk – ending with the flour.
- Pour the batter over the blueberries in the prepared cake pan. Smooth out with a rubber spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the cake pan set on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then, invert the cake on the wire rack. Carefully remove the piece of parchment paper and allow the cake to cool thoroughly on the wire rack.
- Top with your favorite whipped topping, or Whipped Coconut Cream. Serve and enjoy!
about the author ...
I'm Erin and I'm all about desserts - and a little bit of butter!
I've tested, written, and photographed hundreds of recipes on my website. Here you'll find the tastiest small batch gluten free and traditional desserts - all homemade, all simple, and all for you!
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