Blueberry Cake Frosting

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Classic frosting flavors exist for a reason – they are timeless. I love my small batch vanilla cupcake recipe, which uses a vanilla buttercream, and my strawberry filled cupcakes are also more traditional, with their strawberry cream cheese frosting atop them. But if you’re a fan of fresh blueberries, this recipe is for you. This blueberry cake frosting is a fun and unique way to add color and flavor to your baked goods. Pipe this homemade blueberry cream cheese frosting on cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and more!

overhead image of chocolate cupcake with blueberry cake frosting

Ingredients for Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Many of this recipe’s main ingredients are common ones you’d find in American buttercream. However, the tanginess of some cream cheese gives this frosting (like my raspberry frosting recipe) a different flavor and slightly softer texture. It is less stiff than a traditional buttercream.

Below is a list of what you’ll need to make this easy blueberry frosting.

Room temperature butter (unsalted)
Powdered sugar
Cream cheese
Freeze dried blueberries, finely ground into a powder
Vanilla extract
Your favorite blueberry jam (best to use one without large fruit chunks for smoother frosting)
Almond extract – optional but so delicious
Pinch of salt
Optional: Add a few drops of lemon or lime juice (or white vinegar) to cut sweetness

overhead image of vanilla cupcakes with blue frosting

chocolate cupcakes topped with blueberry frosting, surrounded by blueberries

How to make frosting less sweet

Some people really love desserts where you can easily taste the sugar.

But that flavor can be overwhelming or off-putting.

If you find yourself wishing that the buttercream or frosting that you’re eating weren’t so cloyingly sweet, read on. Lemon juice, lime juice, or white vinegar can come in handy.

Those liquids are all acidic. Adding just a couple of drops to your frosting and then doing a taste test will help you cut back on an overly sweet taste. I added some lemon juice to this blueberry cake frosting recipe.

How to Make Blueberry Frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment — or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer — beat the cream cheese until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the unsalted room temperature butter and mix for another 1 minute or until fully combined.

Turn off mixer and add salt, powdered sugar, finely ground freeze dried blueberries, and vanilla extract (and almond extract, if using) to bowl. Mix on low setting to slowly incorporate powdered sugar before increasing to high setting for another 2-3 minutes.

cream cheese frosting with ground freeze dried blueberries in a mixing bowl

Add jam to mixing bowl and mix until well-combined. Taste test and add lemon juice if needed to cut sweetness (personal preference). Mix again to incorporate.

blueberry cake frosting in a clear bowl, next to a few tablespoons of blueberry jam

blueberry cake frosting in a mixing bowl

Put frosting into a piping bag fitted with a tip of your choice (2D forever!) and decorate cake or cupcakes as desired.

Using this Fresh Blueberry Frosting

This recipe creates enough frosting for decorating a dozen cupcakes or a smaller (think two layers and 6″ round) cake.

This frosting would be a nice way to change up a traditional chocolate cake or cupcake with a pop of berry-flavored frosting. It also goes great with vanilla. I’ve used it for my vanilla cupcake recipe and fudgy chocolate cupcake recipe and had a lot of fun pairing those flavors together.

chocolate cupcakes with blueberry cake frosting, surrounded by blueberries

If you wanted more blueberry flavor for my lemon blueberry cake, you could swap out the mascarpone frosting with the recipe here. You’d need to make about 25% more frosting to cover the cake as completely, though.

Why You’ll Love this Blueberry Frosting Recipe

Creamy texture: Thanks to both cream cheese and a bit of blueberry jam or preserves, this frosting is soft and spreadable while still holding a nice shape.
Easy to make: In addition to having great flavor, this recipe is a quick one to literally whip up.
Natural food coloring: I’m such a sucker for a colorful frosting or buttercream. When possible, I like to achieve colors naturally. The end result of this recipe is a beautiful, rich shade of purply blue, and it’s all natural, thanks to freeze dried blueberries and jam.

up-close image of freeze dried blueberries in a ramekin

Tips for the Best Buttercream

Want super smooth frosting? Once your stand mixer has done the hard work, spend a few more minutes with a spatula and your mixing bowl. Use the spatula to pop air bubbles in the frosting. To do this, push frosting with a spatula from the middle of your bowl to its edges, watching as the tears and bubbles in your buttercream disappear. Spend 3-4 minutes doing these motions to achieve nice, smooth frosting.
Buttercream too sweet? Add a few dashes of lemon juice, lime juice, or distilled white vinegar. It cuts the sweetness, so taste test until it’s your desired flavor.
If you need to thin out this frosting, add a few splashes of heavy cream or milk. Adding more blueberry jam or preserves will also thin out this frosting.
If you need to make a thicker frosting, add about 1/4 cup of powdered sugar at a time. Mix until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
If you’re not already, use a kitchen scale for accuracy in baking. Weighing your ingredients and writing or following a recipe using a standard metric like grams ensures consistency. I highly recommend investing $30 or less in a kitchen scale.

overhead image of vanilla cupcakes with blueberry cake frosting

FAQ for Berry Cream Cheese Frosting

Can you make blue frosting with blueberries?

While this homemade blueberry frosting isn’t exactly blue, it is a nice, deep shade of purple that is close to blue. This frosting’s color comes from freeze dried blueberries. I would not at all recommend substituting fresh or frozen blueberries here, though. They would create a lumpy frosting and also don’t have the same intensity of flavor that freeze dried blueberries do.

Is cake frosting the same as buttercream?

Here, in this recipe, I use these terms interchangeably. Cake frosting is the same as buttercream, but in general, not all cake frostings are buttercream!

Is cream cheese frosting different from buttercream frosting?

Buttercream frosting is traditionally made with heavy cream (or milk), powdered sugar, butter, and extract for flavoring. As you noticed, there’s no cream cheese in buttercream frosting, though.

While there are many variations on cream cheese and buttercream frostings, generally, cream cheese frosting is a bit smoother and less stiff in comparison to buttercream.

For an example of a cream cheese frosting, check out my carrot cake recipe. The frosting uses a combination of cream cheese and butter for a thicker frosting that still spreads easily.

Can you freeze blueberry cake frosting?

Buttercream freezes well. Store it in an airtight container in your freezer for up to three months. Before using it, remove it from the freezer at least 12 hours in advance. Rewhip it by hand with a spatula or add it back to your mixing bowl to help revive the consistency. This makes it easier to spread.

image of vanilla cupcakes with blueberry cake frosting

More Recipes

If you need more ideas like this blueberry buttercream frosting, check out my black buttercream recipe! It’s silky smooth and tastes like an Oreo cookie.

I also have a recipe for a delicious and easy-to-make Biscoff buttercream.