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This Blueberry Coffee Cake trumps a regular coffee cake (and frankly many other cakes), and is an absolute must try especially when blueberries are in season. It is truly heavenly, with an extra buttery crunchy crumble, soft and moist cake, and fresh juicy blueberries that burst in your mouth.
As the name suggests, a blueberry coffee cake is a coffee cake with blueberries in it. A coffee cake is a popular American cake served with coffee, and does not actually have any coffee in it (if you want a version with coffee in it, check out my coffee coffee cake recipe!). While there are many variations of it, it’s essentially a cake baked and served as one layer (aka no hassle) with a layer of crumble on top. And, turns out, it’s much better with blueberries!
You really should try this recipe
I believe this is the BEST blueberry coffee cake I’ve ever had, and I like it much more than any other blueberry dessert. Here’s why you should try this recipe:
- It is very easy. Yes there are 2 components, but each is quite easy to make, and you can serve the cake as it is without any frosting or assembly
- It has the most beautiful flavor. The sweetness of the cake and the buttery flavor of the crumble are perfectly balanced by the slightly tart flavor of the blueberries. The resulting flavor is a very well balanced cake that does not feel boring or monotonous (and who can say no to blueberries!?)
- The texture is divine. Imagine this: every bite has a crunchy buttery crumble, followed by a soft and moist cake, with a juicy pop as a blueberry bursts open in your mouth!
- It’s a crowd pleaser. This is a great dessert to serve at a gathering, especially with coffee (or tea). It is universally enjoyed, regardless of age or other flavor preferences
- It is a versatile recipe. You can adjust the ratio of crumble, cake and blueberries to your liking!
Step by step photos
The detailed recipe is provided in the recipe card at the end of this post, but let’s go over the steps along with photos which will help you visualize everything.
For the crumble, mix together the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon:
Next, pour in melted butter, and gently mix with a spoon until just combined:
For the cake batter, start by whisking the butter, sugar and oil until creamy:
Add vanilla, and whisk in the eggs one at a time:
Whisk in the sour cream:
Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Then gently fold until combined:
Separately, toss the blueberries in 1 tbsp flour and lemon zest:
Then fold the blueberries into 1the cake batter:
Pour into a lined cake pan. Top off with the crumble:
Bake and enjoy!
How to prevent the blueberries from sinking
Any time you add blueberries (or any fruit) to a cake batter, they have a tendency to sink to the bottom as the cake bakes due to the difference in densities. Now, I personally don’t mind this, but I know some people want the blueberries to be evenly dispersed. Here are 2 tips to prevent them from sinking:
- Toss them in flour, as guided in this recipe. Make sure you get all the blueberries well coated in the flour before folding them into the cake batter
- Divide the cake batter into 2 halves. Add one half to the cake pan as it is, without any blueberries, and spread it out. Fold the blueberries in the other half of the batter, and spread that in the pan on top of the first half. This way, the bottom half of the cake pan does not have any blueberries in it. Even as they sink during baking, they should not all be at the bottom by the end!
FAQs
This usually happens if you don’t bring your ingredients to room temperature. Make sure the butter, eggs and sour cream have all been brought to room temperature by taking out of the fridge at least an hour before baking.
If you want to reduce the sugar, I suggest reducing the overall amount of the crumble added on top of the cake.
Yes to both! Since this recipe has a generous amount of blueberries in it, I don’t recommend adding more, but you can reduce them to your liking.
Although I haven’t tried this personally, it should work.
Firstly, I recommend checking out my easy homemade sour cream recipe. If you can’t make it at home, replace it with half greek yogurt and half heavy cream.
This is an indication of your cake being underbaked. Make sure to bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle no longer has any wet batter on it. If you feel that the crumble on top is looking too dark, cover the cake with foil.
This cake is best eaten at room temperature. You can leave it in a cool room in an airtight container for 1-2 days, but beyond that, keep refrigerated.
I recommend baking and serving this cake fresh for the best results.
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Ingredients
Crumble:
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (227g)
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed (200g)
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup butter, melted (170g) – use high quality butter like KerryGold for best results
Cake batter:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150g)
- 4 tbsp butter, room temperature (56g)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature (180g)
- 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour (173g)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups blueberries tossed in zest of 1 lemon and 1 tbsp all purpose flour* (see note)
Instructions
Crumble:
- Preheat oven to 350F (conventional / no fan) and prepare a 9×9″ square baking pan with parchment paper
- Add the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt to a bowl, and whisk until combined and no lumps remain
- Pour in the melted butter. Use a spoon or your hands to mix the butter into the dry ingredients gently. It will become crumbly as you do this; do not overmix, only mix until no dry streaks of flour remain
- Place in the fridge
Cake batter:
- Make sure the butter, eggs and sour cream are at room temperature
- Add the sugar, butter and oil to a bowl and whisk for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy
- Add the vanilla and one egg, and whisk for 20-30 seconds. Add the second egg and whisk again until combined
- Add the sour cream and whisk until it is combined. Scrape your bowl, if needed
- Sift in the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk on the lowest speed setting until just combined; do not overmix
- Separately, toss the blueberries in lemon zest and flour. Make sure the blueberries are well coated in the flour
- Add the blueberries to the cake batter and gently fold until combined (if you want to be extra careful about preventing the blueberries from sinking to the bottom, see my tips in the blog post above!)
- Add the batter to the prepared pan and spread it out
- Bring the crumble out of the fridge and use your hands to spread it on top. It should be in chunks, and doesn’t have to be perfect!
- Bake at 350F for ~45-50 minutes. Test with a toothpick inserted in the middle at the 45 minute mark; it should have light crumbs but no wet batter. If the crumble is becoming too dark, you can cover the pan with aluminum foil as the cake continues to bake
- Let the cake rest in the pan for 30 minutes. Then carefully take it out, slice and serve!
Video Tutorial
Notes
- This cake has a generous amount of blueberries in it. If you want, you can reduce the quantity to as low as 1 cup!
RELATED RECIPES
Here are some other delicious recipes on my blog you will enjoy:
- The Best Coffee Cake with actual coffee in it – moist, perfectly balanced and easy to make
- My classic easy chocolate cake that is perfect for all occasions
- Super easy Apple Crumb Cake with apples baked into it and topped with a delicious brown sugar crumble
- Easy lemon blueberry muffins that will make you forget about bakery muffins
Comments
Tiffany
hey zoha, do you use unsalted or salted butter?
Zoha Malik
I almost always use unsalted 🙂
Fayah
Hey Zoha! Looks really good, but I don’t have lemon zest- can I skip it?
Zoha Malik
Sure, it just won’t be as lemony 🙂
Senthil Muthiah
Can I double this recipe and bake it in a 13×9 pan?
Zoha
It would be 1.5x all quantities for 13×9 pan 🙂
Gigi
I followed the recipe exactly and I can’t believe no one has even commented on this – the thick crumble layer has WAY too much flour in it. The crumble tastes dull and chalky – the flour completely overpowers the sugar/butter/cinnamon part so it’s not very sweet. I was expecting a bakery worthy yummy, buttery and melt in your mouth crumbly cake. This is not that. The cake part is average/ok, but the thick crumble layer makes it very bland. I am so sad because I wanted to love this cake and was so excited to make it!
Zoha
Hi Gigi, I think you just put too much flour because you used cups and stuffed them with flour.
riley
hi zoha,
can i replace sour cream with something else?
thanks!
Zoha
Hi! Try yogurt <3
Wania Khan
OMG this recipe is a game changer! The cake part turns out so moist and yummy and the thick crumble on top is absolutely perfection! 😍
I also loved the hints of lemon that came from the zest on the blueberries!
Zoha
Thank you SOOO much!!!
Judy
delicious and moist. it also makes great muffins. Thanks
Zoha
So glad you like them, Judy!!
Sana
This recipe turned out perfectly! So delicious.
Zoha
Ah thank you!!
Arshiya
Totally love it! ❤️ 😍
Zoha
Thank you Arshiya!!
Mahrosh A
My family fell in love with it instantly. Zoha does a brilliant job explaining a recipe which makes it super easy to follow the recipe to the T and make it exactly as her’s.
Jeanne Nelson
This was the first coffee cake my son made and it turned out perfectly. Thank you so much! 💓
Zoha
Aw, so glad to hear that!
Zoha
Aww – thank you so much, Mahrosh!
Aisha
I tried this today and OMG, it’s SO GOOD. It’s the perfect summer recipe and the lemon and blueberry with the insane amount of crumble is to die for. Highly recommend!!
Zoha
heheh thank you Aisha!!!
Maham
10 times than any bakery muffin I’ve had. Too yummy!
Adiba
This was absolutely amazing! Easy to follow, such a moist and delicious coffee cake. Highly recommend trying this. This was my first time baking a cake from scratch and I am surprised at how good it turned out!
Zoha Malik
WOOOO thank you so much, Adiba! I am so glad you liked it!
Zoha
WUHU!!!!
Aksh
Hi Zoha, replacements for sour cream please?