This blueberry coffee cake recipe is ideal for summer when you have a flat of fresh blueberries idling on your counter. But if you’re reading this in the dead of winter, don’t worry: It works with frozen blueberries too. And yes, you can also swap out the fruit for an equal amount of raspberries, blackberries, currants, or whatever else looks good at the farmers market.
The recipe came to us via one of our Best New Restaurants for 2012, Cakes & Ale in Decatur, Georgia (now closed). Like many coffee cakes, it’s all about a mix of textures: the crumb should be moist and not overly dense, while the streusel topping should have a pleasing crunch that gives way to a burst of juicy berries. To achieve this, be sure to add the eggs to the mixing bowl one at a time and beat them thoroughly, which introduces air to the batter and ensures each ingredient is properly incorporated (a stand mixer is helpful here, but a hand mixer also works).
When you’re layering, start with half the cake batter, then a ribbon of cinnamon sugar, followed by more batter, blueberries tossed in breadcrumbs (which soak up excess moisture and keep the berries from sinking to the bottom of the cake pan), and finally the buttery crumble topping. If you’d like, a dusting of powdered sugar wouldn’t be out of place, but we prefer this coffee cake without. Enjoy a slice with a cup of coffee and scrambled eggs over a leisurely weekend brunch, then wrap any leftovers tightly in plastic to snack on throughout the week.
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour 25 minutes
Yield
8–12 servings
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
½
¼
½
¼
3
Cake and assembly
1½
1
½
½
¼
¾
6
½
2
1
1
2
1
Preparation
Crumb Topping
Step 1
Whisk ½ cup (63 g) all-purpose flour, ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp. (packed; 80 g) dark brown sugar, and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. plus ⅛ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a medium bowl. Stir in ¼ cup pecans, toasted, chopped. Add 3 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into ¼" cubes; using your fingertips, work butter into dry ingredients until large, moist crumbs form. Set topping aside.
Do Ahead: Crumb topping an be made 5 days ahead. Cover and chill.
Cake and assembly
Step 2
Place rack in center of oven; preheat oven to 350°. Coat 8x8x2" metal baking dish with nonstick spray. Line bottom with parchment paper and spray paper; set aside. Whisk 1½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tbsp. cornmeal, ½ tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. baking soda, and ¼ tsp. kosher salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
Step 3
Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar and 6 Tbsp. (¾ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, in a large bowl until light and fluffy, 3–4 minutes. Beat in ½ tsp. vanilla extract. Add 2 large eggs, room temperature, one at a time, beating to blend between additions and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, until mixture is pale and fluffy, 3–4 minutes longer.
Step 4
With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to bowl in 3 additions, alternating with 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature, in 2 additions, beginning and ending with reserved dry ingredients. Pour half of cake batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Whisk remaining 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar and 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon in a small bowl; sprinkle evenly over batter in pan. Spoon remaining batter over; smooth top.
Step 5
Toss 2 cups blueberries with 1 Tbsp. panko in a small bowl; scatter evenly over batter. Sprinkle crumb topping over blueberries.
Step 6
Bake cake until top is golden brown and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 55–65 minutes. Let cool completely in pan.
Do Ahead: Cake can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
Editor’s note: This blueberry coffee cake recipe was first printed in our September 2012 issue. Head this way for more of our favorite cake recipes →
Nutrition Per Serving
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Reviews (103)
Back to TopYummy! This we the perfect cake to use our left over blueberries before they spoiled. It wasn’t too sweet, the berry to cake ratio was perfect, the whole thing was incredibly moist and the topping was nice and crunchy. I may add a tad extra sugar next time or a touch of cinnamon in the crumb topping. I also melt the butter for any of my crumb toppings before baking - I just have poor luck with getting the cold butter the right texture/size to make the topping work well. Using an 8x8 metal pan as suggested, just a few small pieces of the crumb topping fell overboard (something to watch out for). This recipe is a keeper for our family and I will definitely be making it again soon. Thanks!
Marci T
Nashville, TN
7/30/2022
8x8 pan, very tasty coffee cake
Anonymous
Vermont
5/21/2020
The pan size for this recipe is 8x8x2 in the printed copy. This is a favorite recipe and always gets rave reviews when I make it.
Anonymous
Georgia
3/26/2020
strange debate, the original recipe in the 9/12 edition clearly called for an 8x8 pan. it was delicious, didn't last a day.
brushjl
solon, ohio
11/24/2019
IMPORTANT PAN SIZE UPDATE. I grabbed my paper copy of the magazine and checked. It specifies an 8 X 8 X 2 inch metal pan.
bethannecarr
Coral Springs, FL
7/4/2019
Your recipes are usually excellent but this one I won't try. Initially published in 2012 and seven years later readers still asking for pan size.
Anonymous
AZ
6/13/2019
has anyone else tried baking this and, if so, what size pan?
grmerca
Miami
6/13/2019