Blueberry Coffee Cake

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Blueberry coffee cake is a classic breakfast recipe everyone should be able to make. Bursting with fresh fruit, it’s indispensable for weekend brunch!

Just like blueberry muffins, blueberry coffee cake is one of those recipes that I have been making since I was a kid. A big, fat slice of coffee cake topped with butter was one of my favorite things for summer breakfasts.

One reason to love coffee cake (aside from the idea of having cake for breakfast) is how easy it is to put together. Since everything goes into one pan, it’s actually simpler than muffins, even thought the batter is very similar.

This recipe uses my cinnamon coffee cake as the base, then loads it up with plump, fresh blueberries for a pillowy cake bursting with juicy fruit.

It’s perfect for serving at brunch with friends, or slicing off a hunk throughout the week for a sweet summery start to the day!

Ingredients for blueberry coffee cake

You’ll need:

• All-purpose flour ^*
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar
• Unsalted butter
• Sour cream
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Fresh blueberries

Pans for Coffee Cake

I almost always use a square pan for coffee cake. It makes nine even servings, or you can cut into four very large pieces if you like. If you don’t have a square baking pan, you can use a 9-inch round cake pan.

Doubling the recipe is a cinch, and it works well in a 9×13-inch baking pan ^*.

How to make this recipe

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan, or line with a sheet of parchment paper ^*, leaving enough overhang to be able to lift out the coffee cake after baking.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat together the softened butter and granulated sugar until creamy. You can do this with an electric mixer, or just by hand if you want to get a bit of a workout in today.

Beat in the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla until smooth, then fold in the dry ingredients. This batter will be thicker and more like muffin or quick bread batter than a cake batter.

Toss the blueberries with a bit of flour to help prevent sinking, then carefully stir them into the batter, taking care to not smush them. Scoop the batter into the pan, spreading to reach into all the corners.

In a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt. Cut in cold butter with a fork or your fingers until you’ve got a crumbly mixture that clumps together when squeezed. Sprinkle it evenly over the top of the batter, making small and large clumps.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (or just with berry juice).

This is wonderful served warm, but be sure to let it cool a bit so the fruit juices settle.

Coffee cake with frozen blueberries

Since it’s summer I’m using fresh blueberries, but frozen blueberries work just as well. I used frozen almost every time I made this cake growing up!

When using frozen blueberries, make sure to thaw them. I do this by putting the berries into a colander and rinsing them gently with my sink faucet sprayer, tossing to make sure no frozen bits remain on the berries.

Let the berries drain while you mix together the batter. Before adding them to the batter, pat dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. You can toss the berries with a bit of flour if you like; this helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.

Note that if you are using frozen wild blueberries you might want to consider leaving them frozen. I have not tested the recipe with them, but because they are less juicy they will contribute less moisture to the batter if they are thawed.

Storage tips

This cake will keep well at room temperature, covered, for up to 3 days. After that, I recommend storing it in the refrigerator because of the fruit.

If your house is warm or humid, keeping it in the fridge is a good idea. Make sure it is covered or well wrapped to prevent drying out.

Coffee cake variations

If blueberry season is over where you live, try my peach coffee cake. The base recipe is incredibly versatile, and you can swap in nearly any fruit you like!

You can swap up to half of the flour in this recipe with whole wheat flour, or whole wheat pastry flour. Pastry flour is finer and will give a more tender crumb, and I love the nuttiness the whole wheat adds to the cake.

I also like to change the spices based on the fruit I’m using. Cinnamon is always a classic, but I also like to use nutmeg or cardamom. If you like a kick with your fruit, try adding a bit of ginger, or for a bright pop use lemon zest.

For more sweetness, drizzle the baked coffee cake with simple icing like I use on my blueberry biscuits!

If you’re looking for other coffee cake ideas, try one of my other recipes: espresso streusel coffee cake, cranberry pecan streusel coffee cake, or coffee cake muffins.