Blueberry Coffee Cake

This blueberry coffee cake is moist and tender with cinnamon streusel on top. It’s filled with berries and delicious for breakfast or brunch.

**This recipe was updated August 5, 2021 with a slightly updated recipe, new photos and recipe tips.**

This blueberry coffee cake reminds me of a warm blueberry muffin, but taken up a notch. It’s extremely moist with a tender crumb and a delicious buttery, vanilla flavor. Best of all, its packed with juicy blueberries. The cinnamon streusel on top adds a nice crunch and really complements the fluffy cake underneath.

I love making this with fresh berries when they’re in season, but it works just as well with frozen berries all year round.

What Makes This Blueberry Coffee So Delicious?

The blueberry coffee cake is flavorful and moist for a few key reasons.

1. The recipe starts with real butter for the most flavor. We cream together the sugar and butter for a perfectly fluffy cake crumb.
2. 2 eggs add tenderness to the cake batter.
3. And vanilla extract for more flavor.
4. Sour cream and milk make the cake extremely moist.
5. A thick layer of crunchy cinnamon streusel goes on top of the moist blueberry cake. It’s crunchy with a delicious brown sugar cinnamon flavor.

Note: You’ll see if the photos I’ve wrapped the outside of my springform pan in tin foil. If the seal on your pan isn’t very tight, sometimes the butter can melt and seep out of the pan. Just in case, I wrap the outside of my pan with tin foil to avoid this.

An Important Baking Tip

The batter for this coffee cake is thick. Similar to making muffins or any coffee cake, a thick batter means that you need to be very careful not to overmix the batter – especially after adding in the flour. Overmixing will make the cake tough and can create air tunnels throughout the batter. You’ll mix in the flour about ½ at a time with the mixer on a low speed, and I highly recommend mixing in the milk by hand with a wire whisk to avoid over beating. This keeps the cake tender.

Frozen vs Fresh Berries

This recipe can be made with fresh or frozen berries. If using frozen, do not thaw the berries first. Tossing the berries in 2 teaspoons of flour helps the berries “stick” in the batter so that they don’t fall to the bottom. It also minimizes the berries bleeding color throughout the batter so you don’t have streaks of blue-ish green throughout. This is  especially important if using frozen berries.

If using frozen berries, the bake time may be 5-10 minutes longer, since they’ll decrease the temperature of the batter.

Fluffy, buttery coffee cake. Crunchy, cinnamon streusel. Juicy blueberries. This blueberry coffee cake ticks all the boxes for a delicious breakfast, brunch or dessert.

For more blueberry recipes, make sure to try:

• Blueberry Bread
• Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
• Blueberry Oatmeal Crumble Bars

Print Recipe

5 from 6 votes

Blueberry Coffee Cake

This blueberry coffee cake is moist and tender with cinnamon streusel on top. The cake itself has a delicious butter vanilla flavor with tons of berries throughout. Delicious for breakfast or brunch.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time50 mins

Total Time1 hr 20 mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Blueberry Cake with Streusel Topping, Blueberry Coffee Cake, Blueberry Crumb Cake

Servings: 12 pieces

Calories: 419kcal

Author: Fiona Dowling

Equipment

• 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan

Ingredients

Streusel Topping

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (125 grams)
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar (66 grams)
• ⅓ cup brown sugar (66 grams) light or dark
• 1 and ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• ⅓ cup unsalted butter (75 grams) melted

Blueberry Cake Batter

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 grams) spooned & leveled
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter (112 grams) softened to room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup sour cream (80 ml) room temperature
• ⅓ cup milk (80 ml) room temperature
• 1 and ½ cup fresh blueberries (187.5 grams) if using frozen berries do not thaw first
• 2 teaspoons flour

Vanilla Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar (110 grams)
• 1-2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

Make the Streusel

• In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, sugars and cinnamon.
• Then stir in the melted butter with a spatula or spoon. The mixture should look like wet sand and crumble if you squeeze it in your palm. Set aside. 

Make the Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) degrees.
• Grease and lightly flour the bottom and sides of a 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan. I recommend wrapping the outside of your pan in aluminum foil to ensure that it doesn't leak if the seal isn't tight.
• In a medium bowl whisk together the 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In a separate large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add in the vanilla extract, then beat in the eggs 1 at a time.
• With the mixer on low speed, beat in about ½ of the flour mixture. Then stir in the sour cream.
• Beat in the rest of the flour using a low speed on your mixer. Use a wire whisk to whisk in the milk. Stop mixing as soon as the milk is combined. Over mixing will cause the cake to be tough.
• In a medium bowl, toss the blueberries with 2 teaspoons of flour. Gently fold the berries into the cake batter using a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula. 
• Pour/ spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread the top smooth. , then crumble the streusel mixture over top.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 45-55 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few dry cake crumbs. When you give the pan a gentle nudge the cake shouldn't wobble. If you notice the top starting to get brown around 40 minutes, you can tent a piece of tin foil and place it over top.
• Cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before serving. If you plan to add glaze, ensure the cake is fully cooled first, or the glaze will melt.

Make the Glaze and Serve

• In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk. Add a little extra milk or powdered sugar as needed. 
• Trace around the sides of the pan with a thin knife then unclamp the springform pan.
• Drizzle the glaze on top of the cooled cake. Then slice into pieces. I do not recommend trying to transfer the entire cake off of the springform base since it is quite heavy and can brake. If you try to invert the cake, the streusel will fall off.

Notes

1. Pan Sizes: This recipe can also be made in an 8x8 inch (20x20 cm) pan, however I don't recommend adding all the streusel to ensure that it doesn't overflow. It can also be made in a 10-inch (25.5-cm) springform pan. The bake time will be slightly shorter - about 45 minutes at 350F. 
2. Room Temperature Ingredients: The butter, eggs, sour cream and milk must be room temperature before getting started. 
3. Sour Cream: Sour cream can be substituted with plain, full-fat Greek yogurt if needed. 
4. Milk: I recommend using whole milk or 2% milk if possible. I do not recommend using skim milk in baking. 
5. Nutrition Information: Nutrition details are an estimate only and based on 1 slice of cake with glaze, assuming the pan is sliced into 12 equal pieces. 
6. Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. 

Nutrition

Calories: 419kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 74mg | Potassium: 161mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 502IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 2mg