Blueberry Coffee Cake is a delicious breakfast option that your whole family will love. It’s perfect for entertaining and even makes a tasty snack or dessert.
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Whether you call this recipe a coffee cake or a Blueberry Breakfast Cake, one thing is for certain – you’ll fall in love! From the moist and cake-y base to the tartness of the blueberries and the sweet crumble-like topping, there isn’t much missing from this tasty breakfast option.
It is a perfect brunch addition when entertaining (serve it alongside Lemon Coffee Cake for a great variety). Or, make it over the weekend for the family to enjoy for breakfast all week long – if you can get it to last that long! It goes pretty quickly around our house.
The texture and sweetness also make this recipe a hit at snack time or even for dessert.
How to make Blueberry Coffee Cake
Just 8 ingredients are all it takes to whip up this breakfast cake in a hurry. As long as you have some blueberries (either fresh or frozen), you likely already have everything else that you need on hand.
The ingredient list is very simple:
- Flour
- Sugar
- Butter or margarine
- Baking powder
- Eggs
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Fresh or frozen Blueberries
That’s it! It really couldn’t get much easier.
The recipe starts with preparing the cake batter.
The process for this batter is more similar to a biscuit recipe than a cookie recipe since it begins with cutting butter into the flour and sugar, instead of creaming the butter with sugar and eggs. The reason for this process is so that you can set aside some of the flour, sugar and butter mixture to use for the topping.
After you’ve cut the butter into the flour and sugar, and reserved 3/4 cup for the topping, you’ll add the baking powder, yolks from two eggs (reserve the whites for the next step), milk and vanilla extract. Then you’ll blend together for about 1 minute.
Next, take the reserved egg whites and whip until soft peaks form. You can test for a “soft peak” by placing the back of a spoon on top of the egg whites and pulling upwards. If the egg whites peak up and flop over, you’ll know you have a soft peak. (Check out this great visual guide to egg peaks.)
Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter and then pour the batter into a greased 13×9 casserole dish.
Sprinkle the blueberries over the batter in the dish and cover with the reserved crumb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, until fully cooked and lightly golden brown on top.
How can I customize this recipe?
Blueberry breakfast cake lends itself to a variety of customization options.
I’ve had found experimenting with a variety of changes and additions over the years.
Here are some tried-and-tested options you can try:
- Replace the vanilla extract with almond extract and add some slivered almonds into the reserved crumb mixture.
- Add a few dashes of cinnamon to the flour and sugar before you cut in the butter.
- Replace the vanilla extract with 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice and mix some fresh lemon zest into the reserved crumb mixture.
- Swap the blueberries with fresh or frozen raspberries or strawberries.
- Drizzle a powdered sugar glaze on top after the coffee cake bakes. Flavor with a bit of vanilla extract, almond extract or lemon juice, depending on which one you use for the rest of the recipe.
FAQs
This coffee cake does freeze really well, but there are a few tricks to keep in mind.
I’ve found that smaller coffee cakes taste better after being frozen, so if I’m making this recipe ahead, I’ll split the batter into 2 8-inch round cake pans and bake individually instead of in the larger casserole. You could also just cut it in half and freeze in smaller sections if you’d rather use the casserole dish.
To freeze, let your coffee cake cool completely and then carefully remove from the baking pan. Loosely wrap in freezer paper and then either tightly (but gently) wrap in a double-layer of plastic wrap or place in a gallon-sized freezer bag.
To serve from frozen, let the coffee cake defrost on the counter for at least 4 hours, until room temperature. Enjoy!
I personally haven’t noticed a difference at all. Once baked, they both have a very similar taste and texture. The frozen blueberries tend to be a little smaller than fresh, but that’s really the only difference I think you’ll notice.
Although I have not done it personally, I’ve had several people tell me that they’ve made it successfully with gluten free flour blends. If you try it out, I’d love to hear how it turns out for you as well as what type of flour you use!
Due to the addition of soft-peak egg whites, it would be pretty difficult to convert this to a vegan recipe. I’ve read that you can whip aguafaba (chickpea soaking liquid) similarly to how you can whip egg whites, but I don’t know if that would work here. Please let me know if you try it!
Blueberry Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1/2 cup Butter or margarine (cut into small pieces)
- 1 tablespoon Baking powder
- 2 Eggs (separated)
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla
- 2 – 2 1/2 cup Blueberries
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter or margarine, or mix with an electric mixer on low speed, until crumbly. Reserve 3/4 c. crumb mixture for topping.
- To the remaining mixture, add baking powder, egg yolks (reserve whites in a separate bowl), milk and vanilla. Beat until combined, about 1 minute.
- Whisk the reserved egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into the batter.
- Pour the batter into a greased 13×9 casserole dish. Cover with bluberries. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over the blueberries. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 – 40 minutes, until lightly browned and fully cooked.
Notes
- Try replacing the vanilla extract with either an equal amount of almond extract or 2 tablespoons of freshly-squeezed lemon juice for a fun twist.
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