This buttery, soft and tender blueberry coffee cake recipe is loaded with juicy blueberries and topped with a sweet crumb topping. Perfect for lazy mornings or special occasions like Christmas, Mother's Day, or Easter. This recipe is sized for a large group so everyone can enjoy a slice! Vegetarian.
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Buckle versus coffee cake
What is the difference between a buckle and a coffee cake? The easiest description is that a buckle is a cake that has fruit in the batter and a streusel topping. A coffee cake refers to any cake (with or without fruit) that is intended to be eaten while enjoying a hot beverage, like coffee or tea! So this is a blueberry buckle AND also a blueberry streusel coffee cake!
Ingredients
For a full list of ingredients and quantities, see the recipe card below.
This recipe has all the main ingredients expected in a cake but the stand outs are the blueberries and the streusel topping.
Blueberries
Fresh or frozen? We tested this recipe with both fresh and frozen blueberries and couldn't taste the difference. They both work great. If using frozen berries, DO NOT thaw them before adding to the batter. Add them to the batter frozen and bake immediately.
To coat in flour or not? The thought behind coating fruit in flour before adding to batter is to help the fruit not sink to the bottom of the dish when baking. Does it work? Maybe? Big shoulder shrug! We ran our own test on this and here are the results.
Coating the berries in flour before adding to the batter MAY have kept them from sinking - a little. We looked at multiple slices of the cake and found ones that seemed to show a little difference, but since there wasn't a significant difference across all the pieces we still aren't sold on the theory. However, it doesn't hurt or change the cake, so if you have time, go ahead and toss the blueberries in a little flour!
Streusel Topping
Unlike many streusel toppings that call for cold butter, we opt for soft butter in our recipe. This ensures that all dry ingredients - flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter - are thoroughly mixed together, eliminating any dry spots in the final result. The use of soft butter also allows for a richer and more indulgent coffee cake with a crumbly topping, as the butter melts and blends with the other ingredients during baking.
A final note on ingredients
If you have a kitchen scale, please use it! Measuring flour by volume (in cups) is notoriously unreliable, so if you must measure the flour in cups, use the scoop and level method for best results. Our recipe lists the gram measurement for the flour first in the ingredients list. The rest of the ingredients here are fairly consistent when measured by volume, so you can follow the volume measurements for those if you prefer - but we’ve also included gram measurements if you’d like to measure everything by weight! For small amounts (1 teaspoon and less) we recommend just using a volume (teaspoon) measurement because many kitchen scales aren’t reliable in such small amounts.
Basic steps in making blueberry coffee cake
Make the streusel topping
- Mix the flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, and softened butter together until you have a crumbly mixture. Set aside.
PRO TIP: You can use your hands to combine the butter and dry ingredients, but don't let the butter melt. If it gets too soft place the bowl in the fridge for a few minutes and finish mixing with a fork. You want the final mixture to be soft and hold together if pressed between your fingers, but you still want a crumbly texture.
Mix the coffee cake batter
- Mix the dry ingredients together (all purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder) with the diced, cold butter. Use your hands, a pastry cutter, or a food processor with the steel blade to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. NOTE: we use unsalted butter in our baking. Salted butter will also work, just reduce the salt in the recipe to ½ teaspoon.
- Mix the dry ingredients and butter until you have a crumbly mixture with flakes or small pieces of butter mixed into the flour mixture.
PRO TIP: NOTE: you want this to be a 'rough' batter and not smooth so be careful not to over mix the butter with the dry ingredients. A thin batter (like cake), while still tasting great, will allow the berries to sink more easily to the bottom of the pan. - Combine milk, apple cider vinegar, and egg into a small measuring cup or bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a spoon just until combined.
- Coat the blueberries with a little flour. This step is optional. While it MAY help keep the berries from sinking to the bottom, it doesn't prevent it entirely.
- Stir ⅔ of the blueberries into the batter.
Spread the batter with the blueberries into your baking pan. Sprinkle the remaining ⅓ blueberries over the batter, top with the streusel topping, and bake.
Some favorite riffs
Use raspberries, diced strawberries, or blackberries instead of the blueberries. Substitute buttermilk for the vinegar and milk. Add some fresh lemon zest to the batter for more of a lemon blueberry coffee cake. Make these into blueberry coffee cake muffins or multiple round blueberry coffee cakes. Baking time will need to be decreased if making in smaller sized pans.
Add some toasted, chopped walnuts or pecans to the streusel topping before sprinkling on the batter. Drizzle a quick cream cheese or powdered sugar glaze over the top of the coffee cake when it's cooled.
Time saver tips
We like to use our hands to mix cold butter with flour and sugar. It lets us get really nice, flaky pieces of butter mixed into the dry ingredients. However, since there is a lot of butter to mix in we can save time using a pastry cutter or a Cuisinart with the steel blade to cut the butter into the flour and sugar. Pulse the Cuisinart just until you have a coarse mixture. Then pour the mixture into a mixing bowl to stir in the wet ingredients. We don't recommend using the Cuisinart to mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. It will overmix the dough and make the coffee cake heavier.
How many pieces do I get in this recipe?
This blueberry crumb cake is meant to serve a decent-sized group and is baked in a 13 x 9 baking pan. The great thing is it can be cut into as large or small of pieces as you like. We've cut it into 15, 18, 20, 24, and 30 pieces. If you plan on serving a variety of pastry items, we recommend cutting into smaller pieces. Guests love trying a little of everything!
How to store leftover coffee cake
This easy blueberry coffee cake should be stored in an airtight container. It will last 2-3 days on the counter, 5-7 days in the refrigerator, and up to 3 months in the freezer (thaw frozen coffee cake before heating). It can be served room temperature or reheated in a 300°F oven until warm (5-8 minutes). We recommend covering the coffee cake while heating to keep it from drying out too much.
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Some common FAQ's
The basic definition of a buckle is a cake that has fruit in the batter and a streusel topping. A coffee cake refers to any cake (with or without fruit) that is intended to be eaten while enjoying a hot beverage, like coffee or tea! A coffee cake does not refer to a cake with coffee IN the recipe.
Berries, in general, are heavier than batter. The lighter and thinner your batter, the more they will sink, so make sure your batter is a 'rough batter' and not smooth like cake (see notes in post for more on this). Some other theories that can help keep them from sinking are:
1) coat the berries in a little flour before adding to the batter.
2) spread ⅓ to ½ of the batter (without any berries mixed in) on the bottom of the baking pan. Mix the berries into the remainder of the batter and spread it gently over the top of the batter in the pan being careful not to mix the two layers.
Do these work? We've tested both of them and while they may help a little, we still had some berries sink to the bottom in all of our tests.
Absolutely. Make a big batch, spread on a sheet pan and break up any large clumps into small pieces. Freeze for until firm (about an hour), transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Use as needed straight from the freezer!
We don't recommend this since the batter has leavening agents that will become active once the liquid is added. Bake the day before and reheat in a low oven until warmed through OR prepare everything the night before baking; mix the topping and set aside, combine the dry ingredients and measure out the liquids and berries. In the morning just mix the dry and wet ingredients together, add the berries, top with the streusel, and then bake.
Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment and star rating below to let us know how it turned out!
Print📖 Recipe
Blueberry Coffee Cake For a Crowd
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 15 - 30 pieces depending on size 1x
Description
This buttery and soft blueberry coffee cake is loaded with juicy blueberries and topped with a sweet streusel topping. Perfect for lazy mornings or special occasions like Christmas, Mother's Day, or Easter. This recipe is sized for a large group so everyone can enjoy a slice! Vegetarian.
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- 6 Tablespoons butter, softened
- 90 grams (¾ cup) flour
- 160 grams (¾ cup) brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Coffee Cake
- 201 grams sugar (1 cup)
- 360 grams all purpose flour (about 3 cups when measured correctly by scooping and leveling)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 grams baking soda (¾ teaspoon)
- 4 grams baking powder (¾ teaspoon)
- 1 cup butter, cold, diced small
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 ¼ cups milk (10 ounces)
- 2 eggs
- 8 ounces fresh blueberries
- 1 Tablespoon flour
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
- Grease and flour a 13 x 9 inch casserole pan. We prefer glass, but metal will also work.
Prepare streusel topping
- Add softened butter, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon to a mixing bowl. Mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Since the butter is soft, a hand mixer can save some time here, otherwise, just mix with your hands, but make sure the butter doesn't melt from the heat in your hands - if it gets too soft, place it back in the fridge for a few minutes.
- Set aside.
Prepare coffee cake
- In a large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Cut butter into small pieces and add to the mixing bowl. Use your hands, a pastry cutter, or Cuisinart to cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles a coarse crumb mixture.
- In a small bowl stir together apple cider vinegar, milk, and eggs. Whisk until combined.
- Add sour milk mixture into the dry mixture. Use a spoon to mix just until combined.
- Toss blueberries with 1 Tablespoon flour. Do this in a large bowl or a plastic bag.
NOTE: This step is optional. See post above for more info. - Add ⅔ of the blueberries to the batter and gently mix.
- Evenly spread blueberry batter in the baking pan.
- Spread the remaining ⅓ blueberries over the top of the batter.
- Sprinkle the streusel mixture over the top of the coffee cake batter and blueberries.
- Bake in a preheated 350° F oven for 38-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately or let cool and store in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Notes
If you have a kitchen scale, please use it! Flour is the most unreliable ingredient to measure by weight, which is why we’ve listed the gram measurement for the flour first in the ingredients list above. Measuring flour by volume (in cups) is notoriously unreliable. If you need to measure the flour here with cups, use the scoop and level method for best results. For small amounts (1 teaspoon and less) we recommend just using a volume (teaspoon) measurement because many kitchen scales aren’t reliable in such small amounts.
Substitutions and Additions. Add some toasted, chopped walnuts or pecans to the crumb topping before sprinkling on the top of the dough. Drizzle a quick cream cheese or powdered sugar glaze over the top of the coffee cake when it’s cooled. Use strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries in place of the blueberries if you like.
Keep the butter in the streusel topping from melting. For best results, use a fork or hand mixer, as the warmth from your hands can cause the butter to melt, affecting the final texture of the streusel. If it starts to soften too much, chill it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm it up.
Use fresh or frozen berries. If using frozen berries do not thaw the berries before adding to the batter and bake immediately.
What kind of pan should I use? We made this for a crowd so you can cut into the size pieces you desire. One 13” x 9” pan can be cut into 15-30 pieces depending on the size.
Reminder: Do not place a cold glass or ceramic dish into a hot oven. The temperature difference can cause the dish to break.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece
- Calories: 284
- Sugar: 19.8 g
- Sodium: 88.6 mg
- Fat: 13.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Protein: 3.7 g
- Cholesterol: 52.5 mg
Rhonda @ Appetizer Bliss says
My husband likes blueberries a lot so I made this for him. It was so good - soft, moist, and full of blueberries!
Dev D says
this was SO good. sometimes coffee cake can be a little too dense for me, but love the blueberries in this because they give such a bright pop of flavor
Rhonda says
So glad you loved this!