Nova Scotia Blueberry Cream Cake

Nova Scotia Blueberry Cream Cake is a simple yet impressive dessert that delivers big flavor with minimal effort. A buttery base, juicy blueberries, and a smooth, creamy topping bake together into a treat that’s both rich and refreshing. Perfect for gatherings, celebrations, or an easy weeknight indulgence, this cake is a crowd-pleaser every time.

Love More Apple Desserts Recipes? Try My Blueberry Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bake or this Blueberry Buttermilk Pancake Casserole next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

You’ll love how the crisp cookie crust holds its crunch, even under the juicy berries, while the sour cream layer bakes into a smooth, custard-like topping that adds just the right amount of creaminess. The blueberries bring a burst of fresh, fruity flavor that perfectly balances the richness. Altogether, it’s like enjoying a lighter, fruitier version of cheesecake that feels both indulgent and refreshing.

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Ingredient List

Crust:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ cup butter (cold, chunked up) Must be cold or forget it
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Don’t use margarine unless you hate yourself.

Blueberry & Cream Layer:

• 4 cups fresh blueberries Store brand works fine
• 2 cups sour cream Regular fat, not that diet nonsense
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large egg yolks Use the whites for something else
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract Skip if you’re one of those people

Frozen berries work but don’t defrost them first. Fresh looks prettier but frozen bakes the same.

Why These Ingredients Work

Cold butter makes crumbs instead of paste when you cut it into flour. Those crumbs bake into a flaky crust that doesn’t get soggy under berry juice. Sour cream is tart enough to cut through all that sugar, plus it’s got enough fat to make that custard layer when it hits the heat.

The berries need to be whole so they don’t turn everything purple and mushy. That little bit of almond extract does something magical with blueberry flavor that makes people think you’re some kind of baking genius.

I spent years making crusts wrong because nobody told me the butter temperature mattered. Cold butter stays in chunks that melt and leave air pockets. Soft butter just mushes into the flour and makes hockey pucks. Same with the sour cream – it needs that fat content to set up right. Low-fat versions just curdle.

Egg yolks instead of whole eggs because they’re richer and cook gentler. Whole eggs would work but yolks give you that silky texture instead of bouncy scrambled egg grossness.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• 9-inch springform pan Non-negotiable
• Big mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Pastry cutter or knives
• Measuring stuff
• Cooling rack
• Parchment paper

You absolutely need a springform pan for this. I tried making it in a regular cake pan once and had to chisel it out in pieces. The sides pop off clean when it’s done, which is the only way to get this delicate thing out intact.

Pastry cutter makes the job easier but two knives work if that’s what you’ve got. Just keep hacking at the butter until it’s all chopped up in the flour.

How To Make Nova Scotia Blueberry Cream Cake

Step 1: Prep Your Pan

Heat oven to 375°F. Grease your springform pan and stick parchment on the bottom. Don’t skip the parchment unless you enjoy scraping cake residue with a chisel.

Step 2: Make the Crust

Dump flour, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl. Add cold butter chunks and hack away with pastry cutter or knives until it’s all crumbly. Should look like coarse breadcrumbs with some pea-sized pieces. Beat egg with vanilla, stir into flour mix just until it clumps together. Don’t overwork it or you’ll get tough crust. Smoosh this into your pan bottom with your hands.

Step 3: Add the Berries

Scatter blueberries over the crust. Don’t be all perfect about it, just get them spread around.

Step 4: Pour the Cream Layer

Whisk sour cream, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, and almond extract until totally smooth. Pour over berries and jiggle the pan so it settles into gaps.

Step 5: Bake

Bake 60-70 minutes till golden on top and barely wobbly in middle. Might crack some – totally normal.

Step 6: Cool Completely

Cool completely before removing pan sides. I mean completely – like two hours. Run knife around edge first, then pop off the ring.

The cooling part is agony but you gotta wait or it falls apart. I’ve murdered perfectly good cakes being impatient. Find something else to do.

You Must Know

Cold butter or die. I learned this the hard way during summer when my butter melted before I finished cutting it up. Now I freeze it for ten minutes if the kitchen’s hot.

Parchment paper saves your sanity. Even nonstick pans can stick with this much sugar and fruit juice involved.

Personal Secret

I coat my berries with flour first – just toss them with a tablespoon before dumping them on the crust. My grandmother’s trick. Keeps them from all sinking and making a dense purple layer at the bottom.

Room temperature sour cream mixes way easier than cold. Let it sit on the counter while you make the crust.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Test your springform pan with water before using it. Some leak. If yours does, wrap the bottom with foil first.

Don’t overbake. Center should still jiggle slightly when done. It keeps cooking while cooling. Bake it solid and you get rubbery custard.

Cracks on top mean you did it right. Custard sets and pulls apart some. Looks homemade, which is good.

Flavor Variations

Mixed berries rock. I do half blueberries, half raspberries sometimes. Blackberries work but everything turns purple.

My sister swirls cream cheese into the sour cream layer. Soften four ounces and beat it in. Makes it super rich.

Lemon zest brightens the whole thing. One tablespoon in the cream mixture.

Make-Ahead Options

Better tomorrow than today. Flavors meld overnight or something. Make it two days early, cover with plastic, stick in fridge. Don’t freeze – gets nasty and watery.

Can make crust part day before. Press in pan, wrap tight, refrigerate. Add berry and cream layers when ready to bake.

Lasts four days in fridge but peaks on day two or three. After that berries get too juicy and bottom gets mushy.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Top will crack. Normal. Looks rustic and homemade instead of fake perfect.

Frozen berries fine but use them frozen. Don’t thaw. Add ten minutes baking time. Actually hold shape better than fresh ones that burst.

Summer berries taste better but cost more. Use whatever’s cheap. This recipe makes crappy berries taste amazing anyway.

Edges brown fast. Cover with foil if getting too dark while center’s still jiggly.

Serving Suggestions

Eat it plain. Whipped cream if you want to show off. Good for any occasion – breakfast, lunch, dinner, midnight snack. Goes with coffee, tea, milk, whatever.

Cold pieces hold together for company. Room temp pieces are creamier and softer. Both taste incredible.

Dust with powdered sugar for fancy look. Fresh berries on side if you’re trying to impress.

My standard bring-somewhere dessert. Office parties, potlucks, family stuff. Always disappears first. Everyone wants recipe and it’s simple enough I don’t mind sharing.

Looks way harder than it is. Tastes expensive but costs maybe four bucks to make. Perfect combination of lazy and impressive.

Make it and tell me what happened!

How to Store Your Nova Scotia Blueberry Cream Cake

Cover and refrigerate. Good four days. Best after sitting overnight. Eat cold or room temp – your choice.

Allergy Information

Contains: Wheat, dairy, eggs Gluten-free: Swap gluten-free flour Dairy-free: Vegan substitutes work but taste different

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Q: Frozen berries work? Yeah. Don’t thaw first. Add ten minutes baking.

Q: Cracked on top – ruined? A: Nope. That’s how it bakes. Looks homemade.

Q: Need springform pan? A: Yes. Regular pans don’t work. Too delicate to remove.

Q: How tell when done? A: Golden top, barely jiggly center. Finishes cooking while cooling.

💬 Try this? Let me know how it went!