Blueberry Coffee Cake

Blueberry Coffee Cake is soft and moist, bursting with juicy berries and topped with a buttery, crunchy streusel. Quick to prepare yet impressive enough for guests, it’s perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. It holds its texture for days, the berries stay plump, and it can easily be made ahead for a stress-free treat.

Love More Blueberry Desserts ? Try My Lemon Blueberry Puff Pastry Tart or this Blueberry Crumble Bars next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Perfectly tender texture that stays moist for days, with berries that remain plump and evenly distributed. The buttery, crispy streusel topping adds irresistible flavor and crunch with every bite. Easy to make yet impressive enough for guests, it’s a crowd-pleasing treat for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.

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Ingredients You’ll Need

For the Cake Batter:

• 1½ cups granulated sugar (white sugar only don’t get fancy)
• ½ cup shortening (sounds gross but works better than butter trust me)
• 2 large eggs (room temp works better but whatever)
• 1 cup milk (any kind you got)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (not the fake stuff)
• 4 cups all-purpose flour (just regular flour nothing special)
• 4 teaspoons baking powder (I know it looks like too much)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 cups blueberries (fresh frozen doesn’t matter)

For the Streusel Topping:

• 1 cup packed light brown sugar (pack it down hard)
• ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup butter (cold from fridge)

Why These Ingredients Work

So shortening tastes like nothing but it does something weird to cake texture that butter can’t do. Keeps everything soft way longer. My aunt used shortening in everything back in the day and her cakes never went stale. Something about no water content or whatever. Science isn’t my thing but it works.

Four teaspoons baking powder seems crazy when you measure it out. First time I made this I thought the recipe was wrong. Double checked it like ten times. But that’s what makes it fluffy instead of dense brick cake that nobody wants to eat.

Brown sugar in the topping is key. Gets all caramelly and crispy when it bakes. White sugar just dissolves and doesn’t give you that crunch. Learned that from my grandmother who made the best coffee cake ever until she died and took all her secrets with her.

Essential Tools and Equipment

Don’t need anything crazy expensive:

• Big mixing bowl (needs to fit all the batter)
• 9×13-inch baking pan (only this size works right)
• Electric mixer (hand or stand whatever you got)
• Whisk
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Two forks or pastry cutter (for the topping)
• Spatula
• Toothpicks (for testing)

How to Make Blueberry Coffee Cake

Step 1: Get Your Oven Ready

Turn oven to 375°F and let it heat up while you mess around with the batter. Grease that pan real good with butter or spray or you’ll be scraping cake bits off later cursing yourself.

Step 2: Make the Batter

Beat sugar and shortening together till it looks fluffy and light. Takes about five minutes with the mixer and your arm will get tired if you’re doing it by hand. Don’t rush this part even though it’s boring as hell.

Add eggs one at a time beating after each one. My mom always did this and I never knew why till I tried dumping them all in at once and the batter looked lumpy and gross. Then add milk and vanilla beat till smooth.

Step 3: Add the Dry Ingredients

Mix flour baking powder salt in different bowl. Whisk it good so there’s no lumps of baking powder hiding in there because that tastes nasty if you bite into it.

Add flour stuff to wet stuff and stir just till combined. Don’t beat the crap out of it or use the mixer. Just stir till you can’t see white flour streaks anymore then stop. Batter’s gonna be thick and that’s right.

Step 4: Berry Time

Trick I learned from my aunt – shake the berries around in some flour before you add them. Sounds dumb but keeps them from all sinking to bottom. Fold them in gentle so you don’t squish them all.

Step 5: Get It in the Pan

Dump batter in pan and spread it around best you can. It’s thick so takes some work. Don’t worry about making it perfect the topping covers everything anyway.

Step 6: Make That Streusel Magic

Mix brown sugar and flour in bowl. Add cold butter and mash it up with forks or pastry thing till it looks like crumbs. Should stick together when you squeeze it but still be crumbly. Sprinkle all over the batter.

Step 7: Bake It Right

Stick in oven 35-45 minutes. Start checking at 35 with toothpick in middle. Should come out with few wet crumbs not soaking wet batter but not totally clean either. Top should be golden brown and smell incredible.

Don’t overbake this sucker. Rather have it slightly underdone than dry and gross.

Step 8: The Waiting Game

Let it cool at least 15 minutes before cutting or it falls apart and makes a mess. I know it smells amazing and you want to eat it right now but patience pays off here.

You Must Know

Room temp eggs work way better than cold ones. If you forgot to take them out just stick them in warm water for few minutes.

Don’t mix the hell out of it once flour goes in. Just stir till combined then stop. Overmixed batter makes tough cake and nobody wants that.

Roll berries in little bit of flour first. Keeps them from sinking to bottom like rocks. Learned this after making few cakes with all berries at bottom and cake on top.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Frozen berries work fine don’t thaw them first or everything turns purple and looks gross.

Middle rack only. Top rack burns the topping bottom rack makes soggy bottom.

Few crumbs on toothpick means done. Wet batter means keep going. Totally clean means you went too far.

Don’t open oven door first 30 minutes or cake might sink in middle.

No shortening? Use butter but won’t stay as soft as long.

Make double batch of streusel and freeze half for next time.

Flavor Variations

Lemon zest in batter makes it fancy. About tablespoon does it.

Half milk half sour cream makes it richer and tangier.

Buttermilk instead of regular milk gives different flavor.

Any berries work. Raspberries blackberries strawberries whatever you got.

Cinnamon in batter and topping tastes like coffee shop cake.

Vanilla bean paste instead of extract if you’re feeling rich.

Little almond extract with vanilla tastes amazing with berries.

Make-Ahead Options

Make batter night before put in pan cover with plastic wrap stick in fridge. Next morning take out 30 minutes early add topping bake normal. Actually tastes better after sitting overnight.

Freeze whole cake after cooling. Wrap good in plastic then foil. Keeps three months. Thaw on counter still wrapped.

Cut into pieces wrap each one freeze in bag. Good for grabbing quick breakfast or when you need sugar fix.

Make streusel ahead keep in fridge week or freeze three months. Just sprinkle on frozen.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Has to be 9×13 pan. Other sizes screw up timing and thickness.

High altitude? Cut baking powder to 3 teaspoons add couple tablespoons more flour. High altitude baking is weird but this usually works.

Cover and leave on counter 3 days. Fridge for week if you want.

Gets better day two. Flavors settle and everything gets more moist somehow.

Cut whatever size pieces you want. Recipe says 15 but my family cuts bigger pieces and we get maybe 10.

Serving Suggestions

Works for breakfast with coffee. Brunch with mimosas. Dessert with ice cream. Afternoon snack with tea. My kids eat it after school. Husband sneaks pieces at midnight when he thinks nobody’s watching.

Whipped cream makes it fancy. Maple syrup works too. Vanilla ice cream if you want dessert. Powdered sugar if you’re showing off.

Goes with any coffee but especially good with medium roast. Sweet enough you don’t need sugar in coffee.

How to Store Your Blueberry Coffee Cake

Leave on counter covered with foil or plastic wrap good for 3 days maybe 4 if house isn’t too hot. Gets better as it sits.

Fridge covered lasts week. Let pieces come to room temp or microwave 15 seconds.

Freezer wrapped tight 3 months. Thaw on counter still wrapped so it doesn’t get soggy.

Reheat pieces microwave 15-20 seconds. Whole cake in 300°F oven 10-15 minutes.

Travels good for potlucks or work. Keep covered won’t dry out.

Allergy Information and Substitutions

Has wheat eggs dairy. Standard cake stuff.

Gluten free flour might work. Use 1:1 blend might need extra tablespoon milk. Texture little different but still good.

Plant milk and vegan butter for dairy free. Check shortening label some have dairy some don’t.

Quarter cup applesauce per egg if no eggs. Little denser but still moist.

Can cut sugar by half cup if want less sweet. Don’t mess with streusel sugar though that’s what makes it crispy.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Frozen berries work?

Yeah don’t thaw first. Use them frozen right from bag.

Why dense not fluffy?

Mixed too much after flour went in. Mix just till you can’t see flour then stop.

How know when done?

Toothpick few moist crumbs not wet batter not totally clean.

Different berries okay?

Any berries work same amount as recipe says.

Topping melted not crumbly why?

Butter too warm needs to be cold from fridge.

💬 Made this yet? Tell me how bad you screwed it up or if it actually worked.