About This Blueberry Breakfast Cake
This blueberry breakfast cake with buttermilk is a modern twist on a traditional coffee cake recipe. It’s a light, fluffy breakfast cake, studded with a generous amount of fresh blueberries (substitute frozen blueberries), and topped with a crunchy quick-to-make streusel. This breakfast cake can be baked in a 10-inch cast iron skillet (pictured), a 10-inch round or 9-inch square cake pan.
Be sure to check out my recipe archive for even more baked goods with blueberries, like these small batch blueberry muffins or these cornflake streusel muffins with blueberries!
What Is Breakfast Cake?
Hold the phone—what is breakfast cake, anyway? I’m not going to lie: it always weirded me out that muffins are considered “breakfast” foods. But I guess you could argue that muffins actually have all the morning essentials—eggs, dairy, fruit, and maybe whole grains. So if muffins are considered breakfast foods, why not cake, too?!
Think of this blueberry breakfast cake as a giant version of your favorite blueberry muffin, but scaled up to feed a crowd. Or maybe a more appropriate description would be that the recipe is a blueberry buttermilk coffee cake.
In any case, it’s the perfect showstopping centerpiece dish for a weekend brunch. The best part? Any leftover slices keep well for a breakfast treat to eat the rest of the week.
Why You Should Make The Recipe
The recipe is from Gaby Dalkin of @whatsgabycookin‘s cookbook, Eat What You Want.
Gaby is known for her super approachable and delicious California-inspired recipes. Most of her recipes take advantage of fresh seasonal ingredients and come together really easily. This blueberry breakfast cake recipe is no exception. Although its flavors are “simple” and “classic”, the resulting cake really is so delicious and impressive!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Now that I’ve convinced you to make this blueberry breakfast cake recipe, here’s your shopping list for the recipe:
Shopping List for Blueberry Breakfast Cake Recipe
- all-purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- brown sugar
- kosher salt
- unsalted butter
- ground cinnamon
- baking powder
- buttermilk
- pure vanilla extract
- large eggs
- blueberries
And let’s talk about some of its key ingredients:
Ingredient Sources and Substitutions
- All-Purpose Flour. You can use a 1-1 gluten free all purpose flour replacer to make the recipe gluten free. I like Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour or King Arthur Flour Gluten Free All Purpose Flour.
- Brown Sugar. Either light or dark brown sugar works in this recipe. I prefer dark brown sugar because it contains more molasses, making it more flavorful.
- Kosher Salt. Kosher salt is the best salt for baking recipes. But if you don’t have any, you can use table salt. Just use half the amount listed in the recipe.
- Buttermilk. No buttermilk? No problem. Check out my post on How To Make Buttermilk with common fridge and pantry ingredients like milk, yogurt, lemons, vinegar, and more!
- Blueberries. Either fresh or frozen work in this recipe!
How to Make Blueberry Breakfast Cake
Here’s how to make this blueberry breakfast cake from scratch:
First, make the streusel:
- First, prep your ingredients for the streusel. (Prep Time: <5 minutes)
The streusel doesn’t require too much prep—simply measure out the ingredients needed for the streusel, and then melt the butter. - Then, make the streusel. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
Mix the melted butter into the dry ingredients until a crumbly mixture forms. Be careful not to overmix! You want there to be some large pieces still intact. These large pieces bake into extra crunchy crumbles in the streusel. Be sure to refrigerate the streusel while you make the cake batter.
Next, make the blueberry breakfast cake:
- First, prep your ingredients for the cake. (Prep Time: 5 minutes)
Similar to the ingredients for the streusel, the cake’s ingredients do not require too much prep. However, be sure to bring any refrigerated ingredients like the buttermilk, butter, and eggs to room temperature before using. - Then, make the cake batter and top it with the streusel. (Work Time: 10 minutes)
Make the cake batter by beating together the butter and sugar, then add the eggs. Next, alternate adding the dry and remaining wet ingredients. That’s it! After scraping the cake batter into its baking pan, top it with the streusel. - Finally, bake the cake. (Bake Time: 1 hour)
Bake the blueberry breakfast cake for around 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs attached. If you used room temperature fruit, it’s likely that you can shave off 5 to 10 minutes from this Bake Time.
Finally, make the drizzle:
- Make the drizzle. (Work Time: <5 minutes)
Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl, then add the milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until thick and creamy. Spoon over the cake before serving.
Reference Photos Of Tricky Steps In The Recipe
Most traditional streusel recipes instruct the bakers to use cold butter and rub or cut it into dry ingredients. This recipe, however, takes a unique approach. Instead, I instruct you to pour melted butter into dry ingredients and gently mix until it forms crumbs.
Here’s what the process looks like:
It’s important not to overmix the dry and wet ingredients. Mix only until large clusters and crumbs form (as pictured above).
The recipe then instructs you to chill these crumbs while you make the cake batter. You then sprinkle the crumbs over the cake batter. As you do so, you can continue to break the crumbs apart with your fingers to form smaller streusel crumbs:
Recipe Troubleshooting and FAQ
I don’t have a 10-inch cast-iron skillet. What can I use instead to make this blueberry breakfast cake?
No cast-iron skillet? No problem! You can also use the following cake pans in its place:
- a 9- or 10-inch round springform cake pan (make sure that the springform pan has at least 2- or 3-inch tall sides!)
- a 9 x 9-inch square cake pan
- a 9- or 10-inch round cake pan with at least 3-inch tall sides
Note that using a smaller, 9-inch round pan means that you may need to bake the cake for 5 to 10 minutes longer. It’s important to use a cake pan with tall sides since this recipe makes a tall cake! I don’t want the batter to overflow out of the pan and onto your oven floor as it bakes.
Can you freeze blueberry breakfast cake?
Technically yes, but I don’t recommend it. Tightly wrap any leftover slices of cake in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, transfer to the refrigerator overnight to thaw, then rewarm either in the microwave or the oven at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes.
Why don’t I recommend it? The streusel never regains its perfect, crunchy texture after being frozen and rewarmed. This is especially true when you rewarm the cake slice in the microwave. While it’s somewhat better rewarmed in the oven, the rest of the cake dries out too much if you rebake the cake long enough to get the streusel crunchy again. I feel like you end up having to choose between a moist cake crumb or crunchy streusel.
Best Recipe Tips
Technique Tips
- The streusel can be made up to 1 week ahead of making the cake itself. After making the streusel, transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use in the cake.
- Super ripe and frozen blueberries have a tendency to dye and stain the cake batter when mixed in. Don’t panic, this is totally normal! Although the cake batter will look a little lavender, if baked immediately, the crumb will still bake up to an appetizing yellow cake crumb color.
Best Baking Tips
- My recipe below gives you the option to use either fresh or frozen blueberries. If you used fresh blueberries, I encourage you to check for doneness earlier! I would check for doneness 10 minutes earlier, at 50 minutes instead of 1 hour.
- Peek through your oven door at around 40 minutes into the Bake Time. If the streusel looks like it’s browning too quickly (especially at its edges), top the cake with a loose cover of aluminum foil.
Get the Recipe: Blueberry Breakfast Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Streusel
- 1 cup (4.5 ounces or 128 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (3.5 ounces or 99 grams) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup tightly packed (1.85 ounces or 52 grams) dark OR light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
For the Blueberry Breakfast Cake
- 2 cups (9 ounces or 255 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ⅓ cups (9.35 ounces or 265 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 ½ cups (12.85 ounces or 365 grams) fresh or frozen blueberries
For the Drizzle
- ½ cup (2 ounces or 57 grams) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 2 to 3 teaspoons whole milk
Instructions
For the Blueberry Breakfast Cake
- First, make the streusel. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and salt. Add the melted butter and use a rubber spatula to stir until a crumbly mixture forms with some large pieces still intact. Do not overmix. Place the bowl in the refrigerator, uncovered, while you make the cake batter.
- Next, prep the oven and pan. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with cooking spray.
- Prep the ingredients for the blueberry cake. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. In a small liquid measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk and the vanilla.
- Beat the butter and sugar for the cake, then add the eggs, dry ingredients, and blueberries. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium-high until light, fluffy, and doubled in volume, 3 to 5 minutes, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary. Reduce the mixer to low and add the eggs and egg yolk one at a time, adding the next egg only after the previous one has been fully incorporated, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition.With the mixer still on low, add the the dry ingredients in two parts, alternating with the wet ingredients in two parts. Beat until just combined, then scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl once more, then beat on low for an additional 30 seconds. Add the blueberries, mixing until incorporated evenly throughout the batter, another 30 seconds.
- Assemble the cake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top with the streusel, completely covering the batter.
- Bake the cake. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or a skewer inserted into the cake comes out with a few crumbs attached. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before glazing.
- Finally, make the glaze. Place the confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl. Add the milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until thick but still runny—it should have the consistency of paste. You may not need to use all the milk. Spoon and drizzle the glaze over the cake before serving.
- Serve and store. Serve at room temperature, or slightly warmed in the microwave. The assembled blueberry breakfast cake can be stored at room temperature, under a cake dome or a large bowl turned upside down, for up to 1 day. Press a sheet of plastic wrap against any cut surfaces to prevent the cake from drying out. After that, cover the entire cake loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Alternatively, if you want to eat this cake on-the-go like you would a muffin, slice the cake into individual slices. Tightly wrap each slice in plastic wrap and store on the counter at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
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Weeknight Baking:
Recipes to Fit your Schedule
Over the past several years of running Hummingbird High, I kept a crucial aspect of my life hidden from my readers: I had a full-time, extremely demanding job in the tech world. In my debut cookbook, Weeknight Baking, I finally reveal the secrets to baking delicious desserts on a tight schedule.
Recipe states to mix the brown sugar for the cake part but the ingredients say white sugar.
Number 4 of the instructions
Gah, sorry about that! Fixing now.
Hello Michelle,
I’m a huge fan of your site (and your cookbook!) – I adore your strong POV, your type A baking nerdiness, how informative you are about seemingly all manner of things, And most of all, the way you integrate all of these seemingly disparate elements seamlessly into your recipe writing 🙂
However, what made me finally de-lurk was a desire to set the record straight – the current one star rating is *wildly* inaccurate. I made this cake today (followed recipe almost exactly but used a 9×9 pan) and it’s Super delicious (trying to keep myself from eating the entire pan right now) despite using bland supermarket blueberries – looking forward to trying it with peaches next time…
Thank you for all the great recipes and for being wonderful in general – your site really is such a pleasure!
RL
Made this for a 4th of July brunch this AM and it is DELICIOUS! Everyone raved about how tasty it was. I skipped the cinnamon and added some lemon juice and zest. This would be great with almost any berries (or peaches) and I can’t wait to make it again!
The cake looks perfect and fabulous to bake for a special day. Yes, its definitely the best blueberry cake. Lovely!!
Too bad there is only a 5 star max….this is definitely a 6 star recipe! I made it as suggested, in a cast iron skillet with fresh blueberries. The only thing I DIDNT do was let it cool completely before glazing and eating. No way would we have waited!! I let it cool 10 minutes, glazed it, and dug in. Fabulous recipe!!