Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake (Printable version)
Tender cake with juicy blueberries, bright lemon flavor, and a buttery crumb topping for any time of day.
# What You'll Need:
→ Streusel Topping
01 - ½ cup granulated sugar
02 - ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
03 - ¼ cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
04 - ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
05 - Pinch of salt
→ Cake
06 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
07 - 2 teaspoons baking powder
08 - ½ teaspoon baking soda
09 - ½ teaspoon salt
10 - ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
11 - ¾ cup granulated sugar
12 - 2 large eggs, room temperature
13 - Zest of 1 lemon
14 - ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
15 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
16 - 1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
17 - 1½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries
→ Lemon Glaze (optional)
18 - ½ cup powdered sugar
19 - 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
# Directions:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round or square baking pan, or line it with parchment paper.
02 - Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter or fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Refrigerate until needed.
03 - Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
04 - Beat softened butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
05 - Incorporate eggs one at a time into the butter mixture, mixing well after each addition. Beat in lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
06 - Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream in three additions, starting and ending with flour. Stir gently until combined without overmixing.
07 - Carefully fold blueberries into the batter using a spatula.
08 - Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Sprinkle streusel topping uniformly over the surface.
09 - Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
10 - Allow cake to cool in pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
11 - Whisk powdered sugar with lemon juice until smooth and drizzle over cooled cake if desired.
# Expert advice:
01 -
- The blueberries stay plump and juicy instead of turning into sad raisins, because frozen berries are actually your secret weapon here.
- That buttery streusel topping adds a satisfying crunch that contrasts beautifully with the tender cake underneath.
- Lemon and blueberry together taste like summer decided to show up for breakfast, no matter what season it actually is.
02 -
- Frozen blueberries are not a compromise; they're actually superior because they stay whole and don't bleed into the batter like fresh ones do when they hit the warm batter.
- Overmixing the batter is the fastest way to turn tender cake into dense, rubbery sadness—mix only until you can't see streaks of flour anymore.
- The sour cream is what makes this cake stay moist for days; Greek yogurt works too, but sour cream gives a subtly richer flavor.
03 -
- Room temperature eggs mix more smoothly into the butter-sugar mixture and create a better emulsion, resulting in a tender, evenly-textured cake.
- If you forget to chill your streusel and it's looking too soft, pop the assembled cake in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking—the cold batter will keep the topping from sinking.