We’ve spent years perfecting the perfect blueberry coffee cake recipe—it is deliciously tender with hints of cinnamon and lemon and a crunchy oat crumble topping while being a little healthier! Video.
Happiness is continuing to desire what you already possess.
Friedrich Nietzsche
I always try to balance healthfulness and indulgence. In our vegetarian restaurant, of course, we wanted everything to be delicious, but the challenge was how to make it a little healthier. This moist and tender blueberry coffee cake recipe achieves this—just read all the 5-star reviews!
It’s an easy healthy recipe that results in the most tender, moist texture, with succulent blueberries speckled throughout the cake. The streusel topping’s satisfying crunch, paired with the hint of spice and light sweetness, makes it difficult to stop at just one piece.
One reader, Carrie, says: “This blueberry coffee cake is a winner! This was not overly difficult, and a great way to use frozen blueberries (I thawed them before adding) and it tastes amazing ❤️” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Healthy Blueberry Coffee Cake Ingredients
- Blueberries: Blueberries are in season from April through October, making this a great time to bake this coffee cake! Choose organic if possible and frozen blueberries work too!
- Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour: Whole wheat pastry flour is lighter than regular whole wheat, giving the cake an earthy, nutty flavor with added nutrition. Feel free to sub AP white flour or half wheat and half white.
- Oats: Adds texture to the crunchy, crumbly streusel topping.
- Sugars: Brown sugar (or sub coconut sugar) for the topping and 1/2 – 3/4 cup regular sugar, depending on how sweet you wish the cake to be.
- Spices: Ground cinnamon, and cardamom.
- Dairy: Unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes, milk (whole, low fat, or dairy free), and sour cream or sub-Greek yogurt.
- Eggs: Buy local and organic if you can.
- Oil: We used avocado oil, but any neutral oil works to moisten the cake.
- Vanilla extract: Delicious flavor that also enhances the other flavors in the cake.
- Lemon: Zest of 1 lemon, plus lemon juice for a hint of zesty tartness.
How to Make the Best Blueberry Coffee Cake!
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with oil (and place parchment on the bottom if desired).
Step 1: Mix the streusel topping. In a bowl, stir brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, and salt. Cut the butter in until a coarse crumble forms.
Step 2: Prepare cake batter. In a separate large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt. Cut the cold butter in, using a pastry cutter, forks, or fingers (make sure hands are not too warm). Combine until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
Step 3: Whisk wet ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk oil, milk, sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, and juice.
Step 4: Combine wet and dry ingredients. Fold wet ingredients gently into the flour mixture. It will be thick.
Step 5: Add batter to pan. Spread 2/3 of the coffee cake batter into the prepared springform pan, sprinkling 1 cup of blueberries on top. Spread the remaining batter over the blueberry layer. Then top with the remaining blueberries.
Step 6: Add crumb topping. Pour streusel evenly over top.
Step 7: Bake. Bake 55-70 minutes, until set in the middle and baked to golden perfection. Use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Step 8: Cool. Cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes before slicing.
Chef’s Tips
- Use whole wheat pastry flour: Adds deliciously nutty flavor and increases the fiber content, giving this cake a healthy boost!
- Don’t over-mix the batter: Be careful not to over-work the batter here or it will be too dense.
- Be gentle with the blueberries: Rather than fold in we just layer the blueberries with the batter, avoiding blue streaks that can turn your batter grey and it keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
- Don’t have a 9-inch Springform pan? Here is a handy Baking Pan Conversion Sheet from my friend Jen!
FAQs
The main difference is the topping! Coffee cake has a crumbly streusel topping, usually made with cinnamon and oats. Our blueberry coffee cake is not overly sweet making it a nice addition to breakfast.
We prefer to use fresh blueberries here, however, if frozen blueberries are all you have, or they are out of season, then frozen works too. Be sure to add frozen, don’t let them thaw. The cake may take another 10 minutes to bake.
Yes! Wrap the slices individually in plastic wrap and foil. Place in an airtight freezer bag and store for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
You can try substituting any other type of berry in this cake. Blackberries, raspberries, or strawberries would make fun variations!
StoraGe & Reheating
Store leftover Blueberry Coffee Cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can reheat the cake in a 350F oven for 8-10 minutes.
I hope this blueberry sour cream coffee cake brightens your week! Enjoy in the morning with a cup of coffee or serve as a dessert with fresh whipped cream!
xoxo Tonia
More Favorite Baking Recipes
Watch how to make it!
Blueberry Coffee Cake Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings
- Category: Brunch, Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
We’ve spent years perfecting the perfect blueberry coffee cake recipe—it is deliciously tender with hints of cinnamon and lemon and a crunchy oat crumble topping while being a little healthier!
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- 1/2 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup oats (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted chilled butter, cut into small cubes
Cake
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour *see notes
- 1/2 –3/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small cubes
- 2 tablespoons oil (we used avocado oil)
- 1/2 cup milk (whole, low-fat, or dairy free)
- 1/2 cup sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- zest of a lemon
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan with oil (and parchment on the bottom if desired).
- Mix the Stresuel Topping: In a bowl add brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, and salt. Cut the butter in until a coarse crumble forms. Set the bowl aside.
- Make the Cake batter: In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt. Cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter, forks or fingers (make sure your hands are not too warm) combine until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
- Whisk together oil, milk, sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and juice.
- Fold the wet ingredients gently into the flour mixture. It will be thick.
- With a rubber spatula spread 2/3 of the mixture in the pan and sprinkle 1 cup of the berries evenly on top. Spread the remaining batter on the top (drop small scoops evenly around and spread the dough over the berries). Top with the remaining blueberries. Spread the streusel evenly over the top.
- Bake at 350F for 55-70 minutes, until set in the middle.
- Cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes before cutting.
Notes
Optional you can use chopped pecans or walnuts in place of the oats.
Store at room temperature in a sealed airtight container up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven at 350F for 8-10 minutes.
Whole wheat pastry flour (ww pastry flour is lighter than regular whole wheat) gives the cake an earthy nutty flavor that we love and adds nutrition. Feel free to use all purpose white flour or half wheat & half white.
Sugar- 1/2 cup makes this cake just lightly sweet complementing the streusel topping. Adding 3/4 cup of sugar does richen the overall flavor of the cake.
We prefer to use fresh blueberries but frozen works too. Be sure to add while still frozen, don’t let them thaw. The cake may take another 10 minutes to bake.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 364
- Sugar: 13.9 g
- Sodium: 190.8 mg
- Fat: 19.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Carbohydrates: 42.9 g
- Fiber: 4.4 g
- Protein: 7.3 g
- Cholesterol: 76 mg
P.S. I’m sorry, I forgot to include in my comment that if you don’t have a 9-inch Springform pan, then something like my Nordic Ware aluminum 9 x 9 square cake pan works great!
Great to hear, appreciate it Jennifer!
I made this a few days ago and it is stupendous. I had 5% Greek yogurt, so I used that. I didn’t have any whole wheat pastry flour, but I had 100% whole wheat flour and AP flour, so I used half of each. Let me tell you, this coffee cake is very flexible, because it tasted so good you would have thought the recipe was originally written that way! I will definitely be making this again. I’ve been asked to either leave it just as it is, or to use blackberries next time. 😉 I’m sure any berry would be tasty in this coffee cake.
So glad it worked out for you Jennifer! I think blackberries sound divine. 🙂