One of Betty Crocker’s most beloved recipes, this blueberry coffee cake really is that good. Tender, full of juicy berries, topped with a crunchy, buttery, cinnamon crumb, and then given a vanilla glaze. Whew! Sounds outstanding, doesn’t it?
Adapted from Betty Crocker | Betty Crocker’s Best 100 | Betty Crocker, 2021
This is the most requested blueberry recipe that I make every year. Nobody wants to share the cake, even with their spouse. I have already baked eight cakes this year and have only been able to eat two pieces myself. Need I say more?–Betty Crocker
HOW DO I STORE COFFE CAKE?
You might have missed all the effusiveness in this recipe about just how delish this blueberry coffee cake is. Or, more likely, you’re just planning ahead. Whatever scraps you have left can be tightly wrapped and refrigerated for one week or frozen for up to 6 months.
☞ Contents
Blueberry Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the crumb topping
- Butter shortening, or baking spray, for the pan
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter softened
For the coffee cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)
For the vanilla glaze
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons hot water
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Make the crumb topping
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Coat bottom and side of a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan or 9-inch (23 cm) square pan with butter, shortening, or cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, mix sugar, flour, and cinnamon together. Cut in butter with a fork until crumbly.
Make the coffee cake
- In a large bowl, combine all of the coffee cake ingredients except the blueberries. Using a spoon, mix vigorously for 30 seconds. Fold in blueberries.
- Spread batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle with crumb topping.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 60 minutes. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes, then remove the side of the pan, if using a springform pan.
Make the vanilla glaze
- In a small bowl, mix glaze ingredients until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over warm coffee cake.
Notes
VARIATION
CRAN-RASPBERRY COFFEE CAKE: Prepare as directed—except substitute 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries and 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, sliced in half, for the blueberries.Show Nutrition
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We’d love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This is an excellent blueberry coffee cake. And it comes together in no time. Before the oven is heated, you’re ready to begin baking this cake. It’s light. It’s tasty. It’s not too sweet which makes it perfect for breakfast. And it’s delicious.
No one I offered it to could stop at one piece. I used wild Maine blueberries that I froze and added to the batter while still frozen. I had to bake for 4 to 5 minutes longer than the recipe called for due to the frozen berries. Don’t forget the glaze. It adds a bit of delightful sweetness. This blueberry coffee cake will appear often at my breakfast table.
This blueberry coffee cake is very classic, easy to make, and quite delicious. One of the things I loved most about it was how perfectly it baked up with a nice moist crumb. The middle was baked through but without the over-baked edges which so often happens.
The only change I made to the recipe was to throw in 1/4 cup chopped pecans into the crumb topping. I’m nuts about nuts and a coffee cake just wouldn’t be complete without them. My daughter and I enjoyed a cup of piping hot coffee with our coffee cake this afternoon while watching a storm roll in and listening to the rumble of thunder. Perfect!
This blueberry coffee cake really smelled divine, so I couldn’t wait to cut into it. The piece was too hot, and I thought, well, it’s ok, but not great. I had another bite a few minutes later–better. By my third piece, I decided it is quite delicious!
It has a nice light crumb and isn’t too sweet. The frosting adds nice hits of sweetness when you run across it. And it comes together quite quickly, which is a bonus–the instruction to stir it for just 30 seconds definitely precipitated my choice to make this. When I make this again, I’ll add more cinnamon and some vanilla and cardamom in the batter as well.
This is a great, classic recipe. Easy to put together, simple ingredients, great result. What else do you need in a baked good? My mom is a big coffee cake fan and has a recipe that she requests over and over. I occasionally like to throw in a fresh take to see if I can unseat her favorite and I knew this had a fighting chance: crumb top, blueberries, cinnamon, vanilla glaze, and easier to put together than her often requested version.
This recipe delivered a delicate crumb, crunchy (but not too crunchy!) top and a great balance of sweet and tart with the blueberries. There is officially a new favorite coffee cake in town.
This recipe for blueberry coffee cake was a delight to make. It all came together in a little over an hour. I was super impressed with the moist and tender cake filled with extra blueberries and the supremely crisp topping. Right when it came out of the oven I drizzled on the glaze which added another dimension of flavor and gooey goodness. Yum, yum, yum!
This was good! Let me preface this with a confession that I am not a sweets person, I typically take a pass because I just don’t have an affinity for sweets, and it’s not worth the calories. That being said, we are a family of blueberry enthusiasts and I’m surrounded by sweet-toothed people, so I gave this recipe a try.
It’s a fantastic cake. What I loved the most was that it was not overly sweet, it had a lovely tartness from the berries that balanced the sweetness from the crumble and the glaze. If your berries are sweet, I would suggest a few grates of lemon zest into the batter if you want to achieve a harmonious balance of flavor. This cake could be eaten for breakfast, brunch, dessert . . . all appropriate categories.
This blueberry coffee cake is company-worthy. It is a delicious cake packed with blueberries. Easy to prepare, ingredients are readily available and it has a wonderful flavor. It is a good summertime dessert especially with fresh berries from the farm stand. The glaze and crumb topping make this a special cake.
Originally published October 7, 2021
Hello! Question about this cake( currently baking in the oven). How do you best incorporate the shortening in this recipe? I couldn’t get rid of the lumps!
Carol, was your milk or shortening cold? That would cause it not to get incorporated.
It was room temp, which is what was so puzzling! Anyway- the cake was wonderful! It didn’t matter in the end!
That is indeed puzzling. I’m glad you enjoyed the final product, though!
Recipe was easy to make. I haven’t tried it yet but my wife thinks it looks amazing.
I agree with your wife, Dennis. It does look amazing!
Angie,
In my humble opinion this cake taste great. The texture is so much better than traditional cakes. I received quite a few compliments on it.
Wonderful, Dennis! I’m so happy to hear that.
What is the shortening that is used in this recipe? Could you use olive oil instead?
Peggy, it’s vegetable shortening. We didn’t test it using olive oil, so we can’t say. But it will give it a different texture.
Hmmm that’s interesting. I didn’t know that olive oil changed the texture in cakes. Does butter give another texture also?
Peggy, butter also lends a different texture. Olive oil cakes tend to be denser with a tight crumb. Butter cakes tend to be lighter with a more open crumb.