This sour cream blueberry coffee cake is super moist and flavorful with a pound cake like texture and filled with yummy blueberries, then topped with the most amazing crumb streusel topping with just a hint of cinnamon. It’s yummy for breakfast, or any time you want a blueberry treat.
Hey there! Before you scroll, there’s lot’s of important stuff in the post!…including the FAQ section, which may answer any questions you might have about this recipe. Enjoy!
This cake is truly addicting. It’s definitely not diet food, but because it’s got blueberries in it…we can call it healthy, right?
Coffee cake is great for breakfast or dessert or just whenever you want a yummy blueberry snack. Just warm up a small (or large) slice in the microwave and you’re good to go.
Let’s talk about some of the ingredients in this sour cream blueberry coffee cake:
Brown sugar: This is a must. You can use either light brown or dark brown sugar, but regular sugar just won’t do it.
Butter: You’ll be using unsalted butter here and you’ll need it cold for the crumb topping and room temp for the cake. Make sure to use real butter here as margarine just isn’t the same.
Sour cream: Sour cream pumps up the flavor and the moisture in this cake. Use real full fat sour cream if you can get it, but if you can’t then you can substitute it if necessary. You’ll want to check out the FAQ section of this blog post below to see substitution options.
Zest and juice of one lemon: The cake won’t taste lemony…but the lemon just brings out the flavor of the blueberries.
Frozen blueberries: I used frozen blueberries here, but you can use fresh as well although you might need to bake it for less time if using fresh blueberries. (Make sure to read the notes in the actual recipe.)
Mixing method for this cake:
The mixing method for this cake is called the reverse creaming method. That just means that instead of creaming the sugar and butter together until fluffy and then alternately adding in the dry and liquid ingredients, you’ll instead mix in the butter chunks into the dry mixture, then add in the liquid in two parts.
Once the liquid is added, you’ll stir in the frozen blueberries, then pour everything into the pan. Next you’ll cover it all with the yummy crumb topping and bake.
I find the reverse creaming method makes a more tender cake and I also find it easier to do. (Don’t worry though, the recipe instructions will walk you trough it…easy peasy.)
Tips & FAQs for the Sour Cream Blueberry Coffee Cake:
No, it will be just fine covered at room temperature for a couple days. After that, you can refrigerate it to help it last up to a week.
I used frozen blueberries, so I have not tested out this recipe using fresh blueberries. It should be fine although you may have less baking time so keep that in mind. Using frozen blueberries might help keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake though and they may be less likely to burst during baking.
No, you’ll add them frozen. (See question above)
It doesn’t matter. Dark brown and light brown sugar are interchangeable, but I used light brown. Make sure to pack brown sugar when you measure it.
Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off. If you scoop the flour out with your measuring cup, you’ll end up adding too much flour into your cake batter.
Don’t microwave the butter as it will heat unevenly. Just set the butter out for about an hour or so to come to room temperature before mixing the cake batter.
No, it’s optional, but it really brings out the flavor of the blueberries. You can use a couple tablespoons of bottled lemon juice as a substitute.
The sour cream really helps give this cake a wonderful taste and makes it moist, so it’s best to use sour cream. If you really cannot get it, you can use full fat yogurt instead.
This is a scratch cake, so you want to be careful not to mix too long or it will make your cake very dense and tough. Only mix until the ingredients are well combined…don’t mix for several minutes, that’s too long for a scratch cake.
No. You can absolutely use a hand mixer.
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SUPPLIES USED TO MAKE THIS COFFEE CAKE:
- Mixing bowls
- Metal measuring cups and spoons
- Whisk set
- Rubber spatulas
- Hand mixer or Stand mixer
- Flat beater attachment if using a stand mixer
- 13×9 inch glass baking dish
- Cooling racks
Ok let’s get to the recipe!
***I write recipes using volume (cups) measurements because here in the U.S., this is what people are used to seeing and using. For weight in metric measurements, click the ‘metric’ button under the ingredients in the recipe card. The weights are converted by a program, not me, and it’s a best guess. Please note that because I develop recipes using ‘cups’ I can’t guarantee that weighing the ingredients will produce the exact same results.
Sour Cream Blueberry Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the crumb topping:
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
For the cake:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- juice and zest from 1 lemon
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
- 3 ½ cups frozen blueberries, not thawed (if using fresh blueberries, see notes below)
Instructions
For the crumb topping:
- Add the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt to a mixing bowl and whisk well. Pull out any brown sugar chunks. Add the chunks of butter and mix with a fork and your fingers smashing the butter as you go. Once all the chunks of butter are broken up and mostly incorporated, you can use the fork or an electric mixer to mix it just until the mixture is crumbly.
- If using a mixer, be careful not to mix too long, or it will form a paste. Stop mixing once the mixture looks crumbly.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill while you make the cake.
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Grease a 9×13 inch pan. (I used a glass pan). If you’re using a dark coated pan, the bottom may over-brown a bit, so just be aware.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar and packed brown sugar. Whisk well and set aside.
- In another bowl, mix together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla extract and juice and zest from one lemon. Whisk well and set aside.
- Make sure your butter is slightly cooler than room temperature. Add the butter (in chunks) slowly to your dry ingredients. (You can turn your stand mixer on low and leave it on while you add the butter chunks a bit at a time, or you can use a hand mixer.)
- Once all the butter has been added, turn the mixer up to medium and mix until all the flour is coated with the butter and the mixture is crumbly. It will have a sand-like texture.
- Pour in about half of the liquid mixture. Mix on medium until just combined. About 15-20 seconds.
- Pour the last of the liquid mixture and mix again until combined. Don’t over mix the batter. Mixing it for several minutes is too long. Once all the ingredients are incorporated well, stop mixing.
- Use a rubber spatula and scrape the sides of the bowl. Mix again for only about 10 seconds.
- Add a couple teaspoons of flour to the frozen blueberries a stir to coat them.
- Add the flour coated frozen blueberries to the cake batter and stir in with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, not with the electric mixer.
- Pour the batter into prepared pan. If you use frozen blueberries, the batter will become quite thick and possibly a little stiff. It's okay, just spread it evenly into the pan as best you can.
- Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the top of the cake batter.
- Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 50-55 minutes. The top will be golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center will come out either clean or with a few moist crumbs. (I used frozen blueberries. If you use fresh blueberries, you may not need to bake as long. Watch your cake closely after about 40 minutes.)
- Set on wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes, then serve straight from the pan. This cake is best served warm.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Ronak Mehta
I tried out cake with the above recipe. The cake was very soft and tasty. Thank you.
Kara Jane
Wonderful! So glad you liked it and thank you for the great review!
Colleen
I made this coffe cake on Christmas day and used my fresh frozen blueberries that I bought from ALDI’S in the late Fall. I coated them with about 1 tbsp. of flour and it worked great. No purple batter. Also, I skipped the crumble topping. Instead , I used about a cup of my homemade buttercream frosting. Made with real salted butter always. Betty Crockers recipe if you need it. I have been baking since I was 10. Now I am 64. This recipe rocks.
Kara Jane
Wonderful Colleen!
Marlene Hanley
Kara,
I made this cake yesterday and it is all but a few slices are gone. My wife could not stop raving about how moist it is and the crumble topping. I did scale it down to 10 servingsso it fit in my 9 inch springform pan. We recently went berry picking so I made jam. I decided to swirl my marionberry/raspberry jam in the cake and it turned out wonderful. Pretty swirls throughout the cake. I did also substitute milk for heavy cream!!! (If your going to make this cake you may as well go all the way!!! LOL) I will be making this again for a family beach weekend next month!!!
Kara Jane
Oh the jam sounds wonderful! And I’m so glad everyone loved it and I agree…if you’re gonna eat cake, go all out!
Zora
Tasty cake but making it was a pain in the ass.
I used a good processor, pulsing to create the desired crumbly texture when mixing the butter and flour. Saved some elbow grease, but I just hated having so many dirty bowls and measuring cups and spoons and scrapers.
The cake was h-u-g-e, too, overflowing my Pyrex dish. Wondering if it would be best as muffins or loaves.
Kara
Hi Zora, oh goodness…I do get what you mean. It does require several steps and different dishes, so I totally get it. 😉 It does make a large cake. I haven’t tried it as muffins or loaves, but I think it would work just fine though.
Barb
How does this work with gluten free flour?
Kara Jane
I’m not an expert at gluten-free baking, so I really couldn’t say. You could perhaps start off with subbing out the flour for a 1 to 1 ratio gluten-free flour like Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 and see how that goes. I haven’t tried it out, but it’s worth experimenting.
Mama
I love this recipe. I skipped the crumble topping and used less sugar. It turned out really tasty and moist.
Kara
Wonderful!
Michael
What types of adjustments need to be made if I want to use a bundt pan for this recipe?
Kara
Michael, I haven’t tried this cake out in a bundt pan, but if you’d like to try it, here’s what I would do. First, make sure to grease and flour the bundt pan very well. Then you’d probably want to add the crumb topping mixture into the pan first so that it’ll be on top when you eventually turn the cake out of the pan. After you add the crumble topping to the pan, then add the batter and bake at 325 degrees F instead of 350F. Since I haven’t baked this in a bundt pan, I don’t know the exact time you’ll need to bake it but it will probably be around an hour or maybe a little more. Just start checking at around 45 minutes or so just to be safe, but it’ll most likely need to bake longer. Test it with a toothpick and pull the cake out once the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs on it or clean….just no raw batter on it. I hope this helps.
Dianne R
Made today. It’s taking over the spot I have for Best Blueberry Muffins Ever. Very moist and crumble great too. Crumbling the butter in flour was a great method. I’m a fan.
Kara
Yay! Thanks for the great review…I’m so glad you liked it! 🙂
Emmi
Could I use plain greek yogurt in place of the sour cream ?
Kara
Oh yes, I think that should work just fine.
Emmi
I made this using (The Greek Gods) Traditional Plain Yogurt.
The texture/consistency is identical to “sour cream”.
I used a Three Berry Blend, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry.
I also swirled in a Triple Berry Jam (11 oz jar Krogers) into the batter and added some on top of the batter PRIOR to laying on the brown sugar crumble.
I would recommend making HALF the crumble recipe!!!!!!
I had Wayyyyyyyyy Too Much;
Only used about Half of what I made.
Also; I would recommend Only Use Half the suggested amount of Flour In the crumble mixture!!!!!!! Mine was Way Too Floury and had hardly any sugar/butter combo to spread over the cake surface.
Kara
Hi Emmi, thanks for the great review and really appreciate your suggestions. They’ll be helpful to others. 🙂
Emmi
Since this recipe uses frozen fruit.
What other kinds of frozen fruit could be used in this recipe ?
What fruit would Not do well in this batter ?
Kara
I think most frozen fruit should be okay. I think that a mixed berry or triple berry mix would be good. Not sure about bananas though.
Marjorie
This was fabulous! I followed the suggestions made for baking it in a Bundt cake pan. It was 325 degrees for 75 minutes. Started checking it at 45 like you suggested, then every 10 minutes. Next time I might use 3/4 of the crumble topping, but keep the full amount of cinnamon. That part of the recipe can be customized to your taste (different spices, nuts, etc).
Another reviewer fussed about this taking so many dishes. None of the dishes were difficult to clean (sticky, baked on, etc) so clean up may have taken me 10 minutes instead of 7. Don’t let that be a deal breaker for you!
Kara
Marjorie, thanks for that great review. I’m glad it worked out being baked in a bundt pan and thanks for the additional notes about how long it took as that will help others. I agree with you on the topping. Like you said, that is customizable and you can totally change that up to suit your tastes. And good idea about adding chopped nuts as well. I appreciate your comment about using multiple bowls. I know many don’t like to use a lot of bowls, but for me, if it’ll give me a good cake, then I’m all for it. 😉
Emmi
Update: Banana Coffee Cake
I used fresh spotted bananas, sliced and frozen overnight in this cake batter.
1 large banana = approx 1 cup.
4 very spotted bananas, sliced, single layer on parchment lined cookie sheet covered; frozen over night.
I used:
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 vanilla extract
Homemade Dark Brown Sugar.
Toss the sliced frozen bananas in some flour ( like the recipe states )
The end result is a very brown exterior cake.
[Not Banana Bread Texture]
Banana Coffee Cake.
Enjoy Trying it Out !!!!!!!!!
Kara
Wow Emmi, that sounds amazing! Thank you so much for sharing these measurements and instructions. I can’t wait to try this out…it sounds so good!
Olya
Made this cake yesterday. It was amazing! Very moist and fluffy. Recipe was easy to follow. I think it’s very important not to overmix the batter. I added less sugar. Will definitely make it again. Thank you!
Kara
Yay! So glad you liked it and it’s good to know that it still worked out even after lowering the sugar…that will be helpful to others making the recipe. 🙂
Kerby
I am baking the cake right now but it’s not setting in the middle. The edges are brown that I can see through the glass pan but my center is raw and it’s been over an hour now — I added an extra 16 minutes of bake time. 😬😩 No substitutions or changes to the recipe as written. I’m starting to worry. Should I just keep it in the oven for longer or increase the temp?
Kara
Oh no! I’m not sure I’m answering you in time, but just a couple of things here: Was the oven preheated? Are you baking at a high altitude? Did you use a 13×9 inch pan? Do you think maybe too much liquid was added by accident? Those things can all make a difference, but I just can’t be sure other than those things. I mean some of our ovens run different, so maybe that’s it? Just keep baking a little longer and see what happens. Let me know.