Blueberries and lemon come together perfectly in a Sour Cream Blueberry Coffee Cake that is truly worthy of any occasion.
I have a huge grin on my face today and I am positively giddy to tell you that this cake, this fantastically moist, perfectly sweet blueberry coffee cake with a hint of lemon, is the best blueberry coffee cake I have ever tasted.
I am so happy with this cake, I practically danced across the kitchen after I tasted it. I ate a slice of this cake right after I finished photographing it this afternoon and I ate another slice after dinner.
Sour Cream Blueberry Coffee Cake
Coffee cake, in my opinion, doesn’t get nearly the amount of hype it deserves. A good coffee cake has a tender moist interior with a crisp, crumbly topping. This one is also stuffed to the brim with fresh juicy blueberries.
I was surprised to learn recently that in some parts of the world a “coffee cake” is a cake with actual coffee in it. While I’ve been known to bake a cake with coffee in it from time to time, like this Chocolate Mocha Cake, a true coffee cake is one designed to be eaten alongside a cup of coffee.
Blueberry Coffee Cake with Sour Cream
This blueberry coffee cake with sour cream is ideal for sipping with a Spanish Cafe con Leche or for sharing with friends alongside a pot of coffee. The blueberries in it make me think of summer afternoons, gathered with friends for an afternoon chat on the porch.
Coffee cake is also the kind of cake you can happily eat for breakfast. It’s basically a muffin in cake form, right?
Do I even need to tell you what I’ll be eating for breakfast tomorrow? This is a dangerous kind of awesome, my friends.
Easy Blueberry Coffee Cake
Another thing to love about this easy blueberry coffee cake is that there’s no icing required. It’s sweet and moist all on its own. While I love the taste of icing, I’m not the world’s best cake decorator. So, any easy cake recipe that lets me just bake and go is a winner.
This coffee cake smelled so good while it was baking that I could hardly wait for it to cool to grab myself a slice. After realizing how good it was, I had to put the rest of the cake out of sight.
I cannot wait to enjoy this blueberry coffee cake for breakfast tomorrow with my first cup of coffee.
Gluten Free Blueberry Coffee Cake
Once I discovered how good this blueberry coffee cake recipe is, I decided to see if I could make it gluten free. As it turns out, substituting gluten free flours and starches was super easy and resulted in a cake that we all liked just as much as the traditional version.
I’m always excited when I can share a new favorite recipe with my family members and friends who avoid gluten. Check out more of my Gluten Free Dessert Recipes too.
Moist Blueberry Coffee Cake
Nothing disappoints me more than digging into a slice of coffee cake to find that the inside is dry and crumbly. That is not a problem with this wonderfully moist blueberry coffee cake.
What’s the secret? Sour cream keeps this blueberry coffee cake moist, even a few days later.
If you love this blueberry coffee cake as much as I do, chances are you’ll hardly have any leftovers after a couple of days. It doesn’t last long when it’s great for dessert and then again the next morning for breakfast.
But, if you DO end up with a few extra slices, rest easy knowing that this cake will taste delicious each and every time you come back for more. And if you are lucky enough to have leftovers, this pan with a lid is fantastic for both baking and storing cake.
Sour Cream Blueberry Coffee Cake Recipe
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this recipe:
Cake Ingredients
- butter
- sugar
- eggs
- lemon juice and zest
- vanilla extract
- flour
- baking powder
- sour cream
- blueberries
Coffee Cake Topping
- flour
- brown sugar
- butter
Recipe for Blueberry Coffee Cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8″ baking pan with butter. You’ll want a big mixing bowl for the batter. Start by beating the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Then, stir in the vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Mix in the eggs one at a time, just until combined. Combine the flour and baking powder in another bowl and lightly coat your blueberries with the dry ingredients.
Then mix the dry ingredients into your batter, one half at a time. Gently stir in the blueberries and pour it all into your greased pan.
For the topping, mix the flour and sugar together before adding the melted butter. Stir it together lightly with a fork, then sprinkle the sugary crumbs on top of the batter in the pan.
Blueberry Coffee Cake Recipe
Making this blueberry coffee cake recipe is as simple as mixing together the batter, pouring it into a pan, and adding a crumb topping. Fresh blueberries in the batter add a sweet, tart flavor and beautiful color to this coffee cake.
The crumb topping comes together with just a little flour, sugar, and melted butter. I mix it up in the same bowl I used for the cake batter so that I’m only getting one bowl dirty.
I love baking, but hate cleaning up! Can I get an amen?
Easy Coffee Cake Recipes
I’m definitely a coffee cake enthusiast, and this one has already been added to my list of favorite easy coffee cake recipes. I love Layered Pumpkin Coffee Cake, Lemon Coffee Cake, and straight-up Cinnamon Coffee Cake. The satisfaction of sticking your fork into the crisp crumb topping and tasting the moist, sweet interior is unbeatable.
If you like this coffee cake recipe, you should also give this Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze a try. I’ve also got my eye on these Sour Cream Coffee Cake Muffins.
Blueberry Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Coffee Cake
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest or the zest of (1) large lemon
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour*
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
*Gluten-Free Alternative
- ⅔ cup brown rice flour
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- ¼ cup potato starch
- ½ teaspoon xantham gum
Coffee Cake Topping
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour**
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter melted
**Gluten-Free Topping Alternative
- ⅔ cup brown rice flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Beat the butter and the sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 6-7 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until combined.
- Combine the flour and baking powder in a bowl. Place the blueberries in a small bowl and sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of the dry ingredients, stir gently to coat the berries.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the sour cream and mix again. Add the remaining dry ingredients, and mix just until combined.
- Gently stir in the blueberries and pour the batter into a greased 8" square pan. Place the flour and sugar for the topping in the same small bowl that was holding the berries and add the melted butter. Stir lightly with a fork to combine. Sprinkle the sugary crumbs over the batter in the pan.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Let cool before slicing.
Nutrition
{recipe originally published 8/14/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 4/25/23}
Magnolia Verandah says
Not sure what happened to my comment – but I was very excited to read this recipe. Sounds lip smacking good.
Linda Hopkins says
I'm so glad I picked up blueberries for $1.00 a cup yesterday and that my grandchildren didn't succeed in eating them all 🙂 I'll let you know how this turns out. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Mary says
blueberries and lemons are such a perfect combination – your picture is gorgeous!
Mary
Dennis says
I made half of this recipe last night and used self-rising flour and baked it in a small 6inch round pan and it is very good.
Anonymous says
Wow!! This cake is amazing! Great recipe- thank you!
~ Melissa
Anonymous says
Looks delicious! Is there nutrition info for this recipe? How would I find it for this and other recipes?
Mary says
You can paste the ingredient list into any online nutritional calculator and figure out the nutritional information. That isn't something that I track for my recipes.
Here's a link to a calculator:
http://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
Joan Hayes says
Mary this looks lovely, and I'm such a sucker for crumb topping – love it! 🙂
June Mason says
This looks absolutely delicious, I will be making this for sure on my GF friends next visit. I note that coffee is not listed as an ingredient but is in the title…….I could always make the cake to have with a coffee!
Trina Nicole says
I've been contemplating this recipe for about two weeks. I finally decided to make it today. This is one of those recipes that you have to hurry and get in the dish before the batter is gone because it is that delicious. Wonderful recipe! I will definitely make this again.
Unknown says
so you only use 1 cup TOTAL of flour correct?
Mary says
That is correct.
Anonymous says
Very excited to try this. I'm having a jewelry open house poolside next Sunday (brunch items for food and beverage), and this will fit the theme perfectly!
Homestylist says
Mary, could I also use 1-cup of a gluten-free flour blend insted of the collection of ingredients to make a gluten-free flour base? Thanks.
Mary says
If it's a blend that you've had success with in the past, I don't see why not. It's certainly worth a try!
Pat says
Can I use frozen blueberries in this recipe? My freezer is full!
Mary says
Definitely! I use frozen fruit at least half the time. Enjoy!
Shoops says
Absolutely delicious! Made for breakfast and none was left! Lemon and blueberries go together so well.
Nelda says
Can you use a gluten free flour that us cup for cup for regular flour? If so that would be much easier?
Mary says
Personally, I haven’t had great luck with the store-bought GF flour blends. However, if you have one that is reliable for you, it’s definitely worth trying!
Jackie says
I wanna try this with raspberries
Sammi says
What are your thoughts on using apples instead of blueberries?
Mary says
I’ve never tried that myself, but it might work. If you decide to try it, let me know what you think.
Jean Hartford says
Can you use frozen berries?
Mary says
Yes, frozen berries will work fine.
Linda J Hall says
I did make a gluten free version and it came out very good! I used King Arthur gluten free blend instead of the various ingredients listed for gluten free and it worked just fine! I did ct back on the sugar, used 3/4 cup instead of 1 cup (diabetes, both husband and me) and, I probably should have reduced the amount of lemon juice because it was a bit stronger than I’d like. Nobody else mentioned the strong lemon flavor so I guess it’s a matter of personal choice! It was delicious and a real treat for those of us on severely restricted diets!
Cheryl M says
Delicious. I doubled the recipe & made 9X13 pan. Tripled the topping and put a handful of sliced almonds on top of batter before adding topping. Entire pan gone this morning at work. Thanks for sharing your recipe.