Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake is a delicious streusel-topped breakfast dessert. Flavorful, plump blueberries generously accent a golden cake base, which is topped with an amazingly delicious, easy to make, sugar and cinnamon crumble that takes this homemade cake to the next level.
Whether enjoyed in the morning with a cup of coffee, or later on in the evening as a special dessert, this delicious, classic coffee cake is always a winner. It's hard to beat that delicious cinnamon crumble and fresh blueberry flavor!
This scrumptious cake was the inspiration for my delicious Cranberry Coffee Cake Muffins, which have the same buttery-cinnamon buckle topping.
Curious why some desserts are called a "buckle", like this one? Keep reading to find out!
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👪Why you'll love it
| Easy to make: Even though this is a homemade cake, there's no fancy mixing or complicated steps. This classic recipe is very easy to follow. Simple ingredients: This recipe uses basic pantry staples, and you most likely already have them on hand. Keeps well: You can store the cake after it has baked in the freezer for up to 2 months. Freeze it by the slice for easier and faster defrosting. |
Can't get enough blueberry desserts? Check out Stovetop Blueberry Grunt!
🥘Ingredients
See recipe card for quantities.
For the blueberry coffee cake:
- butter- soften this at room temperature for best results; 1 stick is all you need and half of it is used in the topping
- granulated sugar
- eggs- slightly beat before adding to the bowl; using room temperature eggs makes the batter more fluid and easier to mix
- milk- I typically use skim; for a creamier cake use whole
- flour
- salt & baking powder- leavening agents
- fresh blueberries- choose plump berries for best flavor
For the buckle (streusel topping):
- butter
- granulated sugar
- flour
- cinnamon
🔪Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream ½ stick of softened butter with ¾ cup sugar.
- Beat the eggs slightly in a separate bowl and add the milk. Then add this mixture to the large bowl. Stir until well blended.
- Mix the dry ingredients for the cake; then add to the large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Gently fold in the blueberries.
- Add the cake batter to your prepared Bundt pan.
- Make the streusel by melting the butter. Mix it with the remaining flour, sugar and cinnamon. Spoon this mixture over the cake batter.
- Bake and allow to cool before serving.
Hint: To accurately measure the flour, lightly spoon it in a measuring cup and gently level off for best results.
🥣Substitutions
Blueberries: You can use frozen blueberries in this recipe. Do not defrost; simply add them frozen to the batter. (Bake time might be slightly longer with this option.)
📖Variations
Cranberry Buckle: Use 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries instead of blueberries, along with 1 T. orange zest. For even more orange flavor, replace the milk with orange juice.
Mixed Berry Buckle: Use a combination of blueberries, blackberries and chopped strawberries to total 3 cups.
🍽Equipment
- large mixing bowl
- medium mixing bowl
- small mixing bowl
- whisk
- mixing spoons
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- pastry cutter
- microwavable safe dish
- 2 part metal Bundt/tube pan, or springform pan
🍶Storage
Cover cake with foil on a serving plate. Let the cake sit on your countertop. Enjoy within three days.
Freezing instructions: Wrap really well in freezer safe food packaging. The cake can be frozen for up to two months. To defrost, allow the cake to defrost overnight in your fridge. It will be a little soggy, but it will still taste amazing!
💭Top tip
When adding the dry ingredients, it's important not to overmix. Stir until just combined instead. Over stirring will affect the consistency of the eggs, and cause them overbind with the ingredients, causing a chewy cake. We beat the eggs slightly before adding for this very reason.
🤔Why is it called a buckle?
As a kid, I ate this and never thought twice about the name, but now, as an adult, I ask: why buckle? If you look closely at the top of the cake after it bakes, do you see the crevices and breaks in the delicious streusel topping?
Those crevices you see are the result of a buckle! Think about a city street in the hot summer months. What happens sometimes in intense heat? The asphalt buckles from the pressure of high temperatures and a split in the road occurs.
It's no different with the buckle in Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake (well, minus the asphalt at least). As our delicious cake bakes, the pressure and heat (mainly from the blueberries-- those rascals!) causes the topping to crackle and buckle under pressure!
🥄Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
📋Recipe
Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Blueberry Coffee Cake:
- ¼ cup (½ stick) butter softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs slightly beaten
- ½ cup milk
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
Buckle (Streusel Topping):
- ¼ cup (½ stick) butter melted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Soften 1 stick of butter on your counter (half will be used for the cake and the other half will be used for the topping).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Blueberry Coffee Cake portion:
- In a large mixing bowl, cream ¾ cup sugar with ½ stick (¼ cup) of the softened butter.
- In a separate, small bowl, beat eggs slightly. Add the milk and stir. Then add this mixture to the large mixing bowl. Stir until just combined.
- In a separate, medium mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Then add this mixture to the large bowl. Stir until just combined.
- Add the blueberries to the large bowl. Gently fold into the cake batter.
- Add cake batter to your prepared (slightly greased) 2 part Bundt pan. Then set pan aside.
Buckle (Streusel Topping) portion:
- Place the remaining ½ stick (¼ cup) butter in a microwaveable safe dish. Cover with plastic wrap, but allow a little gap for venting. Microwave for about 15 seconds. Then pour melted butter into small mixing bowl.
- After adding melted butter, add remaining topping ingredients (½ cup sugar, ⅓ cup flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon). Mix well, then carefully spoon topping over cake batter. Spread it to make sure that it covers most of the batter.
Baking and Storing:
- Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool off for about 30 minutes before serving.
- To store, cover cake with foil. Let the cake sit on your countertop. Enjoy within three days.
- If choosing to freeze, wrap well in freezer safe food packaging. The cake can be frozen for up to two months. To defrost, allow the cake to defrost in your fridge overnight.
Barbara K. says
I love this recipe and enjoyed reading the Buckle Nostalgia.
Your writing adds interest to the page.
Kitchen Ready Betty says
Thanks so much!