Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake
Fresh blueberries are the star in Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake--a delicious, nostalgic cinnamon sugar topped delight!
Why We Love It
When blueberries are in season, nothing beats them! Packed with vitamins and antioxidants, blueberries are so good for you. It's fun to eat them by the handful, but sometimes it's also fun to turn them into a delicious dessert! We enjoy Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake so much, we make it year round!
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!
Plus, this recipe holds a very special place in my heart, since it was my favorite cake that my Nana made {more on that in Waxing Blueberry Nostalgic later}.
Why You'll Love It
Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake is easy to make and is a great way to get everyone to eat a healthy serving of fruit! With just a few simple ingredients, you will have a delicious, tasty treat to enjoy with your next cup of joe.
Because it's so versatile, you can serve it for breakfast or as an after dinner dessert! Thinking about taking this to a brunch? Great idea, but make two of these because it's just that good! (And we won't judge you if you keep the second one for yourself!)
Can't get enough blueberry desserts? Check out Stovetop Blueberry Grunt!
Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teapsoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pint (2 cups) fresh blueberries
For the streusel topping:
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
How to make Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake
You'll want to gather the following equipment:
- large mixing bowl
- medium mixing bowl
- small mixing bowl
- whisk
- mixing spoons
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- pastry cutter
- microwavable safe dish
- bundt/tube pan
Watch my YouTube video here!
Getting Started
- Soften 1 stick of butter on your counter. Half of this will be creamed in the cake. The other half will be melted for the topping.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Start making Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake by making the cake batter!
In your large mixing bowl, cream 3/4 cup sugar with 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) of the softened butter. You may do this with a spoon. If your butter needs a little help getting busy with the sugar, use a pastry cutter to mash it up more in the bowl. Then it should be easier to mix.
In a separate, small bowl, beat the eggs slightly. Add the milk to the bowl and stir. Then add this mixture to the large mixing bowl. Stir until well blended.
In a medium mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Then add this mixture to the large bowl. Blend well.
Fold in the blueberries. Gently mix them with the rest of the ingredients. I can't stress the word gently enough here. We want to keep the blueberries in tact, so no quick or careless mixing please!
Add the cake batter to your prepared (slightly greased) baking pan. A two piece bundt/tube pan works well and is suggested.
Now let's make the yummy streusel topping, which is everybody's favorite part!
Remember how we softened 1 stick of butter, but only used half of it for the cake? Now it's time to get that other half!
Place the remaining 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter in a microwaveable safe dish. Cover it with plastic wrap, but allow a little gap for venting. Place the dish in your microwave and melt the butter in there for about 15 seconds (if you hear too much popping, stop it sooner).
Pour the melted butter into a small mixing bowl. Then add the remaining topping ingredients (1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon). Mix well. The topping will be a little goopy and lumpy-- that's ok! Carefully spoon it over the cake batter. Spread it to make sure that it covers most of the batter.
Bake in your 350 degree preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool off for about 30 minutes before serving.
Enjoy Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake slightly warm all on its own, with a dollop of whip, or a la mode with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top! Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake can also be enjoyed cold or at room temperature. It's ALL good!
Storing Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake
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. Can be frozen for up to two months. To defrost, allow the cake to sit overnight on your counter. It will be a little soggy, but it will still taste amazing!
What's in a Name?: The Story Behind the Buckle
As a kid, I ate this and never thought twice about the name, but now, as an adult, I ask: why buckle? Well, after a little digging I have found the answer! 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 and breaks that you see are the result of the buckle! Think about a city street in the hot summer months (stay with me here). What happens to some streets after baking for several days in the heat? They sometimes buckle from the pressure of intense 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!
Waxing Blueberry Nostalgic
Every time I make Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake, it's like a trip back in time to summers spent at the Jersey Shore. That's where my Nana lived when I was young and she was the one who introduced me to this delicious recipe.
Nana was a good baker and chef and made many tasty things in her kitchen, but her Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake was always my favorite. Sometimes we would go to a blueberry farm to pick our own fresh, plump Jersey blueberries just for this recipe. Other times, Nana would surprise me with her Blueberry Buckle when she came to our house for a visit.
No matter where it was enjoyed, it was always delicious and always special!
Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake is a delicious streusel-topped dessert that's perfect for breakfast and as an after dinner dessert. Flavorful, plump blueberries generously accent a golden cake base, which is topped with an amazing--yet simple--sugar and cinnamon crumble that takes this homemade cake to the next level.
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter (softened)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs (slightly beaten)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter (melted)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
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.
In a large mixing bowl, cream 3/4 cup sugar with 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) of the softened butter.
For easier mixing, try using a pastry cutter to mash up the 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 well blended.
In a separate, medium mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Then add this mixture to the large bowl. Blend well.
Add the blueberries to the large bowl. Gently fold into the cake batter.
Add cake batter to your prepared (slightly greased) baking pan. Then set pan aside.
A two piece bundt/tube pan works well and is suggested.Place the remaining 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter in a microwaveable safe dish. Cover with plastic wrap, but allow a little gap for venting. Place dish in microwave. Melt butter for about 15 seconds. Then pour melted butter into small mixing bowl.
After adding melted butter, add remaining topping ingredients (1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 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.
The topping will be a little goopy and lumpy-- that's ok!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 sit out overnight on your countertop.
It will be a little soggy, but it will still taste amazing!
Fresh blueberries are always best, but you can use frozen. Add them to the cake batter without defrosting. You may need to extend your bake time slightly. Just keep an eye on the topping so it doesn't burn.
I have always made this in a two piece bundt pan. After the cake rests for about 10 minutes, I use a non-scratch knife to loosen the sides. Then I lift the cake up from the center of the tube (the tube serves as a handle). I allow it to then cool off for another 20 mintues before I loosen it around the bottom and invert it. During the invert, the majority of the crumb topping does stay in tact!
Not a bundt pan fan? You can also bake this in a springform pan.
Hi, I'm Betty! I live in Pennsylvania with my 2 human sons, 2 furry sons and my wonderful and supportive husband, who is my main cooking muse. When I'm not busy cooking or writing, I'm lifting a barbell, answering presidential trivia, thinking about the ocean, or going on long walks with my pups.
Thank you for checking out this recipe! Enjoy!
~Betty