Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake
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If you’re looking for a delicious, seasonal, berry cake recipe to add to your morning-treat repertoire, this buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake is perfect! The batter can be made ahead of time and stashed in the fridge, allowing you to bake the cake off in the morning. What’s more? It freezes beautifully!
Buttermilk is magic. It turns everything into gold: super-moist, super-delicious gold.
This morning I awoke needing a simple, summery, cake-like-but-not-dessert-like breakfast treat. One of Ben’s friends had crashed here last night, and I thought it only appropriate to treat him to a proper breakfast.
In other words, I was craving sugar and carbs. But regardless, who doesn’t need a good, seasonal, berry cake recipe in their morning-treat repertoire? Nobody. And I have a recipe that fits the bill: buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake. On an old photocopied sheet of paper in my mother’s handwriting, I spotted a note: “Baby Boy’s Favorite.”
Oh Baby Boy. Baby Boy is my younger brother, my parents’ favorite child, and one of the most satisfying people to cook for. If it was Baby Boy’s favorite cake, it would soon be mine, too. Lemon-scented, perfectly sweet, punctuated by juicy berries — this cake is delectable! I think you’ll like it, too.
(And if you’re looking for more fruit options, this cake is so good with cranberries.)
3 More Favorite Lemon-Blueberry Treats
- The Best Lemon-Blueberry Muffins
- Perfect Lemon-Blueberry Scones
- Lemon-Blueberry Dutch Baby (crowd pleaser!)
How to Make Buttermilk from Scratch
Scale this recipe up as needed.
- Place 2 teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.
- Fill cup with milk (2% or whole is best) until it reaches the 1/2-cup line.
- Let stand for five minutes. Use as directed.
Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 to 16 pieces
Description
This cake is a long-time family favorite. My mother made it for my siblings and me when we were young, and every time I pull it out of the oven, clichè as it sounds, I am reminded of summer mornings in my childhood kitchen. It’s simple, adaptable, and make aheadable 🙂
Over the years, many questions have been asked, which I’ve answered as best as I can in the comments. I’ve answered a few FAQs in the notes below the recipe as well.
Also, if you’re new here, welcome! You’ve landed on one of the two most popular recipes on Alexandra’s Kitchen, the other being My Mother’s Peasant Bread, which led to the creation of my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs, which includes 40 simple bread recipes and 70+ recipes for eating them up. (If you love baking, you’ll love this no-knead bread.)
Ingredients
- ½ cup (8 tablespoons | 4 oz | 113 g ) unsalted butter, room temperature
- zest from 1 large lemon
- 1 cup (214 g) sugar (set aside 1 tablespoon for sprinkling)
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 cups (256 g) all-purpose flour (set aside 1/4 cup of this to toss with the blueberries)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. kosher salt (I like 1.25 tsp)
- 2 cups fresh blueberries, picked over
- ½ cup buttermilk, see FAQs below
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Using a stand mixer or hand-held mixer, cream the butter with the lemon zest and the 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon of sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the batter, and stir with spatula to incorporate. Add all of the buttermilk. Stir. Add remaining flour, and stir until flour is absorbed. Fold in the blueberries. (Leave excess flour from the blueberry bowl behind.)
- Grease an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar—I prefer this 8-inch pan because I like the thicker pieces) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. If you have parchment paper on hand, line the pan with parchment on top of the butter. Spread the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the batter with the remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes — a 9-inch pan will be done in closer to 35 minutes; an 8-inch pan usually needs 40 to 45 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary, especially if you’re using a smaller pan such as an 8×8-inch. It’s not unusual for this cake to take 50 minutes, so just be patient.) Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
FAQs
- Can this be made ahead of time? Yes. Prepare the batter, spread it into the prepared baking pan, cover it with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge. In the morning, if time permits, bring it to room temperature for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with the sugar, then bake as directed. It may need more time if the batter was refrigerated.
- Can this be doubled? Yes. Bake it in a 9×13-inch pan … like this pan from Pyrex. Increase the baking time but begin checking at the 35 minute mark.
- What if I don’t have buttermilk? Use 2% or whole milk or make your own buttermilk: place 2 teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Fill cup with milk until it reaches the 1/2-cup line. Let stand for five minutes. Use as directed.
- Can this be made gluten free? Yes. I like Cup4Cup and King Arthur Flour gluten-free flour mixes, but use whatever you like, keeping in mind that all gluten-free flours absorb liquid differently, so you may need to adjust to get the batter to the right consistency.
- Should the batter be thick? Yes. As with all baking, I highly recommend using a scale to measure the flour. I have this one, which costs under $11.
- Can I bake this into muffins? Yes. Follow the baking directions on this post.
- Can I use frozen berries? Yes. No need to thaw.
- What other fruit could I use? Really any fresh fruit or berries. Around the winter holidays, I make this cranberry-orange buttermilk breakfast cake.
- Can this be frozen? Made ahead of time? Yes! Let cool completely, then wrap well with plastic wrap or other airtight wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw at room temperature the night before serving. Reheat at 350ºF for 15 minutes before serving. If you are not freezing it, store it at room temperature for a day. Refrigerate if storing for more than 1 day.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
3,616 Comments on “Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake”
I am always looking for ideas for breakfast! This looks amazing and sounds very easy! I never really gooked with buttermilk but I am willing to give it a try!!
Hello! I made this cake tonight for dessert – the hubby and I LOVED it!!! I made 2 changes. I didn’t have buttermilk, so I just added more butter and milk (I know, cheating, haha) and I had strawberries on hand instead of blueberries. It turned out great! Made the baking time a little longer, but that’s okay. Wonderful recipe!
I shouldn’t really comment because I didn’t make the recipe like you directed. Peaches instead of berries, a good palm of poppy seeds and all the zest and juice I could get out of that poor lemon. Then, to further throw your instructions away, I forgot the flour, buttermilk, flour thing and just mixed all the flour in and then all the buttermilk. And guess what? It’s STILL delicious. And with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top when it’s still hot from the oven? Well, even better.
Thanks for sharing – it IS as yummy as all the pinning would lead one to believe!
As a new wife, I am always looking for things that will impress my hubby…this was a winner. It looked beautiful and my husband declared it a “family favorite.” Thank you! 🙂
I’ve had this recipe in my bookmarks for a couple weeks now and I’d been really looking forward to making it! Finally got around to it today… and I hate to say that it didn’t turn out well. I spread it in the pan as evenly as I could but even after baking it nearly 20 minutes longer than the recipe calls for and it’s still raw in some places! It’s actually back into the oven now, as per the request of my boyfriend. And it didn’t brown up for me at all. It’s just a big gray lumpy gooey mess.
Mind you it is a fairly tasty lumpy gooey mess. But I don’t think I’ll be making this again.
I’m wondering about your oven. I don’t know how often you bake cakes, breads, etc., basically flour-based things that require temperature exact baking. I’m asking because you can cook chicken in an oven for an hour and if it’s done in half an hour or two hours, no one’s the wiser. But if you put a cake in the oven and it says it should be brown and done in 45 mins to an hour and in 50 mins it’s still gooey. then most likely your oven isn’t heating to the temp it’s set to. I might be completely wrong. If so I DO apologize. However, if there’s even a hint that I MIGHT be on the right track, try buying an oven thermometer. They cost abt $5 at your local hardware or Dept. Store with a Kitchen section. Don’t buy anything cheaper as it might not be accurate enough. Stick in on your middle rack and set your oven to a temp (350F, for instance) and when it pings that it’s reached that temp. Open your oven and see if your thermometer registers that same #. If it doesn’t, call your manufacturer or the store that holds the warranty and tell them your oven thermostat is off and what you should do about it. They’ll tell you where to go next. I wish you guys luck!
I had the same result as Ellie, end d up with a lumpy grey cake. I’ve been baking for 30 years and have a new oven, I don’t think my lack of skill or appliance failure were the problem here. I knew something was off when the batter wouldn’t spread.
This is too bad, Mel. The batter definitely is thick, but it shouldn’t be so thick that it doesn’t spread. Do you ever measure using a scale? If so, try 255 g of flour total, then take a quarter cup of that to toss with blueberries.
Hi Mel,
I have a similar recipe to this for muffins instead of a cake, one of the things the recipe tips us on is to be careful how you fold your blueberries into the batter, I use frozen blueberries, drained of any juices after they sit out on counter as I prep, and dust with flour, as they won’t break down during mixing as easily. Blueberries are a very delicate berry and the juices from blueberries will discolor your batter to a grey like color if berries start to breakdown. Also this batter is known to thicken up the more it’s mixed from the gluten being activated. One of the tricks I learned with my muffin recipe that might help with this recipe, is to do the quick dusting of flour on the berries before hand, mix the dry ingredients first in one bowl, then gently fold blueberries into wet ingredients in another bowl. Then gently fold wet into dry with as little stirring/folding as possible as again it activates the gluten (I use a rubber spatula, works the best), then once incorporated let it rest in bowl on top of the preheated oven for 5 mins before transferring it to baking dish or tins..the heat coming up from oven let’s batter relax and soften a bit making transferring into baking dish or tins much easier. Hoping this might help you have a better experience with this recipe. Happy Baking 🙂
I know exactly where you’re coming from with regards to oven issues, we had an oven that came with our house and was god knows how old, but had to learn the way of this oven especially when baking as our oven would either run too cool (especially during long bakes) or too hot during short bakes (anything under 25 mins) and often burned my recipes if I followed time/temp instructions given in recipes. Eventually I caught on and started to reduce temp and time and found the “sweet spot” of the oven…I learned fairly quickly to follow my nose lol. Happy to say we eventually got a new oven and life has been much better with baking although I still find myself creeping by the oven 10 mins before it’s done just to make sure it’s ok ha ha. Point being that until the heating element came crashing down inside the old oven I never gave it much thought about the oven being my “long baking” problem, since I found a happy balance of time and temp, but it was, especially if it was something thick, as I would still end up with random raw sections. I thought I corrected the issue by finding the right temp and times to reflect the ovens way of cooking and it was still taking twice as long to bake thicker recipes, so I starter blaming the recipes. Moral of the story is ovens can misbehave at any given moment regardless of age, can even be caused by a manufacturing defect in a new oven, only way to know for sure is using your technique with placing an internal thermometer then decide if it’s the oven or the recipe. People should also consider that where you live (altitudes) can effect the baking technique. Your comment is very informative and a reminder that other elements could be causing the issues at hand and it’s not always the recipes fault. Happy baking everyone 🙂
Do you think this could be frozen? If so, how would you go about thawing/reheating it? Looks delicious!
Becky, I’m not much of a freezer, but I don’t see why not. It’s super moist, so I think it would stand up well in the freezer. Let us know if you make any discoveries!
Hi Becky,
As mentioned in other comments I have a muffin recipe very close to this one, and we freeze using a gallon zip lock bag, you could freeze this cake but I would maybe break it up into precut squares then place into zip lock bag(s) using either 1 large gallon bag (with wax or parchment paper to seperate layers, or individually wrapped in plastic wrap) or you can use a few individual pint or sandwich size bags..this is so they don’t stick to one another when you want just one or when you heat them back up. When you want to reheat take what you want out of bag and reheat in a zip lock bag, be it gallon for the entire lot you froze or smaller bags for just 1 or 2, crack open the zip lock about an inch or 2 to allow some steam to escape, and place in microwave, using regular cook time not defrost, start with 30 to 45 seconds first and then 10 second intervals for larger batch until desired warmth is reached..heating in microwave depends entirely on your microwave strength. I have 1100 watt microwave and use the above method..obviously the quantity you’re looking to heat up effects heating time in microwave..1 or 2 squares or muffins in a zip lock may be completed in 30 seconds whereas 8 will require a bit more time hence the 10 second intervals. I found it helpful to watch, and check periodically so not to over heat. The use of the zip lock allows steam to form as you warm them up that will keep the moisture in the cake or muffin so you don’t dry them out, while keeping it open slightly allows some steam to escape so you don’t end up with cake or muffins that are so moist they fall apart. Just remember that if you decide to wrap individually in plastic wrap before placing into a gallon zip lock that you remove the wrap before heating in a bag..too much steam as stated before will cause it to crumble apart because some moisture can’t escape…however the taste still remains the same so if this happens throw it in a bowl after heating in the bag, add a bit of butter, and grab a fork lol its still delicious ;).
**Tip: when freezing baked goods, it’s always a good idea to let them cool completely to allow all steam from baking to escape, if you don’t, the baked goods will stick to one another during freezing, and becomes an issue when you just want 1 or 2 pieces out of freezer, you’ll find they have attached themselves to one another and won’t break away evenly.
**Don’t want to use zip lock bags in microwave? Place baked goods on a microwave safe plate, cover with dampened kitchen towel and heat, the dampened towel allows steam to form and stay in baked good so not to dry out (works great with reheating left over pasta and rice too), just watch to make sure your towel doesn’t dry out completely before baked goods are heated to desired temp.
Hope this helps, Happy baking 🙂
Just tried this cake this morning – I doubled the recipe and made it in a 9×13 pan, and it took about 70 minutes to bake (probably because it was a bit squished). I also used frozen blueberries and a large squirt of lemon juice instead of using the zest. It was AWESOME!! So light and fluffy and gorgeous – just like the pictures! Definitely a keeper recipe (I’ve already had two people ask for the recipe)
Thanks. I want to make this but enough to fill a 9×13. Going to try it this weekend.
Found this on Pinterest and it is in the oven right now! I’m making it for my church’s women’s retreat breakfast tomorrow morning. I haven’t had a chance to taste the finished product yet but the batter sure is tasty!
This sounds amazing and I can’t wait to try it!!
I was wondering what could be used in absence of the buttermilk as I have never heard of it? Thanks a lot!
Cassandra, Hi, I’ve never made buttermilk or a substitute for buttermilk, but one other reader suggested this: “I never have buttermilk on hand so I made some by adding half a tablespoon of lemon juice (white vinegar works too) to the 1/2 cup of milk.” So, maybe that will work for you? All the best —
Greek yogurt also works! I replace most dairy with it – milk, buttermilk, sour cream, etc – it makes everything super light and fluffy!
Awesome! Thanks so much for the tip!
Adding lemon juice or vinegar to milk makes sour milk that I’ve used for recipes. Is it the same thing? I just got blueberries from the farmer’s market, I’m SO making this!!!
Buttermilk DOES make everything good. And it’s so easy to keep on hand — just buy a litre with your groceries, and it’ll stay happy in the fridge forever until opened! Use it wherever your baking recipes ask for milk.
I found this recipe on Pinterest, and the cake came out *fabulous*!!! Everyone raved about it. Thank you so much!
Hi Cassandra. I have used the vinegar/lemon juice many times to replace buttermilk and it works wonderfully. It will look lumpy and bad, but that is how it should look so don’t worry. Happy baking!
so good!! thanks 🙂
Another Pinterest find here. I’m planning to make this for first day of school breakfast tomorrow. It looks delicious!
Also from pinterest! This looks heavenly, and i think will become a family favorite!
look in your market’s baking or powdered milk aisle for powdered buttermilk, it keeps for a long time in your fridge. Sometimes if there is no buttermilk I use plain yoghurt or sour cream.
stop reading and go, go and make this NOW! it is incredibly light and delicious.
Found this on Pinterest….this looks so good! My husband loves anything with blueberries in it, so I’ll have to make this soon!
I also found this on Pinterest. I doubled the recipe and cooked it in a big lasagna pan. It took about an hour before the toothpick came out clean, and it is absolutely delicious! I will definitely be making this again!
i absolutely love blueberries and this is a wonderful recipe. i definitely want to try this out.. looks yummy with a cup of coffee 🙂
The photos make me drool! Absolutely amazing! thanks for sharing 😉
Thank God for Pinterest 🙂
I cannot wait to make this!
This cake is so delicious! My daughter and I kept getting “just a little bit more” until it was practically all gone. We made it two days in a row. But there was one problem–random places in the cake were raw when the other parts were done. I am an experienced baker but cannot figure out what went wrong. I followed the recipe to the letter. Suggestions are appreciated!!
Hi Trish,
I’m not totally sure how to help, but I have a few suggestions. Did you use an 8-inch pan or a 9-inch pan? I’m made it in both, and when I use the 8-inch pan, I find I have to cook it for about 10 minutes longer. When I really am patient and let the cake cool for 20 minutes or so, however, I have found that it is more evenly baked. And finally, do you have an oven thermometer? It sounds as though you bake a lot so I’m sure you know your oven, but I really like having my oven thermometer to double check that my oven is being accurate. That’s about all I can think of. I hope the cake bakes more evenly for you in the future!
Found this on Pinterest and made it this morning. AMAZING! Thanks for sharing!
Another linkee from Pinterest. I made this with white whole wheat flour and the batter turned out to be extremely thick. I ended up adding another 1/4 c. of buttermilk to make it thin enough to fold in the blueberries, but it was still almost like cookie dough in consistency. Still turned out delicious though! Thanks!
Made this this morning, changed a few things around to make it lower in fat and sugar but it was a great base recipe to start from, delicious!!
(another Pinterest person)
I never have buttermilk on hand, but I always have plain whole-milk yogurt and use it in blueberry muffins. Bet it would be great in this recipe. I’m gonna try it!
H!! Found you on Pinterest and made it this morning!!! I cannot wait for it to come out of the oven!!!
Well, now we know that you can prepare this the night before and bake it the next day. Just as I put the batter in the pan, we lost our electricity due to Irene. I put the pan with the batter in it into the fridge and didn’t bake it until 36 hours later and it was still GREAT! My family loved it. Thanks!
So glad to know that you can make this the night before! Thanks for sharing.