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. The truth is I’ve been craving sugar and carbs and a cake like this for months. But seriously, who doesn’t need a good, seasonal, berry cake recipe in their morning-treat repertoire?
Nobody. And I think I’ve found the recipe that fits the bill: buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake. On an old photocopied sheet of paper in my mother’s hand writing, 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. 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.)
PS: Divine Lemon-Blueberry Muffins
Five Favorite Recipes Made with Buttermilk
- One-Bowl Buttermilk Birthday Cake
- Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Simple Rhubarb Compote
- Tartine’s Buttermilk-Blueberry Scones
- Joanne Chang’s Buttermilk Biscuits with Maple and Sea Salt
- One-Bowl Buttermilk Pancakes
Bonus: Favorite Buttermilk Dressing for Slaw
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.
3,554 Comments on “Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake”
Does this recipe keep well? I was hoping to make the night before but I’m not sure it will be as yummy!
Lori — Natalie already answered your question, but you can definitely make this the night before. It keeps well. You also can store the batter in the prepared baking pan in your fridge overnight and bake it off in the morning. That works beautifully.
Julie. Mine has been in the oven for almost an hr and still not done. I have some very hungry kiddos. Just increased to 375, hoping that might work.
Can I make these into muffins?
Ditto what Lana asked!! Have all the ingredients ready to go and would really prefer to do them as muffins if possible.
Natalie & Lana — definitely make theses as muffins. Bake them at 375º for 30 minutes and let them cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before removing. I like baking these in the jumbo muffin pans but the traditional size will work, too. Maybe start checking on them after 25 minutes. Good luck!
@ Lori, It can definitely be made the night before. I made it for breakfast one morning and it was just as delicious 2 days later when we finished it off. :0)
Can this recipe be increased to fill a 9X 13 and also the cooking time ?
Phyllis — Yes. Double the recipe and increase your baking time by about 10 minutes. It might take longer than 10 minutes more, but start checking it after 10 minutes. I have not made it in a double batch, but many of the commenters have with great success. Good luck with it!
I made this last week with high hopes. It took forever to bake, took it out after 20 minutes EXTRA in the oven and it still wasn’t brown like the pic. It tasted nice but needed some type of light sugar glaze on top of it. I live in CA central valley, so no elevation problems. But I have to admit it was tasty.
Yolanda — sorry to hear about the long baking time. I have no answer as to why this has happened. I have had to bake it for as long as 10 minutes more but not much more than that.
Can you use Vitamin D milk instead of buttermilk…I have everything else in the house and really don’t want to go to the store for buttermilk
Kathy, Heather & Lesa — Thanks so much (Kathy and Heather) for answering Lesa’s question. Lesa, vitamin D milk will work just fine, too — I have a similar recipe that I use for muffins that calls for regular milk — but if you are up for making your own buttermilk a la Kathy and Heather’s suggestions, I think it might be worth the effort.
Lesa, You can make a buttermilk substitute by adding about a teaspoon of vinegar to the regular milk. Just stir and let it set a few minutes before using it.
@lesa, you can add 1 Tbs vinegar to 1 cup milk, let it sit for 5 minutes and voila! You have buttermilk 🙂
Have you ever made this into muffins
I don’t want to admit how many times in the last month I have made this…it blows my favorite bob muffin recipe out of the water
Has anyone tried doubling the recipe and baking it in a 10×13?
Gail, yes, double this for 9 or 10 by 13 inch pan. Maybe increase the baking time by 5 to 10 min. Good luck with it!
I found this randomly on pinterst, and i just had to say thank you for posting – i followed it to a tee and it came out PERFECT. seriously i made it for 4 people adn it was so good we ate the whole freakin’ cake. one of my new fav recipes of life.
Geetika — so happy to hear this!
I’m making this tonight, but with blackberries. 🙂
I have made this twice in one week. I followed the recipe exactly, except (gasp) I had no buttermilk the second time around and used almond milk. And do you know what? It was PERFECT!! Such a great recipe, and it has renewed my faith in my ability to bake. Thanks so much!!!
Amy, so happy to hear this! Great to hear that you can use almond milk in this, too. I’m going to try that sometime.
I am so making this for my birthday treats at work. I will need to double it, do you think it will work if I use a lrg 9X13 pan? I hope so, it sounds amazing!!!
Brenda, yes, I answered this above (or below?) somewhere, double the recipe for a 9×13-inch pan, and maybe increase the baking time by 5 to 10 minutes.
I made this for breakfast today, and it was absolutely to die for. LOVE IT!!!
Elaine — so happy to hear this!
I am preparing this right now to cut my work in the morning…can’t wait to try it! It sounds delicious and I LOVE the lemon/blueberry combo! Thank you for posting!
What was the verdict? Can it be doubled for a 9 x 13 cake pan?
Kim, yes! I haven’t done it personally, but many of the commenters have had success with doubling the recipe and baking it in a 9×13. You might have to add 5 to 10 min to the baking time.
Made it! It was yummy! Didn’t add lemon zest
Turned out really good without it. Did have the effect
Of purpleness bread from the frozen blueberries starting
To thaw. Over all didn’t care about the purple. I made it
In a slightly smaller pan on top rack so it wouldn’t burn and
I could cut big thick slices to serve. It was enjoy. I think
I will try adding diff fruit sometime .
Has anyone made this into muffins? If so, how does it turn out?
Melissa — yes, these bake beautifully into muffins. Bake them at 375 for about 30 minutes. Or you could make these, which is a very similar recipe: https://alexandracooks.com/2009/03/20/lemon-blueberry-muffins/
I made these as muffins and they turned out great. I baked them at 350 for about 28 minutes and they were lightly brown, light and moist.
Anne — Great to hear you had success with making these as muffins!
Can Swans Down be used instead of flour? And if not, would that be ALL PURPOSE
flour? If Swans Down can be used, do you still need the baking powder?
Looks soooooo good.
Rosemary — I’m not familiar with Swans Down but if Swans Down is a self-rising flour, then I would not use any additional baking powder. Otherwise, I do use all-purpose flour in this recipe. Good luck with it!
Thank so much for this!! I cant wait to try it!
ok.. this looks yummy and pretty traditional with the lemon zest and all, I think the buttermilk is def the difference between that and most blueberry baked goods. Had to file it though under its traditional name. Baby Boys Favorite Cake. Have to honor the moms. 🙂 on my do bake this list – have lots of organic blueberries too!
Cathy — I love that you filed this under Baby Boy’s Favorite. That will make my mother smile 🙂
Collin — Great idea! Love the idea of chocolate chips in this.
Kim — So happy to hear this!
My kids and I used semi-sweet chocolate chips in half the batch and blueberries in the other using our muffin pan. We had the chocolate ones with ice cream for dessert and the blueberry ones with yogurt for breakfast. YUMMMMMY!
I made this without making any changes/substitutions and the cake came out perfectly! I sticked it back in the oven for an extra 10 minutes to make it a little more golden brown. Got lots of compliment on it…my co-worker had very high expectations of blueberries + cake and he loved it! Thank you for the recipe, found it on pinterest.
I just wanted to mention that I made this and, due to lack of ingredients, I DID make substitutions!
1) I used regular salted butter and omitted the kosher salt
2) I made buttermilk with the vinegar & regular milk method
I also only have an 8X8 pan, and I used that, took about 45 minutes.
I have to say, this is AMAZING. It tastes similar (but BETTER, IMHO!) to the Blueberry Coffee Cake they serve at Starbucks. Next time I go to the store I’m gonna grab some true buttermilk and will probably try it with no substitutions next time,but if you’re in a pinch and use the substitutions I did, it’s still SO GOOD!!!!!!!! It also looks just beautiful when you bake it……..awesome recipe!
Made this for 4 of us a couple of hours ago. It is nearly gone!! So simple, so so delicious! Thank you!
Jaime & Mary — I am so happy to hear this!
Cyndi — Thank you for all of the details on the substitution. It’s nice to know this cake is adaptable/forgiving. Thanks for writing in!
Thank you so much! This recipe was absolutely perfect and the result was DELICIOUS! I can’t wait to send some to my boyfriend. I just wanted to share that I used not only blueberries but also rasberries, and it really kicked the flavor up a notch. Thanks again for the great idea!