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”
This is absolutely the best in the whole world!!!!!!!!!!!! I double the recipe because we just can’t get enough! Thank you for posting.
I made this recipe this morning! I took the advice from others and added more buttermilk and it was great! I also used strawberries instead just because I didn’t have any blueberries on hand…we loved it!
Made it this morning!!!! So good thank you!!!
AMC0808, Jessica, Olivia and Nicole — So happy to hear this!
This is the best blueberry anything that I’ve had. My mom loved it as well. The buttermilk kind of gives it a cheesecake taste. We will surely be having this more often. Loved, loved loved it 🙂
I made this for the teachers & staff at my kid’s school this morning as a welcome-back-to-school treat. Mixed the batter up the night before and popped it in the oven early this morning then delivered it still warm with coffee to the teacher. It smelled so incredible that I came one and immediately made one for the family too. My 13 year old daughter has declared it her favorite “blueberry recipe ever”. High praise from the jr high set!
I followed the directions exactly and it wasn’t dry or heavy at all. I probably cut ours too soon (who can wait 20 mins??) but it was very moist and delicious. Definitely a repeat. Can’t wait to try another of your recipes!
I made this yesterday (found it on pinterest) and it was really easy and so yummy!! Its very light and looked just like the pic. I’m sure that i will make this many more times and maybe substitute different fruits for the blueberries to switch it up.
has anyone tried making it with frozen blueberries? I have a huge bag in the freezer for smoothies, so just wondered if those would work? thanks.
Lindsay — I have not used frozen berries but many of the commenters have. Some have used them straight from the freezer and coated them in flour as the recipe instructs; others have thawed and dried them completely. Many have had great success with frozen berries. The only issue seems to be (especially for those who thawed the berries) that the batter turns purple sometimes. Flavor is not affected but appearance is. Hope that helps!
This cake looks wonderful, can’t wait for sunday morning!!!
hi im in uk and just wondered what type of flour self raising or plain thanx
Honey — I use plain all-purpose flour.
This looks really delicious!
Looks absolutely delicious! Would you add more butter for using whole wheat flour?
Lindsey — I wouldn’t alter the butter amount. How much whole wheat flour are you planning on using? I think you could replace half of the flour with whole wheat without affecting the flavor too much. Report back if you make any whole wheat variation discoveries!
This is DIVINE!!! I have made it twice this week, but I used tinned Blueberries in syrup, drained them, and added some icing sugar to the syrup to drizzle over the cake and icecream… The berries do go a little mushy and make a lovely colour through the cake. I made buttermilk, with half a tablespoon lemon juice, and half a cup milk, and it was perfect. SO Beautiful for Popi on Father’s Day!
Dani — So happy to hear this!
Hi, i was wondering if i should double the recipe for a 9×13 pan? or would i need a bigger pan?
Elaine — yes, I would double the recipe for a 9 x 13 pan. I haven’t done this personally, but many of the commenters have and with great success. Good luck with it!
This looks amazing, any advice for people who can’t have milk? I wonder how it’d taste with almond or soy milk.. hmm.
Julie — Somebody made this cake vegan, and I wish I had flagged the comment so I could better locate it. If I find the comment, I will report back. I’m pretty sure she used almond milk.
Awesome recipe, easy to follow. Great pics as well.
I found your recipe via Pinterest and made it. One of the best breakfast cakes ever! I have been easing my way into liking lemon, so I really liked that the lemon was very subtle and also paired wonderfully with the blueberries!! Thank you for sharing!
https://fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com/2012/05/buttermilk-blueberry-breakfast-cake.html
Sarah — So happy to hear this!
Is this cake supposed to be really dense? It almost had a thick biscuit-like conaistensy. Did I do something wrong? It still had a great flavor. We ate it hot with butter. Yum.
Erin — Gosh, it shouldn’t be too dense. It’s not light like a cake, but it’s not too dense either. It’s definitely crumbly. Wish I could advise better. Glad to hear that the flavor was good.
This recipe was amazing! I found this recipe via pinterest a few weeks ago and have been waiting for my grocery store to have some fresh blueberries but we have not had any in so I used some raspberries to substitute! Turned out amazing but I cannot wait to try it with blueberries too =)
https://chickwhocooks.blogspot.com/2012/09/buttermilk-raspberry-breakfast-cake.html
Kayla — awesome to hear this!
I made this yummy BBB cake this a.m. and it was ready for my 12 year old son before he left for the school bus. I didn’t have any lemon to zest, so I subsituted a little lime zest plus a squirt of lemon juice, and I used frozen blue berries, simply rinsed them first then tossed in the flour and folded in gently to not have all the batter turn purple! Turned out so, so, so good. Do you have the nutiritional, calorie information by chance? Should freeze well? Thank you, will make often.
This breakfast cake is amazing! I’ve made it twice, followed the recipe exactly except I was out of lemons so I used a drop of lemon extract instead. Thanks so much for the recipe!! Im going to be making this often. So so so good!!
Brisha — So happy to hear this!
Amazing recipe!!! So delicious!!
Has anyone here figured out the nutritional information for this recipe? I want to know how many calories in any particular size serving. I know it’s a lot!!! Maybe I should just log 1,000 calories per square inch! 😉
Spot on! I made this last night for brunch this morning, and it was so so so good. I followed the recipe to a T, except made my own buttermilk substitute. This cake is so moist. I did not read all of the comments, but I would be curious to know if frozen blueberries would make much of a difference. This one is a keeper!
This cake is AMAZING! My whole family raved about it…Way better than anything at Starbuck’s or a fancy bakery.
has any one tried this with other berries? Like maybe raspberries? I think it sounds delicious but not sure how it would work out. Can’t wait to try this recipe this weekend. Thanks!
I also was wondering about the consistency much like Erin above. I followed the amounts except for using only 1 1/2 cups sugar. But as I was mixing the batter it got very thick! I even added more buttermilk! Helped some, but still way dense stiff thick batter. I even sifted/whisked my flour before measuring. Folding in my fresh blueberries was almost impossible. A few broke but most were whole. No purple batter. Just really thick batter. It’s in the over baking now. Am curious to how it turns out. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Can I make this the night before and then bake the next morning?
Kelly — so sorry for the delayed response here … I’ve been on a cinnamon roll-making binge. Yes, definitely make it the night before. Store it in the same greased pan you plan on baking it in. It might take 5 to 10 min longer in the oven. Hope that helps!
It would have been a lot easier to follow if the 1/4 cup separation of flour was actually listed in the ingredient list. Really easy to miss the one line that tells you to use from within the 2 cups. Just a suggestion!
Ashley — I’ll make a note in the recipe.
I just slid the batter into the oven. I’m so excited that i finally get to bake this! It looks and smells so yummy! My hubby and the girls are gonn
a kuv it.
Meka — I hope they do!
i sho love me sum buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake, sho nuff sho do. god bless.
Can this be made as muffins instead?
Carole, yes, definitely. I make this recipe, which is very similar, as muffins all the time: https://alexandracooks.com/2009/03/20/lemon-blueberry-muffins/