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.
3,560 Comments on “Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake”
This was really yummy! Not overly sweet. I used frozen blueberries and it turned out perfect.
Wonderful! So happy to hear this!
Hi i want to make this for a brunch today, but only have a 9 in brownie pan or a 9×13 glass pan. I can double it but just wanted to know if you thought the brownie pan would be ok. Thanks will let you know how it comes out!
Hey! I would use the 9×13-inch pan if you double the recipe. Good luck with it!
Lori, I don’t recommend bottled lemon juice for anything. I would just leave it out if you don’t have fresh lemons to zest or juice. And yes on the frozen berries! No need to thaw. Good luck with it!
I made this tonight. I didn’t have any blueberries so I used chocolate chips. :D. 1 cup of milk chocolate and 1 cup of semi-sweet. Yummy! Now I’m imagining all the combos I can use (peanut butter chips, white chocolate).,
Fun! I will have to give chocolate a go…sounds delish
I haven’t made this yet, but I just wanted to suggest something for those who don’t often have buttermilk. You can buy powdered buttermilk in the baking aisle, and it keeps in the fridge indefinitely.
I’m going to try making this today for the second time. The first time I made it was Christmas morning and though my husband and step brother really enjoyed it, I found the batter to be really thick and it took well over an hour to bake all the way through. This time I’m going to try a 9×13 pan and cutting back on some of the blue berries. I don’t want to alter the recipe too much because it was delicious, I just want to eat it sooner then an hours baking time! 🙂
Oh, I know, it’s hard to be patient. The batter definitely is thick, and some commenters have had trouble with baking times — they, like you, have had to cook the cake longer than suggested. How are you measuring your flour? If you measure scant cups of flour, the batter won’t be so thick. Hope it worked out well in 9×13-inch pan — did you double the recipe?
I made this yesterday for breakfast, and it was sooooo delish! I used frozen blueberries and only let them thaw as long as it took the butter to come to room temperature. My husband commented on how moist it was but thought it had too many blueberries LOL! I disagreed. My daughter and her friend thought it was very yummy, too. She had a funny way to describe it, but I’ve forgotten now. Oh well, it was delicious!
Wonderful to hear this! Love it.
Our community group had breakfast for supper last night, and I always use them as my “test kitchen”. Your recipe is what I used last night. I doubled the recipe, used a little more lemon zest than double (because I like lemon), and used 2-1/2 tsp of vanilla paste. Put the batter in a 9×13 pan and baked it for approximately 50-55 minutes; however, I did have to tent it with foil after 30-35 minutes. It was delicious, and everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing your family’s recipe. Can’t wait to try your lemon bars!
I love lemon, too, and love the idea of adding more zest to this, and I love vanilla paste, too. Only just discovered it! So happy you liked it. Thanks for the tips on doubling/tenting/etc. Thanks for writing in!
This was delicious! I made it for my students to munch on for a quilting class and it ended up being my dinner while stuck in my car for 9 hours and 30 minutes! Yep, I was caught in the snowstorm that hit Atlanta on Tuesday! Renaming it Snowstorm Blueberry Cake!
Noooooo! That is terrible! And scary! So happy you had some food and food you liked on hand. And happy you are safe and sound!
This looks delicious! Do you know if you can substitute heavy cream for buttermilk?
Yes you can, and you can use milk, too, but there is something magical about buttermilk. Try it with buttermilk the next time you make it 🙂
Do you think this would work in a loaf pan? Looks yummy!
Lisa, I’m worried about it being a little too dense, but you certainly could try. I think it will take at least an hour to bake if not longer. And I wouldn’t fill the loaf pan higher than 2/3 or 3/4 of the way high — ideally I would split the batter between two loaves. Hope that helps! It is so good.
Can you make it the night before?
Yes, absolutely! Mix up the batter, spread it in buttered baking dish, and bake it off in the morning. You might need to bake it for 5 to 10 minutes longer. Good luck with it!
This cake. AMAZING!! It basically made all my dreams come true. Awesome recipe! Thanks Alexandra! 🙂
So happy to hear this, Karen! It’s a hit around here, too.
This looks delicious, I plan to make it this weekend for a brunch I’m hosting. I’m in the UK though and our flour is different! We have plain or self-raising, what sort of flour did you use? Hopefully the internet can then tell me how that translates to the UK.
Jessica, hi! I use plain (all-purpose) flour. Hope that helps! So funny, every time I find a Nigella recipe on the internet or even my cookbook, it often calls for self-raising flour, and I am forced to improvise. I should have a bag of that stuff on hand.
Delicious! I whipped up all the ingredients together last night and popped in the oven this morning. I did add about 1/4 cup more of buttermilk and used fresh blueberries. There was no color running and the cake came out awesome! Since I let it sit in the fridge overnight, it did need about 15 more minutes in the oven. I put foil over on the last 5 minutes or so. Thanks for the wonderful recipe! This one is a keeper!
Yay!! Wonderful to hear this. Thanks so much for writing in!
This tastes wonderful and is easy to make. It is going on my list of breakfast favorites.
Thanks,
wonderful to hear this!
I made this in a bundt pan, having to add extra buttermilk and an egg because when I followed the recipe, it was the texture of biscuit dough. It was incredibly dense and looked like it never fully cooked in the middle. I don’t think I’ll be making this again.
Lisa, I’m sorry to hear this. The dough definitely is thick, but it shouldn’t be the texture of biscuit dough. What kind of flour do you use? And how do you measure — with a scale or cups? It sounds as though you have a heavier hand when you measure the flour.
Made it this morning, absolutely fabulous! Both of my picky children loved it! Will definitely be making this again 🙂
wonderful to hear this Casey!
Just made it, so yummy. Husband made the suggestion of cinnamon sugar on top, have you tried? I liked it as made.
So happy you liked this, Brandy! I have never tried adding a cinnamon sugar topping, but it sounds yummy. You could always experiment by adding it to half of the cake? Several commenters have gotten creative with various glazes drizzled overtop, but I always just make it just as my mama made it 🙂
I’ve been making recipe recipe or a while now and it never fails me! Fresh berries, frozen berries, prepared in advance or baked right away! Wanted to make it for a breakfast with my girlfriends tomorrow morning but I didn’t have blueberries. Or lemons. (Ha)! So I’ve got a strawberry orange cake in the fridge ready to be baked in the morning. I did make my own butter and buttermilk out of heavy cream so I can’t wait to eat it! I expect it to be outstanding!
Wow! That is amazing. Homemade butter and buttermilk should make it beyond outstanding! Love hearing about all of the variations. So happy you like this one. Thanks for writing in.
I found this recipe on Pinterest and have been waiting for a very long time to make it. When I found that I had all the ingredients this weekend I knew I had to try it. It was beautiful! So moist and yummy. I had a problem with the kosher salt, though. It didn’t dissolve at all and so we got some very salty chunks throughout. 🙁 Could I use regular table salt? And if so would I need to change the amount?
Great recipe. I was just browsing the web and came across your recipe. Had all the ingredients and made this for dessert after supper. It turned out so nice we started eating it before supper was ready. Definitely a keeper. I used frozen blueberries and it was divine. Thank u sooo much for sharing your recipe with us.
Wonderful to hear this! Love that you tucked in before dinner 🙂
Does anyone know if you could substitute all-purpose flour equally for gluten-free all purpose flour – the same amounts or what might be the equivalent? Also has anyone tried raspberries for Blueberries?
I haven’t tried but many people have had success with their own g-f flour mixes as well as store bought varieties (c4c, Bob’s, Hodgson, King Arthur, etc). And you can essentially use any fruit. Good luck with it!
Can cake flour be used for this recipe?
Yes, absolutely!
I’ve made this before and this is delicious! I’m getting ready to make it for a bridal shower but I want to do muffins instead of one large pan. I know to decrease the baking time, but does this recipe work okay for muffins otherwise!? Any suggestions?
Alysa, hi! I have a recipe for lemon-blueberry muffins on my blog that is almost identical. Follow the baking time/temp instructions on this post and you should be good: https://alexandracooks.com/2009/03/20/lemon-blueberry-muffins/
Good luck with the shower! Fun.
This little gem of a cake is my personal go to treat when I need a lift ~ I love everything about it. Everybody asks for the recipe and it disappears like magic. Thanks for sharing !
Please tell me if and how much table salt I should use– instead of kosher salt. Excited to try this delicious recipe and yes,buttermilk is magical!
I used just under the amount called for… since kosher salt is a lot thicker I thought that it was better to be safe than sorry – first time baking though but it came out great.
so sorry for the delay in getting back to you — I’ve been out of town! I would use 3/4 teaspoon table salt.
I was really scared there for a while because mine took almost 1 hour and 15 minutes to bake through… but it came out delicious. This recipe, however, was really difficult to follow (I guess a law degree doesn’t prepare you for baking) – I had to guess some of it – because I feel like it skipped some steps (like when to add the butter and sugar mix to things, when to add the egg and vanilla, and to which and which first. I just kind of threw them altogether into a bowl and mixed. This is the first time I am baking something from scratch and I’m relieved that not only is it edible but also delicious. Thank goodness for a foolproof recipe!
So happy to hear that it turned out well for you, Linet! And I am sorry about the confusing instructions. I will take a look right now and see if I can make them more clear. Thanks for writing in!
Heyyy Alexandra im just in love with your recipes!! Im from Colombia and i would like to know if i can use Philadelphia cheese cream besides buttermilk or can you please give the name of the buttermilk you use!!
THANKSSS!!! BTW IT LOOKS DELICIOUS
Natalia, hi! I don’t think that Philadelphia cream cheese is actually going to work. If you can’t find buttermilk, I suggest just using whole milk or making your own buttermilk:
To make homemade buttermilk, place 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Fill cup with milk until it reaches the 1-cup line. Let stand for five minutes. Use only 1/2 cup of the prepared mixture for the recipe.
Hope that helps!
Hey I was wondering if I could use strawberries instead of blueberries. I only have strawberries on hand right now and don’t feel like running to get blueberries lol
YEs! Definitely use strawberries. Hope it turned out well for you!