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”
pls. send me updates via my e mail………………..thanks……love your site……thank you…….dolores
I made this this morning for my daughter who loves blueberries! Even the boys of the house wanted more and loved it! Wonderful recipe.
This is really really really good. The texture is incredibly light and the balance of the tart lemon and sweet juicy blueberries is perfect. I made it with homemade butter (started off being whipped cream and I overbeat it, so I kept going until it was butter) and homemade buttermilk (can’t make butter without getting buttermilk!) And probably a bit more lemon than specified, because as far as I’m concerned, blueberries and lemon were made for each other. I will make this over and over again. It is DIVINE!
I have made this recipe several times now, and it is always just perfect!! Everyone I serve it to loves it! In fact, it’s in the oven now for Easter brunch tomorrow. I’m trying the frozen blueberry route rather than fresh this time, so we’ll see how it turns out. Thanks for the recipe and also for the “homemade buttermilk” tip- I do it every time!
Wonderful to hear this, Ali! And I’m so glad the homemade buttermilk trick works for you.
Just finished the recipe and I bake a lot- this batter is chunky and runny, I’m sure it will taste great, but it’s not as I thought t would be…. Plus it doesn’t like like very much – hope it feeds 6-8
Hey Rene — the batter definitely is thick. I hope it turned out OK.
I’ve made this recipe twice this week I just can’t get enough of it! It so moist everyone in my house has enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your family recipe.
So happy to hear this!
I used frozen berries and it just didn’t turn out as well the2nd time around.
I made this recipe twice and both times it failed! I followed the instructions quite thoroughly, but this recipe has flaws. The batter is so thick it was like frosting. I was barely able to mix in my frozen blueberries, let alone fold them due to the thick dense batter. This created a purple unattractive cake! After reading all the great comments, it made me give it a second go yet still I ended up with the same results so I added more buttermilk. The result was a uneven baked cake. Browned on the edges but still raw in the center. It was a huge disappointment for Easter! Will never make again! : (
Hey Sabrina, so sorry to hear this. The batter definitely is on the thick side, but you should still be able to stir it without breaking the blueberries. Question: did you thaw the berries first? You don’t have to. And did you toss them with flour before mixing? That helps, too. Also, what kind of pan were you using to bake this?
I just wanted to say that this is possibly the greatest recipe ever created. I use the batter as a base for almost every muffin/breakfast cake/coffee cake I make. It’s fantastic with any berry and citrus, or even neither with a cinnamon-brown sugar topping. One of the big hits was strawberry and lime zest. Right now I have a half batch as muffins in the oven with lemon extract, a little cornmeal and poppyseeds. Thanks for such an amazing recipe!
SO happy to hear this, Laura! I love the sound of all of your variations particularly the cornmeal and poppyseed variation — love both of those ingredients.
If I’m using frozen blueberries do I still need to coat them in the flour? If I don’t coat them with flour, should I add that 1/4’cup flour to the batter or just omit?
I’d say coat them because the flour helps to hold them in place as the cake bakes… otherwise they might all start sinking to the bottom.
When I originally left a comment I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when
new comments are added- checkbox and now every time a comment is added
I recieve four emails with the exact same comment.
Perhaps there is a means you are able to remove me from that service?
Thanks a lot!
I have made this before and it’s awesome. I’m getting ready to make it again and found that I do no have enough butter can I use my country crock or should I wait?
I had posted a while back but never had a reply. The kosher salt didn’t dissolve when I made it so we chewed on some quite salty bits. 🙁 Could I ise regular table salt? And if so, would I need to change the amount? Thanks!
Hi Larissa, while reading through the comments the answer to your question was there, I wanted to know too. Yes, you can use regular table salt and about 3/4 cup of it. Hope that helps.
I have made this many times and I am absolutely in love with it… I’m also growing my own sourdough starter and I would be interested to see if this could be adapted to incorporate some of the sourdough starter to add a little complexity to the taste.
I made this recipe exactly as written except that I made it in a buttered 9 inch round antique cast iron skillet. It was amazing, thank you! I think next time I am going to substitute raspberries for the blueberries because I’m the only one in the house who likes blueberries.
Wanted to let you know that I made this vegan this weekend for my brother’s family by replacing the egg with 1 mashed banana, the butter with Earth Balance spread, and the buttermilk with soy milk mixed with lemon juice. It came out perfectly! This is the 2nd time I’ve made this in a little over a week. The first I followed the recipe as is. Both ways were great! Thanks so much for this keeper of a recipe!
I have made this several times, before it was to use up some buttermilk now I buy buttermilk for this bread, it is so addictive and delicious with my morning coffee! Thanks for sharing going to try the cranberry version once cranberries are back at the store 🙂
Yay! So happy to hear this, Molly! The cranberry version is great, especially in the late fall.
Thanks for the recipe- it’s wonderful! I can see why it was such a favorite of your brother’s.
Could frozen blueberries be substituted for fresh?
I use frozen blueberries. The cooking time is longer because the batter is very cold. Still tastes great!
Wonderful to hear this DJ!
Has anyone ever doubled this recipe? If so, how long did you bake it? Also, did you use a 9×13 pan? Thanks!!
I have not, but many have: yes re 9×13-inch pan, and you may have to increase the baking time by 10 minutes or so. Good luck with it!
Could I make the batter the night before, store it in the fridge and just bake it in the morning?
Yes, absolutely!
Love the freshness of the blueberries in this favorite, delicious, moist coffee cake. This was served at a ladies’ brunch and a real hit! I have also baked this coffee cake to give when making a meal to carry in to shut ins. I buy buttermilk just for this recipe and then freeze the remaining buttermilk in zip lock bags, 1/2 cup per bag for future recipes.
Wonderful to hear this, Marilyn! And what a great tip on freezing the buttermilk — I’ve never thought to do this. Genius. Thank you!
I’ve never made buttermilk, or had much experience with it before (but I’d definitely prefer to make my own than buy it).
Is there a difference/preference between using vinegar or lemon juice? I feel like vinegar would make it gross, but I assume there’s no taste of that once baked into yummy cake!
I also wonder if it couldn’t be made with just 1/2 a tsp. then milk to the 1/2 cup mark…would that not be the same conversion for the right amount needed here? (‘genuinely not sure.) If that’s not the best method, it’s good to hear it can be frozen. I wouldn’t have thought freezing & thawing milk would go well…do you just let it thaw in the fridge?
I’m obviously still a novice baker, so I’d love your help and advice on these details. This looks soo good, and I have a bunch of blueberries to use up; can’t wait to make this! Thanks for your time & help : )
Hi Krystal! So sorry for the delay here! OK, I prefer vinegar mostly out of laziness, but don’t worry at all about flavor being affected by the vinegar — it is totally undetectable in the finished product. If you want to make just a 1/2 cup of buttermilk, use 2 teaspoons vinegar (1 1/2 teaspoons is half of 1 tablespoon, but I think it’s best to round up to ensure that it actually works) and 1/2 cup milk. And I have never frozen buttermilk, but I think there are powdered buttermilks that you can store in the freezer. If anyone in the comment thread is still paying attention, I would love your input here 🙂
Hope that helps! Let me know if there is anything else. And good luck!
I have frozen store-bought buttermilk before and it’s fine so I would imagine it would work for the homemade stuff too. I usually freeze it in the amount needed for my favourite pancakes.
Great tip! Thanks, Chris!
Yes you can freeze buttermilk, put it in ice trays, freeze, store in zip locked bags. Mark your bag, Each frozen cube is equal to 2 tablespoons. Photo and link for this is on pintrest: search frozen buttermilk.
PS- I also meant to ask, how much would this be negatively affected if I used salted butter instead of unsalted, as that’s all I usually have on hand?
Thanks again!
I wouldn’t worry too much — you could cut the salt by 1/2 a teaspoon, but personally, I wouldn’t. I love the salty-sweet dynamic.
I tried this recipe and it turned into blueberry soup! What did I do wrong??
Oh no! Were you using fresh or frozen berries?
What are your thoughts on making these as muffins? Have you tried it or have any tips? Thanks!
Do it! Or follow this recipe, which is almost identical: https://alexandracooks.com/2009/03/20/lemon-blueberry-muffins/
Would like to print this recipe but can’t find a print button.Can you tell me how to print it?
Hi Martha, I just entered the recipe into the ziplist plugin — the other print option I was using was acting buggy, so I disabled it. There is now a print icon top right of recipe. Let me know if it works out for you!
THANK YOU! It works great. I know I’ll enjoy the recipe.
I am going to make this with my son. He loves making blueberry anything. We are getting away from processed foods completely so he will be happy to have this instead of the package blueberry muffins. I do have a question. I would also like to make this for my neighbor but he is a diabetic. Could I use the stevia cup for cup in this receipe?? Or do you have a suggestion for substituting the sugar? Thanks for your help and for sharing! 🙂
Wonderful to hear this, Taneisha! This one tends to be a hit with kids. As for the stevia, I am really not sure because I have never used it, but there are helpful conversion chart that can help. Let me know if you need another point in the right direction. Good luck!
Made it this morning! I doubled the recipe and used frozen blueberries. Taking many of the reviews into account, I did not thaw the blueberries. I took them out of the freezer just before being ready to use and tossed with flour. As I was measuring out 4 cups of blueberries (doubled) – it seemed too much. So I reduced to 3 cups. Next time, I would use 2 cups for a doubled recipe. It was hard folding in the blueberries because the batter was so thick, and the batter was starting to streak purple. The batter was not quite doughy, but likened to a pancake batter left to set on the counter. I didn’t have lemons, so I used 1 tsp. of Watkins Lemon extract. Because of the baking time comments, I increased the temperature and baked it at 375 convection, and it was baked through in 45 minutes. It was reallllllly good. I likened it to a Tim Horton’s Blueberry Muffin. I should not have doubled this though….. way too rich for my waistline. I will definitely make it again though, when I’m craving blueberry muffins!
Thank you fo all of these great, tip! Lots of people ask about doubling, and you’ve given some great thoughts…thank you! And folding in the blueberries definitely is tricky business. I find, however, that even when the batter turns blue, it still tastes good 🙂 Like the idea of increasing the temperature too. Have a happy happy Fourth!
Would regular milk work the same?
Mel, I think there is something a little magical about buttermilk, but yes, you can definitely use regular milk.
Alexandra! This recipe is outstanding! My husband had three and a half helpings! He said it was finally a recipe to keep that was found via Pinterest. Thanks for sharing it with the world!
Wonderful to hear this, Amy! It’s a family fave here, too 🙂
we had unexpected company spend the night. I am making this as an emergency breakfast with some bacon or sausage. I hope it will work since I do not have fresh blueberries, only frozen. Although, they were frozen from fresh, so maybe that will be in my favor.
Oh, I hope it works out for you, Jan! Lots of people have had success with frozen berries. Happy Fourth!