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.
3,561 Comments on “Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake”
Hi! This breakfast cake looks so good! I was able to get fresh blueberries for an awesome price…yay me 🙂 and I’m looking for some ways to use them. I was wondering… if I made the breakfast cake could I freeze them? What about the muffins you shared the link to? We have a big family vacation coming up and I would like to make them ahead of time to take along. Thanks!!
Hi Kris, I have never frozen this cake, but several commenters have with great success. I would say make sure you wrap it really well in plastic wrap (once it has completely cooled) and then stick it in a ziplock bag. Thaw it at room temperature. I think the cake freezes better than muffins, though again, I’ve never tried either — freezing muffins might be more labor intensive — wrapping each, etc, then tucking them all in ziplock bags. Now that I say this, I did freeze muffins awhile back, and they actually thawed really nicely. Nothing of course is as good as freshly baked, but the freezer does come in handy in times like family gatherings. Hope that helps!
This was fantastic!!! I didn’t have any lemon juice so I used lemon extract and it turned out great. I used white wheat flour and kefir as a buttermilk substitute. It was so moist and delicious. Thank you! Also, I only used 1 1/2 cups of blueberries because it seemed like enough…but my blueberries were really big.
I found this recipe yesterday morning and wanted to make it right away. It was FABULOUS! I had quite a few people to feed so, I tripled the recipe and baked it in two, 9×13 pans. It worked beautifully. I didn’t have any fresh blueberries on hand, but thanks to a sale at our local grocery store, I had loads of fresh, northwest, sweet cherries. After pitting them, I substituted them for the blueberries and they were amazing. Thank you for sharing. YUM! YUM! YUM!
Yum! Amazing! Love the idea of cherries. Will try this next time. Thanks for the input on tripling/pan sizes — so helpful!
I noticed you baked your cake in a glass pan, did you decrease the temp by 25 degrees because of that? My cake is in the over right now and I’m baking it at 350 in a glass 11×7 pan. Just a little worried because I usually decrease the temperature and I didn’t this time. It smells yummy!
Hi Louise,
I didn’t decrease the temperature. Is this something you typically do with glass? I would love to know. I know material matters, and usually I use metal pans, but for whatever reason, I always use glass with this one. Hope it turned out well!
That looks so good, I want to go and raid the neighbours blueberry bushes 😉
This was great, accidentally used 1 cup of sugar, but thankfully it wasn’t to sweet. Also, used frozen blueberries, used reg 13 x 9 cake pan and baked for about 40 mins. Amazing!!
Wonderful to hear this! Thank you for writing in. Great to know the frozen berries worked well.
In the oven now. I used berries that I froze last week from the local farmers market. I did add a little more buttermilk than what the recipe called for since it was so thick. Blueberries did not turn batter blue. I let them thaw and did coat with flour, as directed. Sure does smell good. Baking in my cast iron skillet!
Fun! How did it turn out in the cast iron skillet? Love the idea of that. Glad the batter didn’t turn blue. You are so smart to be freezing your berries now!
I made this and thought it lacked the sweetness I desired in a breakfast cake. The only adjustment I would make would be adding more sugar. My husband thought so too. I made a double batch and I thought the ratio of sugar to flour seemed out of proportion. After we tasted it, I ended up making a glaze for it to sweeten it up. After that, we liked it much better.
Sorry to hear this, Herb. Glad you were able to find a solution with glaze.
I made this and LOVED IT, so did my family! Thanks for sharing the recipe. My question is – I have fresh strawberries that I need to use up. Could this recipe go well with strawberries? Thank you! 🙂
Mandy, many people have used various fruits in this cake, so definitely use the strawberries! Blueberries seem to be the renowned favorite, but really, all fruits are good here.
I had no lemons for lemon zest so I substituted a 1/2 tsp of lemon juice. I’m addicted to all things sweet so I made a streusal topping. I used frozen blueberries as well but thawed first and just drained them. The cake is absolutely amazing!
Yay! Wonderful to hear this, Kate!
Second time making this and hoping it turns out as I am a better book than baker. We loved it the first time. Questions about method: when you are adding the alternate buttermilk /flour mixture ingredients, are you mixing it all by hand or machine? (I have a handheld mixer) the dough seems to get thick/tough, almost cookie dough like so I am wondering if I did it right. Thank you for this recipe.
Ugh I am a better cook than baker.
Hi Amy,
I mix everything by hand with this recipe. The batter definitely gets a little thick, but it shouldnt be as thick as cookie dough. You might be measuring your flour a little differently than I do, which might be causing you to add a bit more — try using scant cups of flour next time. Hope that helps!
Ali
I host brunch for various friends and family members one to two times a month. I have made this coffee cake six times now. I love it! It is my “go to” coffee cake recipe. Thanks for sharing! Side note, sometimes I use a few drops of lemon essential oil- gives it a great lemon flavor!
Yum! That sounds like such a nice addition. Wonderful to hear this!
I made this tonight…almost gone. Was delish. I added a lil more sugar and cinnamon on top.
Yay! So happy to hear this!
I would like to make this for a morning meeting. Do you think I could make ahead and put it in the fridge and just cook it in the morning? Wasn’t sure how the raw batter would hold up overnight in the fridge. Anyone tried this yet?
Absolutely! I do this all the time. Just store the batter in your greased baking pan. You might need to bake the cake 10 or so minutes longer, but otherwise, this is a great way to prepare the cake ahead of time. Good luck with it!
Hi! I was wondering if I could use canned blueberries instead of fresh or frozen ones?
I worry about the canned berries being too syrupy and affecting the texture of the bread. Maybe you could drain the canned berries? I think that would help.
Thanks so much for sharing these substitutions, Casey! So many people are looking for ways to use whole grains and unrefined sugars, so this is great. Thank you! So happy the results were good, too.
Hello again! 🙂
I made this a few days ago for a baby shower and everybody loved it! For me it was a little bit too sweet, but it was really good anyway.
Next Time will try with apples! 🙂
Wonderful to hear this, Kristine! Should be less sweet with apples.
I made it with apples and it was amazing! I commented below about how I put in some brown sugar to give it a bit more sweetness and flavor the apples if that helps you. 🙂
Hello again! 🙂
I made this a few days ago for a baby shower and everybody loved it! For me it was a little bit too sweet, but it was really good anyway.
Next Time will try with apples! 🙂
May have already been addressed but can gluten free flour be used?
Yes! It will be more crumbly, but many commenters have had success with g-f flour. Good luck!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this recipe! Made it this morning for my family, and it was the perfect blend of cakeyness, sweetness, and fruitiness. In addition to being delicious, it was beautiful – fluffy with a golden sugary crust. I will be making this on a regular basis…looking forward to trying peaches in it next summer. I used an 8×8 glass pan and just had a cook a few more minutes. Thank you for this recipe!
Hi, could I make it with almond milk? Nothing against buttermilk mind you, I am just on a no dairy diet. And could I sub AP flour for almond meal?
I’ve made this a couple of times. The first time I made it with the blueberries but my husband is always asking for recipes with apples in them as he is allergic to cinnamon and nutmeg. So pretty much all store bought apple pies, cakes, breads, etc are out. So I tried this recipe with apples. I used one tart and one sweet apple. Cut them into small cubes and instead of using the flower to coat them, I used brown sugar. I used 3/4 cup white sugar and 2 Tbsp brown sugar in the recipe and then used brown sugar to sprinkle on the top. It was absolutely amazing! I thought it might end up too sweet, but it was perfect. He asked for some just yesterday so I had to look up the recipe again as I had misplaced it and just thought I would share the variations I made in case anyone else would like to give it a shot. Thanks so much for all the yummy recipes!
I LOVE THIS!!
I followed the recipe to a T as I like to do that the first time I make something and then change it to my liking the second time but I wouldn’t change a thing! I normally don’t like coffee-cake type cakes because they aren’t moist enough but this one is perfect! I used frozen blueberries that I barely thawed…I think the fact that they were hard from being frozen made it easier to stir them in and not turn the batter blue. Just an observation. This is going on my PIN-WINS board for sure!!
I just want to say this is an excellent recipe! I have made it several times and it always gets gobbled up in my house or at work in two days or less. I have not made it with just blueberries, though. I usually have a 10lb bag of frozen mixed berries on hand (blueberries, raspberries and blackberries normally) to make smoothies, and I like to use up the last of bag making this delicious cake. It’s very good warm! I bake all the time but there are few recipes that I make more than once or twice, and this one will definitely be one that I continue to go back to! It’s very simple, comes together quickly and the end product is wonderfully delicious!
Hi! Sorry if this has been asked/answered already, but could I use frozen berries? If so, any changes I should make to the recipe? I should thaw/drain them first too, right? Thanks!
It’s very simple, comes together quickly and the end product is wonderfully delicious! Jus remember to add blueberries last! But overall a good recipe for even a beginner.
Vince
has anyone tried this recipe in loaf pans? thinking of giving to a few neighbors but do not want to do the cake a bread is pretty to wrap
I have not, but I think it could work, especially if you bake it in the small loaf pans that are perfect for gift giving. If you use a standard sice loaf pan, just be sure to fill it no more than 2/3 or 3/4 high, and make sure you make it long enough. It’s such a moist cake that I worry about the height of the pan affecting how it cooks.
Thank you for taking the time to reply
I think I will try it today. I’ll let you know success or fail.
I’d call it a failed success.
in the small loaf pans it just did not work. when i turned it out of the pan it just crumbled. next try was the large loaf pan, much better. It did take over an hour to cook using my convection oven. You definitely can not cut it like a bread, after all it’s a cake. So far all the comments from my neighbors is “yummy” I did tell them to treat it like a cake not a bread.
Don’t think ill do it again that way but it was worth the try. Made it in a 8X8 for my family 😉
I’m going to be making this blueberry cake very, very soon….but I just read a lot of the comments about buttermilk and wanted to suggest something. You can buy dry buttermilk in the baking aisle of some of the larger supermarkets. I do keep it in the refrigerator after opening. The directions are on the can for the amount of water to be added etc. Works great!
I have heard this and have been meaning to try. Thank you for the reminder!
I just made this for breakfast today and it was amazing!!