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.
3,548 Comments on “Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake”
Could you please tell me what a cup of blueberries weigh. I’m in the UK and only use digital scales. I have googled it and got three different answers. Can’t wait to make it.
Hi Jan,
For me, a cup of fresh blueberries is about 150 to 170 grams. Hope that helps!
It certainly does, thank you very much.
This was good. I only had one cup of blueberries so I used a cup of blackberries. I think it would have been better with just blueberries. I did not have buttermilk so I used vinegar in the milk. Love the lemon zest in the recipe . I will make again.????
I have made this several times. Each time it tastes even better. I cut it up & freeze it so we always have some.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe. Having it for breakfast now. I made it into muffins filling the cup high and baked for 25 minutes. Each bit is filled with blueberries and perfect crunch on top.
Can I use Ekiorn flour??
What about cooking time if I use a 5 x 8 loaf pan?
Amazing. So moist.
Recipe says 1/2 cup of butter
Would you please email me recipe..Thank you
When doubling do you double all ingredients.
This is my favorite recipe!!! I’ve made it over and over. It comes out beautiful every time. My 3yr old loves blueberries, making this cake a huge winner. I’ve made it about 6 times and love it in the 8×8. Thank you ????
can I substitute buttermilk for almond milk?
Can canned blueberry pie filling be used? Thanks!
Can’t say because I’ve never tried! It might change the texture. Frozen blueberries work beautifully.
I made this recipe to surprise my daughter for making the honor roll. I am no baker! Thank you so much for posting this no fail recipe. It came out perfect and took very little time to make it. Thanks Alexandra my daughter loved it!
Yay!! And congrats to your daughter! What a feat. And congrats to you for baking 🙂 🙂 🙂
I just made this and it looks just as beautiful as the picture. Delicious! I must say that this recipe would be difficult if you did’t have a mixer like a Kitchenaid because the batter is very thick and sticky. The adding the flour part was a little confusing, but I figured it out after reading it a few times. I doubled the recipe and added slightly less sugar and flour than what it called for. Still turned out great. Thank you. P.S I agree with holding off on the comments till after you make a recipe.
Hi Grizel! The batter definitely is stiff. Glad it still turned out well 🙂
I made this for breakfast this morning for my 2 toddlers and husband. Everyone LOVED it! It was absolutely delicious!! I followed the recipe pretty much all the way and it turned out perfect. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe. I will be making it for years to come!
Yay!! So happy to hear this, Krysten 🙂 🙂 🙂
Nothing like this picture but taste is good 2out of 5
Is this recipe assuming you use a glass or metal baking pan? I hear it makes a difference so want to be sure 🙂 Can’t wait to try it!!!
You can use either. I typically use glass. Happy baking!
I made this in a 9×13 inch pan and baked it for 40 min. It was perfectly fluffy and tasted delicious. I just would have probably added a little more sugar, it wasn’t as sweet as I’d hoped. My family and I enjoyed it though!
This was a great way to use up some of my leftover buttermilk! The cake is definitely thick but it comes out so light and moist. I cut it into 16 pieces and it’s the perfect afternoon snack with coffee!
So happy to hear this, May!!
Dude!! Made this for the first time today and wow! Awesome recipe! Definite hit. Making again on wednesday. I made the batter up the evening before and threw it in the oven in the morning. Baked in the convection oven for about 40 minutes. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Yay!! so happy to hear this!!
Made this today and it is amazing!! Should the leftovers be refrigerated?
I think if you think you’ll eat in the next day or so, you don’t need to refrigerate it. But if you have enough leftover that it might take a few days, refrigeration might be a good idea. Also, if your kitchen runs warm, refrigerate. I’m finding everything is molding a little faster these past few weeks.
So happy you liked it!!
Do you think they will go well with rhubarb?
I make this using blackberries, lemon zest AND substitute about a tablespoon of buttermilk with lemon juice – it is FANTASTIC! Thank you Alexandra =)
Hello,
I want to try your recipe but a smaller scale like 6 to 8 pieces. Any suggestions? Can this cake be frozen as to not waste what does not get eaten?
An 8″ pan won’t have more then 9 slices cut small
I make this ALL THE TIME! Tonight I’m making it to use up some strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries I have in the fridge that need to go. This is a whole house family favorite!
can this be made with reduced sugar or sugar substitute, trying to make it a bit more diabetic friendly for a family gathering
The past few weeks I have been making blueberry muffin. I use blueberrys from my moms garden. This taste wonderful!
Thank You! 🙂 😛
Just made this this morning and it was wonderful. The only change I made was sprinkling Turbinado sugar on top instead of regular sugar. Thank you for the great recipe!
Hi there, if I make the batter and pour it into the pan the night before I need the cake, can I refrigerate it as is and bake it in the morning?
Yes! Works great!