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.
3,550 Comments on “Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake”
This recipe is wonderful, the nicest blueberry breakfast cake I have ever made….there is absolutely nothing I would change in this recipe..Thank you for sharing….
Second time I’ve made this recipe this month. Delicious! Taking it to share with coworkers tomorrow. I double the recipe, I used 2 cups of buttermilk to keep the batter moist. It turned out perfect.
I have made this recipe several times and I absolutely love it! My husband actually loves it more than I do.:) Thank you so much for sharing!
I’m making this for my coworkers and would like to bake it the night before. Can it be warmed up? Or should I just bake it at work?
So sorry for the delay here! Baking at work would be ideal because it’s so good fresh. But you can warm it up the next day too. HOpe your coworkers enjoyed it. Lucky them to have you!
hi alexandra! Thank u for this wonderful recipe. It was my first time ever making a cake and this turn out great! My family simply loves it.
So happy to hear this!
I don’t have a comment just yet,Just want to know if you can use dried blueberries?
I’ve never tried … I worry about them being too sweet, so maybe cut back the amount a little bit?
I have made this as well as fhe cranberry version many times and it is always delicious. Have you ever tried combining the blueberries and cranberries in one cake? And if so, would you alter either the lemon zest or orange zest? Thank you!
I have not, but that sounds delicious! I think you could pick one zest: either would work well or use a little bit of both. Enjoy!
Thank you! I made it this morning with both cranberries and blueberry and used both the lemon and orange zest. Doubled the recipe and made in 9×13 pan and baked for 50 min. It was amazing!!
Yay!! So happy to hear this!
Hi, what can I substitute the egg with.
Thanks so much, can’t wait to try this
Are you vegan? Or is there an allergy? What do you typically do when you need to substitute eggs?
IT’S PERFECT! Thank you so much for sharing! I don’t bake much at all, so I was surprised that it turned out so fantastic the first time. 🙂 you’re AWESOME! Can’t wait to share it with my family!
Yay! So happy to hear this!
Any suggestions for high altitudes? I would love to try this.
Here are some Google Links for High Altitude Baking.
Made this a few times now. It is not only divinely delicious, but an absolute joy to prepare!
Thinking I might make extra and freeze. Have you done this? Does it hold up well?
Am also excited to try the cranberry version I read about in the comments.
I must confess, I have never frozen it, but many many commenters have. Wait till it cools completely, wrap tightly, freeze, thaw at room temperature, warm briefly before serving. So happy you like this one!
Omg!! This cake is the Bomb!! I just made this for a friend! Like three hours ago! I have to confess! I made two! One for the friend… and one for my husband and I! Its so yummy and moist! I’m gonna try the cranberry and orange one at the holidays!
So I made this with the 1.25 tsp kosher salt and unfortunately found it inedibly salty- I made it for a family gathering and couldn’t resist tasting a corner piece before packing it up. Glad i did because I would have been embarrassed to serve that. Anyone else have the same experience? Luckily I have enough time to make it again with the lower amount of salt, because it looked and smelled delicious.
Update: I realised that I used salted butter which probably tipped it over the edge to too salty with the extra 1/4 tsp as well. It also seemed like the kosher salt I used didn’t disperse well since there were little pockets of strong salt flavour in my first cake. But I just made it again with 3/4 tsp table salt instead and it is AMAZING! Definitely make this, just don’t be dumb like me and mess up something as simple as salt…
Oh my gosh, made this cake this morning, and it is definitely my new favorite! Great texture and nice contrast in flavors, and so easy to make. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Just made this and it was yummy! My husband is picky but when he went back for seconds I knew it was a winner.
This was super yummy!!!
I will definitely be making this often. It’s so good, that I may have to double the recipe and make a 9×13 pan. I used an 8×8 with thick pieces, and it wasn’t enough. Gone in a flash!
Amazing!!!
can’t wait to make blueberry coffee cake for Christmas morning.
It was really good, my family really enjoyed it. I had to substituted the buttermilk w/ whole milk and half-n-half.
This took 50 minutes in the oven but came out fine. I would put in only half the berries next time. I like a more even cake:berry ratio. It’s delish with morning coffee!
I use orange zest and like it better
Thanks a lot, very well explanied,
Could this be made ahead and frozen. Then left out to thaw for serving?
Yes!
Because of the buttermilk, I would use 1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.
So happy to hear this, Jacquelyn!
What’s the best way to store this for just a few days after baking? I just baked mine for the holidays and it looks delicious! Should I freeze or just keep in the fridge once it cools?
I’m dying to know this too! Just took out of oven for Christmas morning!
I have similar recipe but with cranberries. I make batter day befor but I don’t put into pan until next day! Put batter in sealed container! Also I make a cream cheese thin enough to drizzle a little on cut piece! Delish!
I just put this in the oven – doubled the recipe. Saw in the FAQs that you could double and the batter would be thick. Kind of concerned bc mine was WAY thicker than the video that I JUST watched. Keeping my fingers crossed!
I ended up using double the blueberries not using my head. Plan to take it out of the fridge and bake in the morning. Fingers crossed it turns out okay!
Hello.. i want to make it without egg. pls help. Thank you
I use a flaxseed egg and it comes out well! 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed and 3 tablespoons water- mix and let sit for a few minutes before using it.
Just made this. I used a 8×9 glass pan, 35 minutes it was done but not brown enough so I left it for 5 more minutes. So good, will make again. Thanks for the recipe!!