Blueberry Crumb Cake
Every year my hubby presents me with quarts and quarts of his spectacular homegrown blueberries, so I’ve developed some tried and true, crowd pleasing recipes to put them to use. We’re a killer team, I tell ya! This Blueberry Crumb Cake and my equally delicious Blueberry Crumble are my faves. They both come together quickly, never fail, and always get gobbled up wherever I take them. Bonus, they can both be made with the bags and bags of frozen berries that end up in my chest freezer!
This year’s crop of blueberries is especially plump, juicy and flavorful. Aren’t they pretty? 💕
You will love this little blueberry coffee cake! It’s simple to make, doesn’t contain a ton of fat or sugar and always comes out moist, light and perfectly punctuated with bright pops of blueberries. And the just-right amount of buttery, sweet crumble on top is my favorite part.
Blueberry Crumb Cake Ingredients
For the Cake:
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ butter or plant butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ tsp lemon extract or 3 drops lemon oil
- ½ cup milk
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 ½ cups blueberries
For the Crumb Topping:
- ½ cup sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- Pinch of kosher salt
Ingredient Notes:
- You can make this cake with frozen berries, with a few changes to the instructions. Don’t take the berries out of the freezer until the minute you are ready to fold them into the cake batter. Work quickly and gently or you’ll end up with purple batter. [If you end up with purple batter, it’s okay. It will still taste great]. Let the unbaked, assembled cake rest on the counter for 15 minutes to let the berries thaw before you bake the cake. If you put it in the oven with frozen-solid berries, it will mess with how the cake bakes. Think burnt edges before the center bakes…
- Are you wondering “what the heck is ‘Plant Butter’?” You know how “pleather” suddenly became “vegan leather”? Well, some of those new trans-fat free margarines are billing themselves as “plant butter”. 🤷🏻♀️ Gotta say, those new Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks work really well, esp. as a substitute for “shortening” in cakes and cookies. Don’t even THINK of using anything but buttah in the crumb topping!!!
- I like to use pure citrus essential oils in my baking and cooking instead of extracts. The brand I use is Plant Therapy. No, I’m not an affiliate, just love their stuff! 😁
How to make your Blueberry Crumb Cake
Preheat oven to 350; grease and flour a 9″ square cake pan. Mix crumb topping ingredients together until thoroughly combined, and pop the mixture into the fridge while you make the cake batter. Don’t chill the topping till it’s hard, just get a little chill on it for a few minutes.
To make the cake, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and lemon extract/oil and beat until thoroughly combined.
In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. With the mixer running on low, add 1 cup flour mixture, then the milk, and then the rest of the flour mixture. (Blend a few seconds between each addition.) After the last addition of flour mixture, beat on low until batter just comes together, scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Using a spatula, gently fold in berries.
Spread cake batter evenly in prepared pan. As you can see, this cake is FULL of blueberries!
Evenly sprinkle small clumps of the crumb topping over batter. You don’t want any piece cheated out of it’s share!
Bake 45-50 mins or until top is evenly browned and cake tests done (a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few slightly moist crumbs attached). Cool cake in pan on a wire rack till room temp. Slice yourself a nice square and enjoy!
I hope you’ll try this sweet little cake soon – it’s perfect for breakfast, an afternoon snack, a treat for your Bible study gals or a homey dessert for the fam.
Enjoy!
If you love blueberries, here are three more recipes to try:
Blueberry Crumb Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ Tbsp. butter or plant butter
- 1 Tbsp. egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ tsp lemon extract or 3 drops lemon oil
- ½ cup milk
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 ½ cups blueberries
For the Crumb Topping:
- ½ cup sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- ¼ cup butter - softened
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- 1 Pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350; grease and flour a 9″ square cake pan. Mix crumb topping ingredients together until thoroughly combined, and pop the mixture into the fridge while you make the cake batter. Don’t chill the topping till it’s hard, just get a little chill on it for a few minutes.
- To make the cake, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and lemon extract/oil and beat until thoroughly combined.
- In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. With the mixer running on low, add 1 cup flour mixture, then the milk, and then the rest of the flour mixture. (Blend a few seconds between each addition.) After the last addition of flour mixture, beat on low until batter just comes together, scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Using a spatula, gently fold in berries.
- Spread cake batter evenly in prepared pan, and sprinkle small clumps of the crumb topping over batter.
- Bake 45-50 mins or until top is evenly browned and cake tests done (a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few slightly moist crumbs attached).