Brighten Up Your Breakfast with Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake
Packed with blueberries and topped with crunchy streusel, this coffee cake is beyond delicious.
On Christmas morning when I was a kid, my family would always have a special breakfast before we started opening presents: blueberry muffins. These muffins were moist, fluffy, and had a crunchy, sweet streusel topping that made me wish Christmas came more than just once a year.
This blueberry lemon coffee cake reminds me so much of those delicious childhood Christmas breakfasts. With plump, tasty blueberries, a zip of lemon to brighten all the flavors, and that crunchy, sugary streusel on top, this cake might even be better than those blueberry muffins of my youth.
Blueberries are dubbed a ‘superfood’ thanks to their high levels of antioxidants and other nutrients, plus their ability to reduce inflammation. Blueberries may also reduce blood pressure, enhance brain functioning, and reduce heart attack risk.
Besides being wonderful for you, blueberries are delicious, and this cake really lets them shine. Especially with cold weather bearing down upon us, having something warm, bright, fresh, and tasty for breakfast, dessert, or just an afternoon snack can be the mood booster we need!
Recipe: Zesty Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake
INGREDIENTS
Cake
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup of sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest or the zest of (1) large lemon
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 6 oz fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed (or about 1 cup’s worth)
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
Streusel Topping
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup melted butter
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 Tbsp milk
For Serving
- 2 cups Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup blueberry jam
Instructions
- Cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" square pan with butter (I like this one from PerfectSlice — it lets me cut the cake perfectly and with ease).
- Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 6–7 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until combined.
- Combine the flour and baking powder in a separate, medium-sized bowl. Place the blueberries in a small bowl and sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of the dry ingredients and stir gently to coat the berries.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Add the sour cream, mix again, and add the remaining dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
- Gently stir in the blueberries and pecans and pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Streusel Topping: Place the flour and sugar for the topping in the same small bowl that was holding the berries and add the melted butter. Stir lightly with a fork to combine. Sprinkle the sugary streusel topping over the batter in the pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40–45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool.
- Glaze: Mix the powdered sugar and milk. Drizzle on the cake.
- For Serving: Stir the jam into the yogurt and serve alongside the cake.
- I cut 9 equal portions of cake (if you’re using the PerfectSlice pan, you can use the slicer to cut on every 3rd mark across and down for 9 equal portions of 3x3s). Serve with a smear of blueberry jam on the plate and a dollop of the blueberry yogurt on top!
Variations
Not a huge fan of blueberries? That’s okay! Practically any berry will work in this case, and you can also swap out the pecans for a different nut. Here are some ideas for variations:
- Raspberry-almond coffee cake: Swap the blueberries for raspberries (and the blueberry jam for raspberry jam), and use 1 tsp of almond extract instead of the lemon zest and lemon juice. Also, substitute the pecans for sliced almonds!
- Blackberry-walnut coffee cake: Swap the blueberries and blueberry jam for blackberries and blackberry jam, and use chopped walnuts instead of pecans.
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear how it went!
