Blueberry Buckle Cake Recipe - Simple recipe for a tender crumb cake with juicy blueberries, a hint of lemon, and a buttery streusel topping.
Blueberry coffee cake is one of our favorite recipes to make during blueberry season, which is July through September here in the Midwest. It's a great way to use up all the peak of the season blueberries that are available.
Love baked fruit desserts? Be sure to check out our peach dump cake recipe, cherry pie bars, blueberry buckle, or our easy mini apple pies recipe, and other delicious desserts.
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Why You're Gonna Love This Recipe
This Classic Blueberry Buckle Recipe is bursting with flavor. It's an incredibly delicious coffee cake with fresh, juicy blueberries, baked in a tender crumb cake that has a bright hint of lemon, with the most irresistible buttery crumb topping.
Here's What You Need
All you need to make this traditional blueberry buckle recipe are a few simple ingredients you can get at your local grocery store.
Notes on Ingredients
Cake Batter
- butter - salted, room temperature. May substitute unsalted butter.
- sugar - granulated, white.
- fresh lemon zest - Lemon zest that has been freshly grated using a microplane is best. But lemon juice, or lemon extract are great substitutions.
- salt - We use fine grained kosher salt in all our recipes.
- whole milk - May substitute 2% milk or buttermilk.
- fresh blueberries - May substitute frozen blueberries.
Streusel Topping
- butter - salted, cold butter, cut into small cubes.
- brown sugar - light.
- sugar - granulated, white.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
Buckles can be made using other fresh fruit or berries. Here's a list of some common variations and flavor combinations to try:
- cherry
- peach, or peach and blueberry
- pear, or brown butter pear
- apple, or apple and salted caramel
- raspberry
- mixed berry
How to Make Blueberry Buckle Cake
This made-from-scratch coffee cake recipe is easy to put together in around 15 minutes and can be ready in about an hour following these simple instructions.
Preheat Oven To 350°F
- Prepare Baking Dish. Rub butter inside a baking dish or use non-stick cooking spray. Alternately, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
Make Cake Batter
- Cream Butter and Sugar. Place butter sugar and lemon zest into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, equipped with the paddle attachment.
Cream butter, sugar, and lemon zest for 3 minutes on medium speed, until the butter is pale yellow and the mixture is light and fluffy.
Note: This recipe creates a thick batter that will come together easiest using the paddle attachment and scraping the sides of the bowl from time to time in order to make sure the ingredients are combined evenly.
- Add Egg and Vanilla. Add egg and vanilla and mix for 30 seconds until incorporated.
- Sift Dry Ingredients. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a separate large bowl.
- Add Dry Ingredients and Milk. Add flour mixture and milk, a little at a time, alternating between the two, to butter and sugar mixture. Mix for 20-30 seconds, until just combined.
- Fold In Blueberries. Gently fold blueberries into the cake batter, being careful not to squish the berries.
- Transfer. Transfer the blueberry buckle batter to a prepared pan. Spread it out evenly in the bottom of the pan.
Set aside while you make the streusel topping.
Make Streusel Topping
- Make Streusel Topping (Crumble Topping). Combine all streusel ingredients in a separate bowl. Using a pastry cutter or a food processor, combine them into a coarse topping and the butter is in small pieces about the size of peas.
- Add Topping. Spread the streusel topping out evenly on top of the batter.
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- Bake. Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes. As the cake bakes, the batter rises and the weight of the buttery topping will cause the cake to buckle into the center, creating a dense, moist cake that is incredibly delicious.
Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. The cake is done when the toothpick comes out clean and the top of the cake is golden brown.
Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before slicing into it. This allows time for the cake to set so that you can slice through it cleanly.
Pro Tips
- Line baking pan with parchment paper. This will allow for the cake to be easily removed from the baking pan. Just gently lift the parchment paper out of the pan, bringing the freshly baked cake with it. Then, fold down the sides of the paper and slice the cake into 9 pieces.
- Make ahead tip. Make this cake ahead of time and freeze it in an airtight container. Take it out of the freezer and thaw it on the counter a day ahead of when you want to serve it.
Recipe FAQS
A coffee cake is any cake served with coffee. A buckle is a dense, moist cake that has fresh fruit or berries folded into the batter and has a buttery, streusel topping.
Using frozen blueberries will make the batter cold, causing the cake to take longer to bake. Be sure to add 10 minutes to the baking time.
A traditional buckle is a single layer cake made with fresh blueberries and has a buttery streusel topping. As the cake bakes, the heavy crumb topping sinks or buckles right into the batter creating dense buttery bites of moist cake that taste so good with a cup of coffee.
Serving Suggestions
Serve warm or at room temperature with a hot cup of coffee. Makes a great addition to a Breakfast or Brunch Menu.
Freezing and Storage
Store on the counter covered in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag. Store at room temperature for 2-3 days. Any longer than that, just pop it into the freezer. Freezes well. Takes about an hour to thaw at room temperature.
There you have it. Making this Blueberry Buckle Cake Recipe is as easy as that! We hope you enjoy our super simple, super tasty recipe. Try it and let us know how you like it. We'd love to hear from you!
xo ~ Seanna
More Cake Recipes
- Easy Peach Dump Cake - Made with just 3 simple ingredients: canned peaches, cake mix, and butter, and baked to golden bubbly, syrupy perfection.
- Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake - One of my favorite desserts ever. My Mom's irresistible chocolate chip cake. It is a wonderfully moist sour cream cake with the most amazing chocolatey butter topping.
- Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake - Easy apple cake with Apple Crisp Topping and a Bourbon Caramel Glaze is a super tasty dessert recipe that is sure to hit the spot.
- Pumpkin Squares - Super moist and delicious pumpkin dessert recipe made with Pumpkin Butter, and packed with savory and sweet fall flavors.
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📖 Recipe
Easy Blueberry Buckle Recipe
Equipment
- microplane zester
- 8 inch baking pan
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 6 tablespoons butter salted, room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar granulated, white
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract pure
- 1 ½ cups flour all purpose
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk whole, or 2%
- 2 cups blueberries fresh
Streusel Topping
- 8 tablespoons butter 1 stick, salted, cubed
- ½ cup brown sugar light
- ¼ cup sugar granulated, white
- ½ cup flour all purpose
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
Preheat Oven To 350°F
- Prepare Baking Dish. Rub butter inside a baking dish or use non-stick cooking spray. Alternately, line the baking dish with parchment paper.
Make Cake Batter
- Cream Butter and Sugar. Cream butter, sugar, and lemon zest for 3 minutes on medium speed, until the butter is pale yellow and the mixture is light and fluffy.6 tablespoons butter, ¾ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- Add Egg and Vanilla. Add egg and vanilla and mix for 30 secondd until incorporated.1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Sift Dry Ingredients. Sift dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.1 ½ cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add Dry Ingredients and Milk. Add dry ingredients and milk, a little at a time, alternating between the two, to butter and sugar mixture. Mix for 20-30 seconds, until just combined.½ cup milk
- Fold In Blueberries. Gently fold blueberries into the batter.2 cups blueberries
- Transfer. Transfer cake batter to prepared baking dish. Spread it out evenly.
Make Streusel Topping
- Make Topping. Combine all streusel ingredients. Using a pastry cutter or a food processor, combine them into a coarse topping and the butter pieces are the size of peas.8 tablespoons butter, ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup sugar, ½ cup flour, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Add Topping. Spread the topping evenly on top of the cake batter.
- Bake. Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. Cake is done if the toothpick comes out clean.
Video
Notes
Expert Tips
- Line baking pan with parchment paper. This will allow for the cake to be easily removed from the baking pan. Just gently lift the parchment paper out of the pan, bringing the freshly baked cake with it. Then, fold down the sides of the paper and slice the cake into 9 pieces.
- Make ahead tip. Make this cake ahead of time and freeze it in an airtight container. Take it out of the freezer and thaw it on the counter a day ahead of when you want to serve it.
Russ B
Love this in the morning.
Seanna Borrows
Who can resist breakfast cake.