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”
Saw this image on Pinterest and came a looking for the recipe. After reading all the comments I am def going to try this one out! I have some blueberries left .after making honey&blueberry cake at the weekend and this breakfast cake will be perfect to use them up. Always on the look out for different breakfast things. Might try the idea of making the ‘batter’ the night before to bake in the morning too.
Oh, but I am in the UK, and still not great at working out the cups thing…. so will try to translate it into grams and let you know how it goes!
Oh yum, this cake looks incredible!! I might have to go get more blueberries.
I had to laugh reading this – I to this day swear my younger brother is my parents’ favorite child as well 🙂
I may not get a response in time, but I am wondering if this would come out too dry as cupcakes? Thanks!
SO good! I converted it to a gluten free version for my dad and it was still moist and wonderful. Instead of regular flour I used 1 1/4 cups rice flour, 1/2 cup sweet rice flour, and 1/4 cup cornstarch. I also added a teaspoon of xanthan gum.
Eirian — So happy to hear this! Thanks for the gluten-free variation. That is awesome.
Found this on Pinterest and made this morning. Rave reviews from my family…especially the “baby boy” (my husband) who’s mom always makes him blueberry muffins :). Thanks!
What do you think about subbing whole wheat flour for the regular flour in the recipe? Has anyone tried that?
So there is no flour in this Breakfast Cake. Thanks and God Bless
Sorry I just saw that there is flour. Have a Great Day
Well my last attempt I added extra buttermilk because it was too dry and it still came out great. I have another one in the oven now and I was just more observant as I added the flour and buttermilk and ended up leaving out a little flour. I also added some cinnamon. I’ll let you know how it goes.
I’m wondering if anybody has made the mix the night before and baked in the morning? Was that successful?
Thanks!
Lisa — yes, definitely mix the night before and bake in the morning. Works beautifully. You can store the batter right in the buttered pan you plan on baking it in. Good luck with it!
This is in my oven right now! Smells wonderful. I didn’t have buttermilk or milk (yeah, I need to go to the store), so I used yogurt – we will see how it comes out. Looks good so far!
I saw this on pinterest. Made it today using 100% whole wheat flour, delicious!!! Great recipe! Thank you so much 🙂
I tried this this morning. It is VERY tasty and I personally appreciate the fact that the sweetness in this recipe is from the blueberries and not from sugar. I was, however, surprised at how dry it was considering the use of buttermilk. I will definitely try it again, but tweak it to make it more moist. Thank you for the yummy recipe!!!!!
i used your recipe to make muffins and they were moist and absolutely delicious. thanks for sharing!
I’d like to try this recipe with small chunks of cream cheese! I used to make an awesome cake like this from doubling a Jiffy Blueberry Muffin Mix Coffee Cake recipe but I’ve misplaced my recipe and can’t find it on the Jiffy website.
Shelly –
Here’s the link to the Jiffy BB Muffin Coffee Cake recipe
This looks like something my mom would whip up on a Sunday morning! Looks so delicious, reminds me something of pancake batter baked as a cake. Awesome! 🙂
I did half raspberries half blueberries and it turned out really good
I tried this tonight and it was absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I plan on doubling it next time to make muffins.
This has become a family favorite. I use whole wheat flour, 1/2 c. sugar w/ none on top, and add 1/2 tsp. almond flavor. Love that we can eat “cake” for breakfast.
Found this recipe on pinterest and finally got a chance to make it Saturday morning. Ohmygosh it was so stinkin’ good! It’s Sunday night and my hubs and I have almost finished it off. This is going to be a staple in our house from now on. Thanks for sharing!!
Afton — so happy to hear this!
I made this for my littles ones home daycare and it was a big hit. My provider said “AMAZING.” I did re-vamp the recipe to make it vegan. Made made my own buttermilk using almond milk and apple cider vinegar, used organic whole wheat flour and organic all purpose flour, egg replacer and a few other changes.
I just made this today (found it on Pinterest) followed the recipe almost exactly and it was DELICIOUS, MOIST, flavorful and … DELICIOUS!!! I made buttermilk by adding 1 tbsp. white vinegar to 1 cup of 2% milk, and I used a whole lotta lemon zest because it ended up being more than 2 tsp. It makes it so fresh and lemony that it was just a gorgeous flavor. Also i used raw demerara sugar, and it was just fine. It didn’t cream like normal sugar does but after I baked it it was fine.
Thank so much Alexandra these recipes and your blog are a treasure!
This has become a staple Saturday morning dish this summer. Thank you!
This turned out superb! I made the accident of putting a full lemon’s worth of juice instead of zest, which turned out alright since I was planning on making my buttermilk substitute with milk + lemon juice anyways… instead of adding even more lemon juice I just added the 1/2 cup of milk. My batter was therefore not dry as some have commented. In fact, it was VERY fluffy, and light… so delicious.
My mother just mentioned that it is DELICIOUS, which is high praise and very honest – she doesn’t hesitate to tell me when my cooking goes horribly wrong.
Definitely a new favourite!
I was wondering how this would freeze. Has anyone tried that? I’m new to freezing foods and would love to freeze this for my postpartum time coming up. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Rae — wish I could help. I’m terrible in the freezer department.
Saw this recipe in pinterest and had to pin it instantly. Looked so delicious, anyways I’m baking it tonite for my mother. She’s coming to my house in the morning. Coffee and blueberry cake yummmm can’t wait. Will keep you updated on how it tasted, thanks Alexa 🙂
Olivia — I hope it turns out well for you! It’s such a treat in the morning.
After this is made, how long before it gets stale?
Gabby — I wouldn’t make it more than a day in advance.
My 9 year old is in love with this cake! Thank you so much for sharing such a delicious recipe! I think it was even more delicious the 2nd day…if that is even possible. My husband loved it as well. We are taking it to share with our Sunday School class tomorrow! Thanks!
Misty and Christie — so happy to hear this!