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”
uI have made this a couple of times and It’s so delicious! Once because I didn’t have a lemon on hand, I used lemon extrat with great results! Today I made it for a breakfast with my girlfriends and I used frozen bluberries. Worked perfect! (Although I think you should put a disclaimer that the batter WILL be thick. : ) I always doubt myself and think I did something wrong!) I am definitely going to try this with fresh picked strawberries! I’ll report back! : )
So happy to hear this Sara!
Made this for brunch today. Used fresh blueberries. I had to add about two extra tablespoons of milk to thin out the batter a bit. But, this could have been due to humidity or other factors. I left it back in the oven an extra 10-12 minutes until the top was a golden brown. It taste exactly like a blueberry muffin top and melts in your mouth.
I tried to make a slightly lower calorie version by reducing the butter to 6 tbsps and sugar to 3/4 of a cup. It was fine but not nearly as good as the original recipe. If you are looking to shave a few calories off I highly recommend just eating a smaller portion instead of tinkering with the ingredients.
I also made a version that substituted a 1/4 cup brown sugar instead of white sugar. It turned out fine as well. It was just a little more heavy. But, again, I would recommend sticking with the original recipe. If you wanted some added sweetness place a basic streusel topping on it.
Cooking King — Thanks for sharing your thoughts and the results of your various experiments. I wonder if apple sauce could be substituted in somehow to cut back on the calories? Or, as you say, we could all just eat smaller pieces. Thanks again for your nice comment.
Doubled recipe to make for my fam and a friend. It is delish!! Best recipe I have tried to date! It’s a keeper! Thank you!
Amy — wonderful to hear this!
Can you use canned blueberries from a store… or any other fruit like cherries, apple, or peaches? Wanna try to get rid of my cans.
Katseth — I can’t say for sure bc I’ve never tried, but it’s definitely worth a shot. I would just drain the fruit as best you can before proceeding with the recipe. Good luck with it!
Hi, i wanna try this recipe for up coming picnic can i use can peaches for this recipe?? plz do reply ,thanks a lot
Spice — definitely! I think every fruit under the sun has been tried with this cake. Peaches sound wonderful.
Wow, this cake looks really amazing! I’d love to have a piece of this tomorrow morning!
Wonderful recipe! I like that it isn’t overly sweet, but the sugar on the top gives just that nice sweet sort of crust. I had to leave it in the oven at least 45-50 minutes–35 wasn’t even close. Thank you very much!
Lisa — wonderful to hear this! I am going to make a note of the baking time in the recipe — many people have experienced this same time difference.
Made this recipe as written using store bought buttermilk and it has been a huge hit at the office and with my roommate and fiance! I used a 9 inch round cake pan and baked it for 42 minutes (I started with 35 minutes, checked on it and then baked for another 7) and it came out perfect! Definitely a keeper 🙂
Heather — wonderful to hear this. So happy to hear you have shared it with so many people…your lucky coworkers! The consensus does seem to be that it takes more like 40 minutes or so.
I found this recipe on Pinterest and just made it this morning. It is so delicious! It is one of the best breakfast cakes that I have ever made. I made this in a 9×5 baking dish and put it in the oven for 40 minutes and it came out perfectly! Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe! 🙂
Amy — wonderful to hear this! I love when this one turns out well for people.
Hola
I haven’t yet tried this with strawberries (how can that not turn out delicious, though!) but I prepared this last night again with frozen blueberries and baked it this morning. Results: Still delicious! Just thought I’d post for anyone wondering if they can take all the same shortcuts!
Sara — thanks so much for reporting in with this variation. So nice that this cake works with frozen blueberries and what I love most about it is that it can be prepared the night before…what a treat in the morning!
Has anyone ever tried this with wheat flour? I’ve made this recipe months ago and absolutely loved it, but I’m trying to cut back on white bread/white flower. I am also thinking about possibly using applesauce and cutting down a little on the sugar and butter. But only a little! Taking this on vacation and I dont want to over indulge especially since we will be eating lunches and dinners out for a week.
Sara — wish I could offer you some guidance here, but I’ve never been great at these substitutions. I would start with substituting 1 cup of the white flour with 1 cup of whole wheat flour. And I would substitute half of the butter with apple sauce, so use 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup applesauce. I know you want to cut back on the sugar, too, so I would either just cut it back to 3/4 cup (just forget the additional 2 tablespoons) or perhaps wait to make any changes to the sugar until you see how the additions of wheat flour and applesauce affect the texture/flavor. Hope that helps. Enjoy your vacation!
This is going to be cooking while the family is making snowmen in tomorrow’s expected snow storm – Yummy to come in to! They will LOVE it!
Ann — wonderful to hear this! Hope you are staying warm 🙂
I made this a few days ago and have to admit…they look a lot better in the pic than they taste. I followed the recipe exactly but I prefer a light and fluffy cake texture. This one turned out to be a very heavy, cake texture. Would not make these again 🙁
It’s in the oven right now- made it with frozen triple berry mix from target. Looks like it is going to be a really yummy coffee cake- the batter left in the bowl sure is- thanks for posting this recipe. We are snowed in and craving sweets~
MAC — I hope it was as yummy as it sounds — thanks for the top on the triple berry mix from Target. I’ll have to pick up a bag no my next trip. Thanks!
Made this today from pinterest. So good. Thank you!
Sarah — wonderful to hear this!
Oh lori, sorry to hear about the whole wheat flour situation, but i suppose it was worth a shot — had it tasted great, what a great find that would have been. Glad to hear you are going to give it a shot with the white flour. Good luck with it!
Made this today. I pressed cubes of cream cheese into the top before baking. Yum! Thanks for the great recipe!!
Mary — yum. Great idea!
Just made this. It’s super good. Thanks for sharing!
Tina — wonderful to hear this!
If I wanted to use this recipe for muffins, would it convert well? How long would you bake the muffins?
Thank you,
Lisa
Lisa — yes, definitely. I make muffins with a very similar recipe: https://alexandracooks.com/2009/03/20/lemon-blueberry-muffins/ For muffins, I make at 375º for 25 to 30 minutes depending on what size muffin pan you are using. Good luck with it!
Hi! This looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it. Have you had any experience with freezing the finished cake? Looking for quick and easy breakfast meals for a toddler so having some on hand in the freezer would be awesome. Thanks!
Kathy — I personally haven’t frozen the cake but several of the commenters have. Just be sure that the cake cools completely before you decide to wrap and freeze it. Also, I would wrap the pieces individually in plastic wrap and then stick those wrapped pieces in a freezer bag. Hope that helps!
Looks delicious!! I may have to make these this weekend!!
Made this breakfast cake this morning and it is delicious!! Definitely one I will make again!
Wonderful to hear this, Connie!
The best coffee cake I have ever made or eaten, hands down. We gobbled it steaming out of the pan and all have scalded mouths and fingers…. next time I’ll let it cool a few minutes 🙂
thanks for sharing the recipe!
Stephanie — wonderful to hear this!
Made this for a breakfast for dinner party!
Mary — Love this idea! Breakfast for dinner is my idea of heaven.
Excited to make this…what do I need to do to make it in a 9×13??
Christy — just double the recipe and bake it for at least 45 minutes. Good luck with it!
I made this today and it was so good! I substituted the buttermilk with sour cream and the lemon zest with a teaspoon of lemon extract because that’s what I had on hand. Baked it on a 9×13 pan for 45 mins. Will be making this again, thank you for sharing your recipe! 🙂
Karen — wonderful to hear this! Love the idea of sour cream. I think yogurt could probably work too — anything with a nice tang! Thanks for writing in!
This is easily one of the best things I’ve ever baked. Everyone absolutely loves it!!! So glad I found your recipe!! The batter is really sticky and difficult to smooth into the pan but SO WORTH IT!!!!
Wonderful to hear this Brittany!
It’s was so easy and absolutely amazing! I’ve made it twice and it’s gotten rave reviews both times, even the second time when I substituted half the AP flour with whole wheat flour. Going to try it with apples and cinnamon tomorrow instead! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Lori — wonderful to hear this! Love the idea of apples and cinnamon. Let me know how it turns out!
I forgot to buy fresh blueberries when I went shopping. Can you substitute frozen blueberries?
Yes, definitely use frozen. Many of the commenters have had great success with frozen berries. Good luck with it!