Blueberry Coffee Cake

BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE RIDDLED WITH BLUEBERRIES WILL BE YOUR FAVORITE BLUEBERRY ANYTHING! 

This Blueberry Coffee Cake is made with easy cake batter, juicy blueberries, topped with brown sugar, pecan streusel  and drizzled with Maple Cream Cheese Glaze!  It is, tender, moist,  and nothing short of addicting!  I’ve also included how to make blueberry coffee cake, how to store, and how to freeze for everything you need to know for the BEST Blueberry Coffee Cake!

a slice of blueberry coffee cake with drizzle on a white plate


 

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Blueberry Coffee Cake

I love blueberries from my Lemon Blueberry Cake to my Blueberry Cheesecake to my Blueberry Muffins; I love them so much I’ve even made Blueberry Cornbread Muffins (sooooo good)!  So naturally, my love led me to make this Blueberry Coffee Cake!

This Blueberry Coffee Cake looks super fancy but is super easy because – shhhhhh – it starts with a cake mix!   We just put our house on the market so I never know when I will receive a text that someone will be at my house in 15 minutes – so I am doing a lot of simplifying – starting with cake mixes!

This cake mix is combined with with vanilla pudding mix, vanilla yogurt, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla extract and blueberries to create the most moist Blueberry Coffee Cake you ever sunk your teeth into.  It’s a sweet, juicy blueberry cake explosion in every bite!

BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE RECIPE

Why you’ll love this Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe:

  • EASY.  The Blueberry Coffee Cake made with cake mix eliminates a mixer which means it comes together super quickly with just a couple bowls and a spoon.
  • MOIST. These Blueberry Coffee Cake is moist, and tender without being oily from a combination of vegetable oil and yogurt.
  • CAKE-LIKE. These Blueberry Coffee Cake is soft and cake-like  with a melt-in-your-mouth crumb instead of being super crumbly.
  • EXTRA BLUEBERRIES.  No one wants to bite into Blueberry Coffee Cake without pops of juicy blueberries in every bite, so this recipe is loaded with one pint of juicy blueberries!
  • STREUSEL.  The streusel adds a sweet, crunchy, outrageously delicious textural component to the easy coffee cake – and is SO easy to make in SECONDS in your food processor!
  • MAPLE CREAM CHEESE GLAZE.  Every single word in that title is spectacular on it’s own, combine them together and you have the most intoxicating glaze for coffee cake!
  • MAKE AHEAD.  This Blueberry Coffee Cake tastes even better the next day for stress-free mornings!
  • FREEZER FRIENDLY. You can freeze this coffee cake to make ahead or for pull out individual servings when you crave a sweet breakfast treat.
top view of  Blueberry coffee cake with cake mix

What is Coffee Cake?

Despite its name, this Blueberry Coffee Cake does NOT have coffee in it.  Coffee cake simply refers to a breakfast cake that is suitable to serve alongside tea or coffee.

Coffee cake typically is a moist cake with a tender crumb with streusel or crumb topping, cinnamon and a glaze.  Coffee Cakes often contain chocolate, fruit or nuts.

I love coffee cake so much I’ve already shared Banana Coffee Cake, Strawberry Coffee Cake, Cream Cheese Coffee Cake and I’m excited for this Blueberry Coffee Cake to join the mix!

Ingredients for Blueberry Coffee Cake

  • Blueberries.  You can use FRESH or frozen frozen blueberries in this coffee cake recipe, although I prefer fresh.   Blueberries are only in season from May to July, however, so frozen will work just fine the rest of the time.  When using frozen blueberries, do NOT thaw first â€“ add them when they are still frozen.
  • Cake mix.  Use your favorite yellow cake mix.
  • Vanilla pudding.  If you’ve never added vanilla pudding to your cake mixes, you are missing out! Instant vanilla pudding contains a significant amount of cornstarch which makes your flour behave more like cake flour, thus increasing your cake’s hydration, resulting in a moister cake.
  • Cinnamon. Use more or less to taste.
  • Vegetable oil.  Oil creates a more tender coffee cake.
  • Vanilla yogurt.  I LOVE using vanilla yogurt in my baked goods.  It eliminates part of the oil and creates an extra tender texture. Make sure you use GREEK yogurt because regular yogurt is not nearly as thick.
  • Eggs.  You will need 4 large eggs.  They provides structure and binding properties. Take care they are at room temperature along with your milk and vanilla yogurt so everything mixes together easily for fluffier results.
  • Vanilla extract.  Use quality vanilla for best results.

side view of blueberry coffee cake with streusel crumb topping and glaze

How do You Make Blueberry Coffee Cake?

  • Use correct pan:  You need a 16 cup/10-inch nonstick tube pan for this Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe.  A bundt cake pan will NOT work because it does not have enough volume and the coffee cake will overflow.  The streusel also won’t be on top when inverted if you use a bundt pan.
  • Grease pan: I always grease my pans with nonstick cooking spray WITH FLOUR.  I have NEVER had a problem with any of my cakes or breads sticking with this method.  Alternatively, you can grease and flour your pan.
  • Combine blueberries with cake mix. Start by tossing your blueberries with two tablespoons of the cake mix.  This will help them not to sink.
  • Mix batter ingredients.  Stir cake mix, pudding mix, cinnamon, yogurt, oil, water, vanilla and eggs and whisk by hand for 1 minute.   How easy is our batter?!
  • Fold in blueberries. You have two options when it comes to the blueberries – you can either create a blueberry swirl or have them speckled all throughout the batter.  To create a blueberry swirl, gently fold 1 cup reserved blueberries into the batter, save the rest to sandwich in between two layers of coffee cake batter.
  • Thick batter.  The batter will be thick, so don’t be alarmed.  Thick batter will help the blueberries from sinking in the coffee cake as it bakes.
  • Don’t peak:  Don’t open the oven doors until you are ready to check your Blueberry Coffee Cake for doneness.  Opening the doors too early can cause the cake to fall in the middle or cook unevenly.
  • Don’t slice while warm:  Don’t be tempted to slice your cake while it is still warm or it can fall apart.
a collage showing how to make blueberry coffee cake by tossing blueberries with flour, adding blueberries to batter, adding batter to pan and topping with streusel

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN MY COFFEE CAKE IS DONE?

Your Blueberry Coffee Cake might take more less time than indicated based on the variables of your actual pan, actual oven temperature, etc.

To check your coffee cake, use a long wooden skewer or toothpick.  Your coffee cake is done when just a few crumbs cling to the toothpick inserted into the center – your toothpick should NOT come out clean, this means it is over baked.

If your easy coffee cake is not baked in 60 minutes, then continue to bake, adding foil on top of the cake if the top is browning too much.

How do You Make a Streusel Topping?

The streusel topping for our Blueberry Coffee Cake is the crowning glory because a crumbly, sugary, pecan, cinnamon infused streusel transforms a blueberry coffee cake to the BEST Blueberry Coffee Cake!

The streusel is very easy.  You will need:

  • pecans
  • flour
  • brown sugar
  • granulated sugar
  • butter
  • cinnamon

The only thing you need to pay attention to is your butter.  The butter should be cold and cut into small cubes. I like to cut my butter then return it to the refrigerator to ensure it’s really cold.

Food processor streusel:  The EASIEST way to make streusel is in your food processor.  Simply add pecans to your food processor and pulse 3 times. Add flour, sugars and cinnamon and pulse a few times to combine.  Sprinkle cold butter over top and pulse until the mixture resembles small pebbles.  That’s it!

Hand streusel:  If you don’t have a food processor, never fear, you can still make streusel!  You will need to chop the pecans by hand and set aside.  In a large bowl, add all ingredients except the pecans and use a fork or pastry cutter  to cut the butter in.  The butter should no larger than peas when you’re done.

pouring glaze over easy blueberry coffee cake with streusel crumb topping

How  to Make Glaze for Coffee Cake?

I love adding glazes to coffee cake because the sweet, creaminess is a welcome contrast to the cake.  To make this Maple Cream Cheese Glaze, you will need:

  • cream cheese
  • butter
  • pure maple syrup
  • vanilla extract
  • ground cinnamon
  • powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Beat in maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon then gradually beat in powdered sugar, adding additional maple a teaspoon at a time if necessary to reach desired consistency.

There are always variables in any recipe, so start with this glaze recipe for your Blueberry Coffee Cake and either add more powdered sugar for thicker or milk, one teaspoon at a time for thinner.

Can this Blueberry Coffee Cake be Made Ahead of Time?

Absolutely!   This Blueberry Coffee Cake actually tastes even better the next day, after the flavors have had time to meld.  I think it tastes the very best the next day BUT each slice warmed for 15 seconds or so.

side view of blueberry coffee cake with cake mix on a white plate with a few pieces missing How Do I store Coffee Cake?

Blueberry Coffee Cake can be stored at room temperature covered in cake cover or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap for up to 3 days OR to to prolong the life of your cake, refrigerate it for up to 7 days.

CAN I FREEZE BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE?

Yes!  Blueberry Coffee Cakes freezes exceptionally well.  to freeze:

  1. Let Coffee Cake cool completely.
  2. Wrap cake tightly in plastic wrap then repeat with a second layer of plastic wrap. Next wrap tightly in 1-2 layers of foil until completely sealed.
  3. If you are freezing individual slices, then place these plastic/foil wrapped slices in a freezer bag. If you are freezing your entire Coffee Cake for an extended period of time, then secure the aluminum foil with freezer tape to prevent freezer burn.
  4. You can store your Coffee Cake for up to 3 months.
  5. When ready to eat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

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up close of a slice of best blueberry coffee cake with crumb topping and glaze

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I've died and gone to heaven! This EASY Blueberry Muffin Cake is like a giant blueberry muffin and the Maple Cream Cheese Glaze is amazing! Everyone always asks me to make this for brunch!

Blueberry Coffee Cake

This Blueberry Coffee Cake is made with easy blueberry cake batter, riddled with blueberries, topped with brown sugar, pecan streusel  and drizzled with Maple Cream Cheese Glaze!  It is, tender, moist,  and nothing short of addicting!  I’ve also included how to make blueberry coffee cake, how to store, and how to freeze for everything you need to know for the BEST Blueberry Coffee Cake!
Servings: 10 -12 servings
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

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Ingredients

Blueberry Muffin Cake

  • 1 pkg. yellow cake mix
  • 1 3.4 oz. pkg. vanilla instant pudding mix
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 cup vanilla yogurt (lowfat/nonfat okay)
  • 1/2 cup Vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 pint blueberries, separated

Brown Sugar Streusel

  • 1 cup pecans
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 6 tablespoons butter, cubed and chilled
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Maple Cream Cheese Glaze

  • 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray all inside surfaces of a 9.5/10-inch 16 cup capacity angel food cake pan with nonstick cooking spray WITH FLOUR or grease and flour the inside of your pan. Set aside.*
  • Streusel: Add pecans to your food processor and pulse 3 times. Add flour, sugars and cinnamon and pulse a few times to combine. Sprinkle cold butter over top and pulse until the mixture resembles small pebbles. (You may also combine in a bowl and cut butter in by hand). Set aside in the refrigerator.
  • Cake: Add blueberries to a medium bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of the cake mix. Set aside. Combine remaining cake mix, pudding mix, cinnamon, yogurt, oil, water, vanilla and eggs and whisk by hand for 1 minute. Gently fold 1 cup reserved blueberries into batter. Batter will be very thick.
  • (Optional for Blueberry Swirl – see note**) Measure out 1 cup batter (to top blueberry layer) and spoon the rest of the batter into the prepared pan. Layer remaining blueberries over batter in pan in a single layer and spread reserved 1 cup batter evenly over blueberries (layer will be very thin).
  • Tap pan on counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles then sprinkle evenly with Streusel.
  • Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees F or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let baked cake cool on wire rack for 1 hour. Gently invert cake onto a baking sheet, remove pan, and invert back onto cooling rack streusel side up. Let cool to room temperature.
  • Glaze: Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Beat in maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon then gradually beat in powdered sugar, adding additional maple a teaspoon at a time if necessary to reach desired consistency. Drizzle desired amount of glaze over cake and serve any remaining glaze with individual servings. I love to warm my cake with glaze in the microwave for 15 seconds or so – so good!
  • Store in tightly wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.

Notes

*A bundt cake pan will NOT work in this recipe because it does not have enough volume and the streusel won’t be on top when inverted.
**If you don’t want a blueberry swirl in your cake, then you can simply mix all the blueberries into the batter and eliminate step 4)
 

HOW TO FREEZE

  1. Let Coffee Cake cool completely.
  2. Wrap cake tightly in plastic wrap then repeat with a second layer of plastic wrap. Next wrap tightly in 1-2 layers of foil until completely sealed.
  3. If you are freezing individual slices, then place these plastic/foil wrapped slices in a freezer bag. If you are freezing your entire Coffee Cake for an extended period of time, then secure the aluminum foil with freezer tape to prevent freezer burn.
  4. You can store your Coffee Cake for up to 3 months.
  5. When ready to eat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

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29 Comments

    • Jen says

      Thank you so much Melanie – getting it on the market has to be the biggest part of the battle 🙂 I wish I could share a slice of this cake with you – hopefully someday!

  1. Patti says

    This is another winning recipe. It looks delicious. I definitely need to try it.

    • Jen says

      Thank you so much Patti, I am excited for you to try it! IT won’t last long 🙂

  2. Dorothy Dunton says

    Hi Jen! Blueberries have always been one of my favorite berries! Where we lived in MI we were in the heart of blueberry country! All I had to do was drive a half mile down the road from our house. My son loves anything with blueberries and struesel! I’ll be giving him this recipe and he will be thanking you! 🙂

    • Jen says

      It sounds so magical to drive half a mile from your house and have fresh blueberries! Thank you so much for passing this recipe onto your son- I hope he loves it! xo

  3. Kristen says

    Jen, I LOVE your dad. I just finished reading Wallflowers book and your dad is just amazing! I know he will enjoy every bite of your this cake–and you need all the short cuts you can get with a house on the market. We were there last summer. I threw my dirty dishes into my oven several times in middle of recipe when I got the call 🙂

    I am sending you an email about the book–loved it, balled like a baby!

    • Jen says

      Oh Kristen, you are the sweetest! I am so honored you read my book – I know it is no easy task when our circumstances are similar. I hope there were some good tear in there too 🙂 Thank you thank you, and emailing you back…

  4. Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says

    How exciting — a new house! Now using a cake mix is perfectly acceptable. What we used to do before a showing is bake cookies — the kind you find in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. We kept those on hand and so before the showing we had a wonderful aroma in the house plus cookies for the possible buyers. 🙂 Then, if all the cookies weren’t gone we’d freeze for next time. Worked out great!! The recipe looks and sounds delicious!! Have a great weekend.

    • Jen says

      Thank you for being excited for us Marisa! We have an open house this weekend so I think I will have to use your baked cookies trick 🙂 I hope you had a wonderful weekend as well! xo

  5. Amanda says

    I don’t own a tube pan…can any other pans be substituted for this? Thanks!

    • Jen says

      Hi Amanda, you can use a bundt cake pan but you will have to omit the crumb topping as the volume isn’t large enough and bake for less time – about 45 minutes. Alternatively, you could bake in a 9×13 and bake according to the cake box directions on the back of the box – hope this helps!

  6. Valérie says

    Hi Jen,
    This cake looks gorgeous, thanks for sharing the recipe. Do you think it is possible to use frozen blueberries ?
    I live in Barcelona, Spain, and I don’t know why but you can only find then in very small / expensive packs, not very practical for a cake.
    Have a great day!!

    • Jen says

      Hi Valerie, sorry for the late response. We have had a family wedding and all the craziness that goes with it! Yes, frozen blueberries would work just fine – don’t thaw them but be sure to rinse them in cold water several times – until the water is noticeably lighter when you drain them then dry the berries well with several layers of paper towels. Hope this helps!

      • Valérie says

        Hi Jen, hope you had a good time with the weeding!
        Thanks for your answer, I can’t wait to try the recipe. And let you know how it worked 🙂
        Have a great week-end,
        Val

  7. Kevin | Keviniscooking says

    I wish this was Star trek and you could transport a slice or two over. My, oh my, this looks divine! Love that “coat the berries in the mix so they don’t sink” tip.

    • Jen says

      Sorry for the late response Kevin, we have been traveling for my little brother’s wedding and I am so behind 🙂 I wish this was star trek too so then I could eat all of YOUR amazing recipes! Man, if only we lived closer. Both living in San Diego just isn’t cutting it! xo

  8. Colleen says

    Jen, We have blueberries and your recipe looks wonderfully tasty. Love baking with vanilla yogurt! If I make this, I will play with subbing/removing some of the butter/oil. 1/2 cup of butter (8 TBS) is 92 grams of fat and 109 grams for the same measure in vegetable oil. With the fat in the cream cheese and eggs, each piece will range between 20-30+ grams of fat! (BTW, I came to your site for your yogurt hollandaise – can’t wait to try it! The hollandaise I made last night with chicken broth instead of butter was very underwhelming 😉 My husband has gall bladder disease and at 60, to save his gall bladder – against all of the doctors advising removal – we now limit dinners to 30 grams of fat, tops. Lunches and breakfasts must be much less. He’s much healthier, off blood pressure medicine, avoided major surgery, and we’ve both lost weight.) Colleen

    • Jen says

      Hi Colleen! That is amazing your husband was able to avoid surgery and is off all blood pressure medicine – congrats on all the hard work to make that happen! I hope you were able to make this cake fit his dietary needs and that it still tasted delicious!

  9. Lisa Myrick says

    I showed this to my hubby a couple of weeks ago and he mentioned several times since then how good it looked. Today I made it for him as a surprise after he got home from work. He ate the first slice constantly raving about how good it was. Then he said “so much for supper” and ate a second slice…lol…needless to say it is a keeper. Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes with us. (As a note, it only took 55 minutes in my oven and it was perfect.)

    • Jen says

      Hi Lisa, you are so sweet to surprise your husband with this cake! I’m so glad it did not disappoint 🙂 And thank you so much for the note on the timing – I’ve changed it in the directions. Thanks for trying my recipes!!!

  10. Marie says

    Hi Jen, I am so glad I found your site. All your recipes are so good and easy to make. I made this for my women’s group and it was gone in minutes (and we’re a small group}. Then I made it for my church social and the same thing happened. Now it requested all the time. I told them I would share the recipe, but they said they liked it better when I made it. Thanks so much.

    • Jen says

      Hi Marie, I am so happy you found my site as well, welcome!! I love hearing that this cake has been such a hit with multiple groups – yay! and that cracks me up that they like it better when you make it – smart group 🙂 – next time you need to take a big chunk out of the cake first as your baker’s fee 🙂 Thanks again Marie, have a great week!

  11. Monica says

    This is so delicious! I made it this morning and my family was in love with it! I can follow your recipes word for word and they come out just perfect! I never have to adjust ingredients and my favorite thing is that they turn out looking exactly like your pictures. That means you are truly cooking them as they are and aren’t just making them fancy for your blog. I love your recipes so much. Keep them coming!

    • Jen says

      What an awesome comment Monica, thank you, thank you! I love that my recipes are easy to follow and that they come out like the pictures – just as it should be! And I’m thrilled this blueberry muffin cake was a hit with a fam – what a fun recipe to share with them!

  12. Jen K says

    Hi Jen! I am not sure exactly how I came upon to your site, but I am glad I did! After a day of blueberry picking, we were ready to try this recipe! It was delicious! The cake was super moist and yummy, but the glaze was ridiculous! So good! Next up, your Salsa Verde Chicken Enchilada. Thanks!

    • Jen says

      Hi Jen, welcome to my site! I’m so happy you stumbled upon it and that the Blueberry Coffee Cake was a winner! I hope you have fun exploring and trying new recipes!

  13. Susan says

    This sounds wonderful. Can any other fruit(chopped apples, pears) be substituted for an autumn treat?