The Best Easy Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake

Name: The Best Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 70 min
Total time: 100 min
Ingredients: ⅓ cup granulated sugar; ⅓ cup light brown sugar; 1 cup all purpose flour; pinch kosher salt; zest of a lemon; 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted); 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon kosher salt; 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature); ¾ cup granulated sugar; 1 large egg (room temperature); 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon lemon extract; zest of 2 lemons; 1 cup sour cream (room temperature); 1 ½ cups blueberries (washed and patted dry); 1 tablespoon cornstarch

This is the best moist and tender blueberry lemon coffee cake! Bursting with fresh blueberries and lemon flavor, this blueberry coffee cake is topped with a lemon streusel and a drizzle of lemon glaze. It is so easy to make this recipe!

A stack of two slices of crumb topped blueberry coffee cake.

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This recipe was originally published in January 2021, it has since been updated with new images and a new recipe.

Blueberries and lemons are a match made in heaven! It's why I love my blueberry lemon cookies, blueberry filled cake and blueberry lemon loaf cake. If you can't get enough of baking with fresh blueberries, then you have to try out my buttermilk blueberry muffins! Basically, if you want blueberry and lemon recipes, I am your gal. If you want a more lemon forward recipe though, then you have got to try my lemon poppy seed cupcakes and lemon curd cake!

This blueberry lemon coffee cake has just 30 minutes of prep time, and you get such a tender and moist lemon cake that is packed with fresh blueberries. I've topped it with a crunchy lemony streusel. It's perfect in the Winter when it's citrus season but I also love having it during the Spring when blueberries are at their ripest.

This sour cream coffee cake recipe uses my favorite pecan sour cream coffee cake base recipe, which is just so soft thanks to the sour cream. Want a banana version (I know you've got some overripe bananas on your counter!)? Try my banana bread coffee cake with sour cream!

Why you'll love this recipe!

Simple to Make: I timed this recipe while testing it and it took me 30 minutes (with everything weighed out beforehand!) to make the crumb topping, and the cake, and get it into the oven. It's super simple to make and you'll just need a handheld electric mixer and a few bowls.
Bursting with Blueberries: this blueberry coffee cake is packed with fresh blueberries, so you get blueberries in every bite.
Soft & Tender Cake: I'm using my tried and true coffee cake recipe for this, which I know is super soft and plush thanks to the sour cream.
Perfect for any Occasion: this lemon blueberry coffee cake is great for brunches, bake sales, afternoon snacks or just because!

Ingredients You'll Need

All the ingredients needed to make blueberry lemon coffee cake weighed out into small bowls.

All the ingredients needed to make a lemon crumb topping, weighed out into small bowls.

Flour: I have only tested this recipe with all purpose flour.
Sugar: you'll need both light brown sugar and granulated sugar for the streusel topping, but just granulated sugar for the cake.
Sour Cream: this is what makes the coffee cake so tender. I recommend using full-fat sour cream for the best taste and texture.
Lemons: you'll need some fresh lemons for the zest which goes in the streusel, in the cake, and is tossed with the blueberries.
Fresh Blueberries: I have only tested this recipe with fresh blueberries and not frozen ones.
Lemon Extract: I added a bit of lemon extract for extra lemon flavor, but you can leave that out if you don't have it on hand.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions/Variations

Frozen Blueberries: swap out fresh blueberries for frozen blueberries, but be sure not to thaw them beforehand.
Different Fruits: swap out the blueberries for an equal amount of raspberries or blackberries. I wouldn't use strawberries as they have a lot more moisture.
Poppy Seeds: Add a tablespoon of poppy seeds to get a lemon poppy seed coffee cake!
Extracts: I've used lemon and vanilla extract here, but it would be so delicious with fiori di sicilia.
Sour Cream: swap out the sour cream for an equal amount of Greek yogurt.

Step by Step Instructions

A bowl with a crumb topping and a bowl with flour in it.

Step 1: Whisk together all of the crumb topping ingredients in a small bowl. Once you get large clumps, place the bowl in the fridge. Preheat your oven to 350 Fahrenheit/175 Celsius and grease and line an 8x8 baking pan.

Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

A mixing bowl with yellow cake batter in it.

Step 3: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand held mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Step 4: Mix in the egg, lemon extract and vanilla extract.

Step 5: Add the sour cream and your lemon zest. Mix until combined.

Step 6: Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix on low speed, stopping as soon as it's combined.

A jug with blueberries tossed in cornstarch and a mixing bowl with cake batter and blueberries.

Step 7: In a small bowl or jug, toss the washed and dried blueberries with the cornstarch and lemon zest.

Step 8: Gently fold the blueberries into the coffee cake batter.

A square pan with unbaked lemon blueberry cake topped with a crumb topping.

Step 9: Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan.

Step 10: Take the crumb topping out of the fridge and sprinkle on top. Note, if it's kind of stuck together you may have to use a fork to break it apart! Bake in the preheated oven for 60-70 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out with no crumbs. Let the cake cool in the pan before removing and slicing.

A close up of a slice of lemon blueberry coffee cake with crumb topping.

Expert Tips & Tricks

Kitchen Scale: I always recommend using a kitchen scale to bake, it's the most accurate way of baking! You can buy one online for under $20. If you aren't using a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients, please make sure you properly weigh out your flour! It's so easy to add too much flour, giving you a dry coffee cake.
Tent the Cake: if the crumb topping is getting too brown you can tent the pan with some aluminum foil.
Lemon Glaze: I added the lemon glaze from my blueberry pound cake, but you could also sprinkle over some powdered sugar!
Round Pan: an 8x8 square pan holds the same amount of batter as a 9-inch round pan, so feel free to use that if you want a round coffee cake.
Lining the Pan: because this is a square cake with a crumb topping, we're going to want to lift it out of the pan instead of flipping it upside down like a regular cake. Make sure you properly line your cake pan and have enough parchment paper overhanging so you can easily lift it out.
Baking Time: this is a thick coffee cake and ovens differ, so yours might need longer in the oven and that's ok!

Some FAQs you might have!

Can I use frozen blueberries for this blueberry coffee cake?

Yes, but don't thaw them before adding them to the cake batter. The cake might need a bit longer in the oven because frozen blueberries hold more moisture than fresh.

Why do you toss the blueberries in cornstarch for lemon blueberry coffee cake?

Tossing blueberries in cornstarch is going to help them not sink to the bottom of the pan. This is a fairly thick cake batter, so this is just a precaution! You can also use flour instead of cornstarch. Tossing them in flour or cornstarch also helps the blueberries from 'bleeding' into the batter.