Buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake is the perfect, sweet start to the day. Moist, tender, and loaded with blueberries, this delicious breakfast cake gets your day off on the right foot!
I love sweets of any kind, but a sweet treat for breakfast always gets me excited. I love making this cake and enjoying it with a cup of coffee, but I'm also a fan of serving it alongside bacon or sausage and eggs, too. You can enjoy it in so many ways. And you will enjoy it!
This was inspired by my easy blueberry cornbread muffins and raspberry buttermilk cake on this site, and pairs well with these fruit breakfast recipes.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- This moist buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake with juicy blueberries is easy to prepare, with just a few steps and no fancy ingredients.
- The perfect breakfast treat, with a cake-like texture that can also be a snack or a dessert.
- Great for family or a crowd this cake is always a hit all year round.
Ingredients
To make this delicious breakfast cake, you'll just need a few simple baking ingredients and some blueberries. That's it! You'll find everything you need at your grocery store.
All the ingredients are right here, but you'll find the exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- All-Purpose Flour - Provides the structure of your cake.
- Baking Powder - Allows cake to rise without yeast.
- Fresh Blueberries - Use frozen blueberries instead or your favorite berry such as raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries, or a combination of them instead.
- Unsalted Butter - Adds flavor and firmness to your cake.
- Granulated Sugar - Adds sweetness to your cake.
- Lemon Zest - Adds a wonderful hint of lemon but you can use orange zest if you prefer.
- Large Egg - Helps hold your cake together.
- Vanilla Extract - Adds subtle vanilla flavor, but feel free add your desired extract flavor to your cake mixture like almond, coconut, peppermint, lemon, banana, maple, orange, or rum extract instead.
- Buttermilk - To keep your cake moist, tangy, full of buttery flavor, and tender, light and fluffy.
Substitutions and Variations
If you want to make some modifications to the recipe consider the following substitutes:
- Glaze It - Create a lemon glaze with powdered sugar and lemon juice and drizzle it all over your cooled cake for a tangy, sweet finish.
- Go Nuts - Add your favorite chopped nuts like peanuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pecans, or walnuts to give your cookies added crunch.
- Add Powder - Add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the cake batter or a sprinkling of ground cinnamon or powdered sugar on top.
- No Buttermilk - If you don't have buttermilk, you can use regular milk instead or make your own buttermilk by simply adding 1 tablespoon of either vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, stirring for about 5 minutes until milk begins to curdle. It will have a similar consistency and tanginess as buttermilk and will work just fine in your cake.
Instructions
This recipe is as easy to make as it is to shop for. It only takes a few minutes and a few simple steps! The highlights are right here, but you'll find the exact instructions in the recipe card at the end of the post.
1: Whisk together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
2: Combine the blueberries with reserved flour.
3: Combine the wet ingredients.
4: Mix the batter ingredients, then fold in the blueberries.
5: Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs.
Hint: Be gentle when folding in the blueberries so you don't pop them.
If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy our blueberry lemon scones recipe with lemon glaze.
Storage
Refrigerator: Store in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.
Freezer: Wrap the cake in a double layer of plastic wrap then a layer of foil and store for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
Reheat: Place the cake on the counter and let it come to room temperature.
What to Serve with Blueberry Breakfast Cake
This buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake makes a deliciously sweet breakfast on its own with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee. It's also delicious when paired with other breakfast options like:
- Fresh fruit
- Quick Homemade Mango Jam Recipe, Homemade Rhubarb Jam,Strawberry Jam with Jalapenos, or our Blueberry Syrup
- Pecan Honey Butter or Butter
- Air Fryer Breakfast Sausage Wrapped in Bacon or Air Fryer Frozen Sausage Patties
- Air Fryer Candied Bacon, Air Fryer Bacon Twists (Oven too) or Sweet Glazed Bacon
- Breakfast ham
- Air Fryer Eggs on Toast, Easy Baked Eggs in a Tomato or our Breakfast Kabobs
- Cheesy Mexican Hashbrown Casserole, Slow Cooker Bacon Breakfast Potatoes or How to Cook Breakfast Potatoes (The Right Way).
- Air Fryer Pancakes and Pancake Bites, Mango Pancakes, Pancake Cereal or Fruity Pebbles Pancakes.
- Chicken and Waffles Casserole, Air Fryer Frozen Waffles or our Breakfast and Brunch Charcuterie Board with Waffles.
Tips
Here are some tips to make your buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake the best it can be:
- A well greased 8 or 9-inch square or round pan is recommended and smooth the top with a spatula before baking.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.
- Keep an eye on your cake during the baking process to avoid over-baking or burning.
- Toss your blueberries in flour before adding them to the batter to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
- When adding the flour mixture and buttermilk to the batter, alternate between dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with the flour mixture.
FAQ
Do you have questions about this buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake? Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about breakfast cake.
Absolutely! If you're using frozen blueberries, there's no need to thaw them before adding them to the batter. Just make sure to toss the frozen blueberries in the flour from the recipe, which helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
Yes, you can use regular milk in place of the buttermilk, or you can even make your own buttermilk by simply adding 1 tablespoon of either vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, stirring for about 5 minutes until milk begins to curdle. It will have a similar consistency and tanginess as buttermilk and will work just fine in your Blueberry Buttermilk Breakfast Cake.
A breakfast cake is similar to a quick bread. It's made with a simple buttermilk batter and often contains fruits and/or nuts.
Video
More Blueberry Recipes
Do you like blueberries? Here are some recipes you may also like to try.
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour plus ⅓ cup to toss with the blueberries
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 ½ cups fresh blueberries
- ½ cup unsalted butter or 1 stick, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar plus 2 teaspoons for sprinkling
- Zest from 1 large lemon
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup buttermilk
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Whisk together in a small bowl, 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour and baking powder and set aside.
- In a medium bowl add washed blueberries (leave damp), and remaining flour and toss to combine.
- Using either a stand or handheld mixer, cream butter, granulated sugar, and the zest from 1 large lemon for 3 to 4 minutes until light and fluffy (note: it will look more yellow than usual because of the lemon zest).
- Add in the egg and vanilla, beat until well combined, around 20 more seconds.
- With a spatula combine half of the flour mixture to the batter, until well blended. Pour in the buttermilk and mix. Add the remaining flour and fully incorporate.
- Toss blueberries through a strainer and carefully shake off an excess flour. Lightly fold in the blueberries.
- Grease an 8x8 glass baking dish with non-stick spray and pour and level batter. Evenly sprinkle the top with 2 teaspoons of sugar and bake for 50-55 minutes. The top will be nicely golden, and a toothpick should produce moist crumbs when inserted into the center.
Notes
- You can use regular milk in place of the buttermilk, or you can even make your own buttermilk by simply adding 1 tablespoon of either vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, stir for about 5 minutes until milk begins to curdle.
- You can substitute with any diced fresh fruit or berries of your choice.
- A well greased 8 or 9-inch square or round pan is recommended and smooth the top with a spatula before baking.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.
- Keep an eye on your cake during the baking process to avoid over-baking or burning.
- Toss your blueberries in flour before adding them to the batter to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
- When adding the flour mixture and buttermilk to the batter, alternate between dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with the flour mixture.
Nutrition
Tom says
I used a 9 x 9 square cake pan and it was done at 45 minutes.
I used sparkles (cake decorating) sugar on top -- looked and tasted great.
I was a little short of buttermilk so substituted heavy cream -- didn't hurt it a bit!
This is easy and very good.
Karin and Ken says
Thank you for taking the time to comment. You just made my day! Hope you find some other recipes on this site that you enjoy just as much. All the best. Karin