Sour Cream Blueberry Coffee Cake

Sour Cream Blueberry Coffee Cake has a tender, delicious crumb that’s sprinkled with blueberries and is topped with a layer of delicious, cinnamon-flavored crumb topping.

“But why is it called coffee cake if there’s not coffee in it?” I only got that question from my kids 100 times when I was testing this recipe. Because there is, in fact, no coffee in coffee cake. The name actually comes from cakes like this being traditionally served at breakfast or brunch with coffee.

This coffee cake is a really special–it’s got blueberries sprinkled throughout, sour cream for an extra tender texture and flavor, and a crumb topping. It’s perfect for special occasions, weekend brunch, or just to have on hand for snacking. It’s moist and deliciously sweet and comes together with ingredients you probably have in the pantry.

Also, cutting a coffee cake into diamonds? It just makes it so much prettier.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups (171 g) unsalted butter— this needs to be softened to room temperature, but not melted
• 1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar — I like to use organic sugar, but you can use regular white sugar also
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract — vanilla extract makes almost any baked good taste better, as it rounds out flavors and makes them pop
• 2 large eggs — these will mix into the batter better if they’re left on the counter for about 20 minutes to reach room temperature before you add them
• 3/4 cup (185 g) sour cream — use a full fat variety for the best results. Fat free sour cream is typically more watery.
• 2 1/4 cups (315 g) all-purpose flour — I prefer weighing ingredients to measuring with cups, but it’s especially important with flour for an accurate measurement. Don’t worry though–I’ve successfully made this recipe using measuring cups!
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder –this is the rising agent that will make your cake light and fluffy. Make sure your baking powder hasn’t expired for the best texture
• 1/2 teaspoon salt — salt helps give a fuller, richer flavor in any baked good, so make sure to add it.
• 1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries, washed and dried — I like to stir most of these into the batter to distribute them evenly, and save out a few to lightly press into the top of the batter.

Streusel Topping

• 1 cup (140 g) all-purpose flour — This holds the streusel topping together
• 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar — again, I use organic sugar, but you can use whatever you prefer
• 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar — brown sugar has more flavor and moisture than white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon — this is technically optional, but adds a nice, contrasting spice to the cake
• 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted and cooled — if you only have unsalted butter on hand, add a pinch of salt to the dry ingredients

How to Make a Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Begin by greasing a 9×9″ square pan and preheat the oven to 350°.

Making the Crumb Topping

Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl or a small pan on the stove top. Set it aside to cool.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, white and brown sugars, and cinnamon. Add this to the butter and stir with a fork until you have a crumbly, chunky mixture.

Mixing the Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake Batter

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until it’s a smooth, fluffy mixture. You can do this by hand, but it will take several minutes. You can also use a handheld electric mixer for faster mixing that’s also less of an arm workout.

Add the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract to the creamed butter and sugar and stir them in until the mixture is completely smooth.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder to combine them. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and stir them into the wet ingredients until they’re just combined.

Fold in the blueberries, reserving a few to press into the top of the cake (see the notes for alternative ways of incorporating the blueberries). Put the batter into the oiled 9×9″ baking pan.

Smooth the batter into an even layer, then gently press the remaining blueberries into the top. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the cake.

Baking the Coffee Cake

Place the Blueberry coffee cake in the oven on a center rack and bake it for 50-60 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a couple of crumbs on it.

Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake Recipe Notes, Tips, and Questions

If you’d rather have the blueberries in one layer, rather than distributed throughout the cake, you can smooth half of the batter in the pan and sprinkle the blueberries over it. Spread the rest of the batter over the blueberries, then add the crumb topping on top and bake as usual.

Substitutions for Sour Cream

You can use plain Greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream in this coffee cake.

Using Frozen Blueberries for Coffee Cake

You can definitely use frozen blueberries to make a blueberry sour cream coffee cake! Just toss the blueberries in a tablespoon of flour before folding them into the cake batter while they’re still hard. Frozen berries are heavier than fresh, and the flour will help keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.

How to Store Coffee Cake

You can definitely use frozen blueberries to make a blueberry sour cream coffee cake! Just toss the blueberries in a tablespoon of flour before folding them into the cake batter. Frozen berries are heavier than fresh, and the flour will help keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.

Let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe and and what you think of it!

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