Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake
Tender, moist lemon coffee cake loaded with blueberries crowned with a crunchy, sweet crumb topping and drizzled with a tart lemon glaze. A fun way to change up blueberry muffins.
I was microwaving a bowl of Trader Joe’s Instant Multigrain Triple Berry Instant Hot Cereal for breakfast last week, and my son came upstairs and asked if I was making blueberry muffins. My family loves my streusel blueberry muffins and apparently just the smell of blueberries cooking draws them into the kitchen in hopes of finding blueberry muffins.
So when the weekend rolled around, I decided I’d better make some blueberry muffins for my son. But I also wanted to make something new to share on the blog, so my lemon blueberry coffee cake was born.
I used my blueberry muffin recipe as the base for the cake, but change it up by adding lemon zest to the batter. Coffee cake is always better with a crumb topping, and to give it another pop of lemon, I drizzled a tart lemon glaze on top and let it flow down the sides.
You can drizzle the glaze on with a spoon, but I like to use a quart size Ziploc bag. Put the bag in a tall drinking glass or mug, fold the edges over the top of the mug, then fill the bag with your glaze. Seal up the bag and snip off a tiny bit of the corner of the baggie with scissors. Then just drizzle the glaze over the top of the coffee cake.
If you want to get drips down the side of the cake, just put a little puddle of glaze along the edge and it will make a pretty little drip down the side of the cake. You’ll know your glaze is too thin if the glaze just runs down the side. If it’s too thick, it won’t drip down. You can do a test drip before you put the glaze in the baggie if you’re unsure if you’ve got the consistency just right.
If your family loves blueberry muffins as much as my family does, they’ll love this coffee cake too. It takes blueberries to a whole new level.
Update: I’ve added a new video that shows just how easy this coffee cake is to make. It’s become one of the most popular recipes on Barbara Bakes. If you haven’t tried it yet, you definitely need to try it soon! My topping is more crumbly than when Holly made it for the video, but you get the idea.
Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
Crumb Topping
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray with flour.
- Prepare crumb topping and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and milk. Mix in lemon zest. Add flour mixture and mix just until combine. Stir in blueberries.
- Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with crumb topping.
- Bake at 350º for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. About 210 degrees with an instant read thermometer.
- Cool 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and remove ring. Drizzle icing on cake. Cool completely before serving. (Unless you're like us and would rather eat it hot even though the cake doesn't cut as well.)
Crumb Topping
In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour, and butter. Mix until mixture is crumbly.
Icing
Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice to create a thin glaze.
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I baked half recipe because I only had one cup of fresh blueberries. I just ate a slice and it was so moist. I love the crumb and lemon glaze topping. SO GOOD!!
That’s great to hear – thanks Mary Ann!
Delicious! I actually made this w gluten free flour and it turned out very well. I used the tiny wild blueberries and yogurt instead of the milk (it’s what I had). I added some zest to the streusel topping too because I love lemon. The flavors are very good in this; I could see how some might consider it too sweet but I liked it as a nice treat. I just drizzled the glaze off of a spoon onto the cake, the presentation is “bake sale worthy.” My oven needed 1 hr and I checked the temp before pulling it (got it to 200F internal) and it’s perfect.
Thanks for sharing your changes Heidi. Glad it was a hit!
I used a *water and melted butter combination* instead of milk ( too lazy to go to the store!!) and I used two 6″ cake pans. This was very moist and delicious. Thank you!
Looking forward to reading more recipes from you. 😊
Thanks for sharing Jeannette – that’s great to know it work.
I had no milk and didn’t want to go to the grocery store, so I used water and melted butter instead in the cake recipe. This was very good and very moist. Thank you!!
Also, I used two 6” cake pans because I didn’t have the other kind.
That’s great – thanks for sharing Jeannette!
Wonderful recipe.. I used nice warm blueberries off my bushes. Temps here are 102 today.. I still had to bake this.. so good and moist. Don’t change this delicious recipe.
Thanks so much Lettie! How wonderful to have blueberries right off your own bushes!
What to do for high altitude (7000 feet)?
King Arthur Flour has a good chart on high altitude baking https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html At 7000 feet you’ll want to reduce the baking powder to 1/2 teaspoon. You can also increase the oven temperature, decrease the cook time and increase the flour and liquids slightly as indicated in the chart.
Can you make this in a regular cake pan? Does it have to be in a spring pan?
Hi Annette – you can make it in a regular cake pan as long as it’s 3 inches tall. You don’t want to fill the pan more than 2/3’s full. You can also make it in loaf pans https://www.barbarabakes.com/lemon-blueberry-quick-bread/ or muffin tins https://www.barbarabakes.com/best-blueberry-streusel-muffins/ Enjoy!
This is one of my favorite blueberry coffee cakes moist and delicious. Only change I make is I drizzle plain or vanilla glaze. 5 stars
I’m in the middle of making this recipe and thinking the lemon icing may be too much lemon. I may cut the lemon juice in half or something different. What are your thoughts?
No don’t cut the lemon juice on half. It gives it a really nice lemon flavor. If you were eating the icing by itself I would cut it in half but since it’s going on the cake it is not overpowering.
Good, but dry compared to other recipes. I would increase the liquid or add some sour cream.
Hi Tara – if it was dry, perhaps it was slightly overcooked. Glad you enjoyed it.
No, not over baked. Recipe needs additional liquid.
Everyone has different tastes and expectations. This recipe has over 300 comments and most people rave about it.
I have made this several times and have been told it’s the best lemon coffee that they have ever had. Everybody raves about. I have never had this come out dry.
Cake was delicious, but I feel the crumb topping and icing makes the cake overly sweet. I even cut the powdered sugar amount in half and still found it way too sweet. I will definitely make it again but either modify the crumb topping, or omit either the crumb topping or icing altogether. Also the 45 minute cooking time wasn’t enough time to get the cake to test done. Mine required a full hour. I started testing the cake at 45 minutes and in 5 minute intervals until it finally tested done after 60 minutes. I know oven temperatures can vary, but 15 minutes more cooking time is a huge variance from the stated 45 minutes in the recipe.
Hi Peter – different ovens, different pans, and blueberries that are bigger and juicer can make a 15-minute difference in cook time. I don’t find a 15-minute difference that huge with a cake with fruit. So many people love this cake, including my family, but if you prefer a less sweet cake, definitely change it up to suit your tastes.
I made this one and it was delicious! Now I’d like to make it again, but I’m wondering if I can make it ahead and freeze for a couple of weeks?
Thanks Eileen! Yes, I’ve frozen this both iced and un-iced and it freezes and thaws well. I just thaw it overnight on the counter. Be sure it’s wrapped well.
Just tried this recipe. It is a KEEPER. Wonderful taste and texture. The only issue I had was with the topping. I double checked to be sure I used the correct portions in the recipe. I had to add more flour and it was still too thin, so I threw in a couple handfuls of quick oats too as it wasn’t crumbling. I am thinking the 1/4 flour is incorrect. I made three tinier cakes to give away. Very pretty, too!
Hi Kimberly – 1/4 cup flour is correct perhaps your climate is a little more humid? How fun to make three smaller cakes to give away.
This is an amazing coffee cake. Probably shouldn’t share how many times I have made it. Did buy a really deep Fat Daddio’s pan to make it in. The u-pick fields have been open near our house and this is my go to recipe.
How fun to pick your own blueberries. Thanks Susan!
This recipe looks DELICIOUS! Is it possible to use a cupcake pan for this recipe to make individual cakes instead of a cake pan?
You can – you’d make them similarly to this https://www.barbarabakes.com/best-blueberry-streusel-muffins/ Enjoy!