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. It makes a family-favorite breakfast or brunch recipe.
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❤️ Why You’ll Love this Recipe: This simple but impressive coffee cake has the perfect balance of moist, cakey texture and sweet crumb topping. It’s a great make-ahead treat for brunch, breakfast, or an afternoon pick-me-up.
Update: This is one of the most popular recipes on the blog! So I’ve updated the post with new tips and a video to make it even easier for you to enjoy this lemon blueberry coffee cake ASAP.
How to Make Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake
I first made this recipe as an alternative to my streusel blueberry muffins which everyone loves. It’s a fun twist that’s easy to transport if you’re bringing a baked treat for a crowd. To boost the flavor of this coffee cake, I added lemon zest to my traditional blueberry muffin recipe.
And since coffee cake is always better with a crumb topping, I had to add streusel. For the cherry on top, a sweet-tart lemon glaze. The glaze sits on top and drips down the sides for a beautiful presentation
Lemon Glaze for Coffee Cake
Make a quick and easy lemon glaze with just two ingredients: powdered sugar and lemon juice. Whisk until you have a smooth, pourable texture. When the cake is cooled, you can drizzle the glaze on with a spoon if you like. However, I prefer to use a quart-sized Ziploc bag.
Put the bag in a tall drinking glass or mug and fold the edges over the top of the mug to make a wide opening. Then fill the bag with your glaze. Seal up the bag and snip off a bit of one corner with scissors. Then simply drizzle the glaze over the top of the coffee cake.
If you want to get drips down the side of the cake, put a little puddle of glaze along the edge of the loaf. It will make a pretty little drip down the sides. If your glaze doesn’t drip nicely, you may need to thin it out a bit more.
Storage
You can store leftover coffee cake wrapped tightly in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to four days. For longer storage, keep the wrapped cake in the freezer for up to three months. You can defrost the cake overnight at room temperature to serve.
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.
More Breakfast Baking Recipes
If you love this lemon blueberry coffee cake, try these other tasty breakfast and brunch recipes next:
- Cinnamon Creme Coffee Cake is my riff on the beloved cake from Corner Bakery.
- Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake is a beautiful coiled cake with cinnamon spice and classic glaze.
- Pumpkin Sour Cream Coffee Cake has a sweet glaze and a dense, pumpkin flavor.
- Banana Bread Coffee Cake, Crazy for Crust
- Banana Streusel Coffee Cake with Maple Glaze, Shugary Sweets
- Marionberry Cherry Crumb Cake, filled with tart marionberries and dried cherries crowned with a sweet, crumbly topping and glaze.
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Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- ½ cup granulated sugar 99 grams
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour 35 grams
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
Cake Batter
- 2 cups all purpose flour 284 grams
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened, 1 stick
- 1 cup granulated sugar 198 grams
- 2 eggs large
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk 4 ounces
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 cups blueberries fresh or frozen
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar 60 grams
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray with flour.
- Prepare crumb topping by mixing the sugar, flour, and butter together in a small bowl well with a fork and set aside. The mixture should be sandy and then start to form small clumps.
- 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 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The center should be 210 degrees F. with an instant read thermometer.
- Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice to create a thin glaze.
- Cool the cake 10 minutes in the pan, 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.)
cindy
Just made this and it is moist, and delicious.
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Cindy! It’s definitely a family favorite.
karina
can i use pancake flour mix?
Barbara Schieving
Hi Karina – no, I don’t think that would work since pancake mix generally has leavening and other ingredients that would change the result.
Robin
This is amazing I substituted cream cheese for sour cream and put lemon juice in the batter from the lemons I use for the curds and for the topping I use brown sugar instead of white it was a hit so good !
Robin
Omg this reply was meant for the black berry coffee cake sorry !
cookie
Looking forward to making this coffee cake! Can the cake be frozen and then add the topping and glaze when it is defrosted?
Barbara Schieving
Yes, the cake will freeze well, but bake it with the crumb topping and then just glaze it after thawing.
Steve Koziol
Every time I have made this I have had to bake at least 1 hour and 15 minute ! (And my oven runs hot!)
Barbara Schieving
Hi Steve – bake time will vary based on whether you’re using fresh, frozen thawed or frozen solid blueberries. It can also vary based on how humid your climate is, the type of pan you use, and more. I’m glad you enjoyed the coffee cake that you’ve made it several times. Just note the ingredients you used and the bake time that works for you and use that.
TPerry
Absolutely delicious! This is always a hit……thank you!
Cathy Goldenberg
Blueberries are so plentiful this time of year and I wanted to bake with them. I found your recipe while browsing the internet. I followed the recipe exactly and my cake was delicious! My husband asked me to make it again. thank you Barbara. My only “problem” was getting the cake off the bottom of the springform pan when I wanted to serve it. Any suggestions?
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Cathy – glad you and your husband loved the cake. I’m going to assume you did spray the bottom of the pan with non-stick cooking spray with flour, and still had problems? I haven’t tried it, but you could also line the pan with parchment paper, run a piece of unflavored dental floss or a thin metal spatula under the bottom of the cake. Let me know how it goes.
Tho
I don’t see any coffee ingredients in the recipe. Are you able to advise ? THanks
Barbara Schieving
Hi Tho – generally coffee cake is a cake eaten with coffee, not a cake that has coffee as an ingredient.
EE
In American usage, coffee cake is eaten with coffee. If you go to Great Britain (and perhaps other Commonwealth countries), coffee cake is cake with coffee in it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/coffeeandwalnutcake_87248
Pamela de Vos
This was so easy to make and so yummy! Will diffenatly make this again and again!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Pamela! So glad you enjoyed it.
Melissa Payson
This lemon blueberry coffee cake was delicious! Baked w fresh picked Maine blueberries for family visiting Southport island Maine from Florida. I am still receiving best baker compliments thanks to your recipe!☺ will be making this for years to come!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Melissa! How great to use fresh picked Maine blueberries.
Cindy
This was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever eaten and one of the prettiest things I’ve ever made. I made it for a brunch and everyone raved about it and not a crumb was left.
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Cindy! Your comment really brightened my morning. It really is a pretty coffee cake. So glad your crowd loved it.
Beth
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made it as instructed and it came out perfect. My kids loved it too!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Beth! I’m so glad it was a big hit.
Donna
The topping was not streusel, at least not as written in the recipe. It made a buttery sugary topping that melted into the top of the cake. Should this have been 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup of sugar instead of the other way around? I’m sure it will taste fine but just not as pictured or what I think of as a streusel.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Donna – no the ingredients are correct as written. I’ve made this recipe numerous times and never had a problem. I’m wondering if you forgot to add the flour or added too much butter or sugar. Hope you enjoyed the cake despite the troubles with the topping.
Donna
No, I did the ingredients correctly. I will try it next time with softened butter instead of melted and hope that works better. I had rave reviews anyway! Thanks for your response and delicious recipe.
Rachel
Do you usually refrigerate leftovers or just leave it on the counter?
Barbara Schieving
Hi Rachel – I just leave it on the counter covered.
teri
Tried out your blueberry lemon zest cake
What a hit, so yummy. Thanks for sharing
Will pass it on 🙂
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Teri – so glad it was a hit. 🙂
Jayne Combs
I made this today for church. I used frozen blueberries and tossed them in some flour before folding them in so they wouldn’t sink. I also didn’t have any lemons for zest and used lemon oil which worked very well. The only other change was using half sugar and half brown sugar in the crumble. It was awesome and I’ve been asked to make it again. It did take longer to cook then you stated but it could be because I used frozen berries. So allow for some extra time in your schedule when baking this. I highly recommend this dessert!
Celicia
Hi Barbara! Your Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake is, by far, my favorite recipe I’ve ever baked! It’s always a hit when I bake it for others and especially this year. Last night was Christmas Eve, and my family opens gifts at midnight. I am struggling financially right now so was unable to purchase gifts but wanted to still give everyone something special. This recipe immediately jumped into my mind, as I love how tart, buttery & sweet the cake is. It’s simply the best of every world! I baked it up and packed it for 20 people and it’s really made my day having a gradual wave of people contact me raving about the cake and asking for the recipe. It warms my heart knowing I was still able to participate in Christmas and offer your tasty recipe to my loved ones. Thank you for sharing your recipes with me and the world. Happy Holidays! 🙂
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Celicia! What a sweet, special comment. I’m so glad I could help in a small way to make your Christmas special. It’s so nice of you to bake the coffee cake for those you love. Truly a gift from the heart. Happy holidays!
Anette Habel
Best blueberry coffee cake ever! Mine took one hr and 15 min to get done. Could it be because I used frozen berries? The batter seemed to thicken very quickly when I mixed the berries in. I also added some walnuts to the topping. Delicious !! Thanks!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Anette! So glad you loved it. Yes, it will take longer to cook using frozen berries. Walnuts would be a delicious addtion to the topping.
Dee Greer
I wonder if it would be possible to make this into muffins? I need to take muffins to a brunch on Sunday.
Barbara Schieving
Yes, it should make a delicious muffin. Cook time should be about 20 minutes.
Lee
This tasted amazing! Thank You. I just wanted to ask, maybe you know why my cake was very moist and flat. I was hoping for it to be like yours – light and spongy.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Lee – so glad your cake tasted amazing. It’s hard to know for sure what caused your cake to be extra moist and flat. If you didn’t make any changes, it could be because your berries were extra large and juicy. It could be because your baking powder was old and didn’t leaven the cake enough. It could be because your oven temperature is off a bit, either too high or too low – can you check it with an oven thermometer? Perhaps the eggs and sugar weren’t beaten together longer enough. Baking really is science in action and one to two little changes can make a big difference. Thanks for the question.