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.)
Julie
Made with GF flour and if was great. A new favorite
Barbara Schieving
Great – thanks Julie! What brand of GF flour did you use?
shari Mckirahan
Hi Barbara,
Do you think I could do this in a bundt pan, if I put the topping on the bottom? Minus the icing? Do you think the topping would crisp?
Thanks,
Shari McKirahan
Friendswood, Texas
Barbara Schieving
Hi Shari – you have to put the topping on the top of the bundt and serve it upside down. It won’t crisp if you put the topping inside the pan. It will look a little unusual, but you’ll still love it.
lola@cheflolaskitchen
I’ve been a fan of blueberries since childhood and my children, fortunately, inherit that love from me! Trying this one certainly!
Barbara Schieving
Great – enjoy!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
This looks delicious mum! And blueberries are really reasonably priced here now so I may have to make it 😀
Pat
What other pan can you use if don’t have the 9inch springform pan.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Pat – you can use a regular 9 inch cake pan, it’s just harder to serve.
Michelle
Ok, ultimately my fault for not reading the instructions all the way through, but the icing ingredients are listed under the crumb ingredients, which I mixed all together like it said in the beginning of the recipe. I guess don’t mix the lemon juice and powdered sugar in with the melted butter, sugar and flower like I did.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Michelle – I created a new section for the icing in the ingredients list to make it clearer. Thanks for the feedback.
Barb Merten
All I have is skim milk. Will that work?
Barbara Schieving
I haven’t made it with skim, but make it with 1% all the time. So skim should work as well.
Linda
I tried this Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake. It turned out great. Everyone loved it. I used skim milk with some half and half instead, because that’s all I had on hand. My coffee cake also didn’t raise as high as in the picture. We all loved the slight touch of lemon. I was in a hurry and forgot to put on the crunch topping. I realized after it was baked. Since the coffee cake was still warm, I put the topping on and put it in the toaster oven, making sure not to burn the topping. Sounds crazy, but it worked. I let the cake cool and put on the glaze. It still turned out wonderful. How I forgot the topping? Don’t know. It’s best to go over everything, (recipe, ingredients) BEFORE putting into the oven. I learned my lesson.
Barbara Schieving
Glad it was a hit – thanks Linda!
Craig M.
I don’t have blueberries can I use raspberries instead? Or will it be to bitter?
Barbara Schieving
I haven’t tried it with raspberries, but it should work. Let me know how it goes.
Carol
You can’t beat lemon and blueberries-a match made in heaven. I could go for a slice of that right now. I love a good crumble on coffee cake and muffins…that looks amazing.
Valerie Villalobos
Does this recipe work well at high altitude? I live in Colorado. Thank you!
Barbara Schieving
Hi Valerie – it works well for me at 5,000 feet. Unless you’re significantly higher, it should work well.
nicole (thespicetrain.com)
Oh, wow, this cake looks SO delicious, I love that top photo, it’s perfect. Thank you for sharing, Barbara! 🙂
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Nicole – it’s definitely a must try!
Diana Smart
Has anyone tried this cake with almond milk instead of whole milk? My daughter can’t have dairy, and I’m hoping almond milk will work!
Barbara Schieving
Hi Diana – I haven’t tried it with almond milk, but I think it would work well. Let me know if you try it.
Kate
Hi there! I just made this recipe for the first time this morning for a 10:00 am meeting. It was a dream to make – quick and easy. I followed the recipe exactly as written and had great success. There was not one crumb left on my cake dish. This has to be the best coffee cake I’ve ever had in my entire life!! Thank you for sharing this recipe – it is going to be my new “go to” recipe for sure!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Kate! Now that’s a rave review 🙂 I feel the same way about this coffee cake.
Laurrie
Hi! Laurrie with Closet Kitchen here. I made this recipe yesterday and it’s superb! I just wanted to let you know. I made zero tweaks to it. It is perfect as written. Thank you for an amazing recipe that I will make in the future.
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Laurrie – glad it was a hit!
Varla
My husband and I had just returned from Mt. Hood with fresh wild huckle berries and found your recipe for coffee cake. I gave it a try. OMG. It is the best coffee cake EVER!!!
This recipe is a keeper and so easy.
Thank you!
Varla
Barbara Schieving
Glad it was a hit – thanks Varla! How great to have it with fresh wild huckleberries.
Nancy Burns
Hi. My coffeecake didn’t get as high as your picture, Barbara. Also, my crumbs on top did not look like the picture. Overall, the cake was delicious and a hit but I would have liked for it to look like the picture.
Did I mix it too much? Did that account for the denseness? What did I do wrong with the crumbs? They blended in with the top of the cake. Maybe, too much melted butter?
Anyway, I’m definitely keeping the recipe but need to tweak it a little bit.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Nancy – glad you and yours enjoyed the cake. It is a dense cake, but should have risen to the height shown in the springform pan. Is your baking powder fresh? If your crumbs melted into your cake, you probably do need to use less butter or more flour and sugar. Do you live in a humid area?
Susan
Made the coffee cake today & had the same results as you- it is only 1-1/4 in. high & the crumble just dissolved into the top. I opened a new container of baking powder for this recipe, so that’s not the reason. So disappointing! Have you made it again with better results?
Barbara Schieving
Hi Susan – sorry you had trouble with the recipe. It gets great reviews, so I’m guessing you left out an ingredient or something.
Susan
Hi Barbara- Do you think the coffee cake could be baked in a Bundt pan? Might change baking time but same temp?
Barbara Schieving
Yes, you can cook it in a Bundt pan. The Bundt will have to be served upside down so the crumb topping is on top. The oven temperature will be the same, but the cook time will be a little shorter. You want it to be about 205 degrees on an instant read thermometer.
Tris
The whole family LOVED this coffee cake! I so glad I found it. Thank you for sharing.
Barbara Schieving
Awesome – thanks Tris!
Jennifer
Hi Barbara, i just made this cake after coming home from blueberry picking. With two pints of blueberries on my hands i wasn’t sure what to do with them and then I came across your recipe. IT IS OUT OF THIS WORLD! I love to cook but am not the best baker, and you have made a perfected foolproof recipe. My boyfriend loved it as well! Thank you so much!
Barbara Schieving
That’s awesome – thanks so much Jennifer! How great to use fresh blueberries in it.
Lee
Hi Barbara, I just stumbled upon your site searching for a lemon blueberry crumb cake recipe and this recipe looks like the one! I have a question, is there really only 1/4 cup of flour in the crumb topping? That seems like an awful small amount for the size of this cake. I cannot wait to make this, I know it will be a hit. Thank you!
Barbara Schieving
Hi Lee – glad you stumbled on my site. This is one of my most popular recipes. You’re going to love it. Yes, 1/4 cup of flour is correct. If you wanted you could double all the crumb ingredients, but I feel like it’s the perfect amount.
Laurrie
It’s the perfect amount. You won’t be disappointed with this recipe.
Christine Stamets
Love this recipe, Barbara! My new favorite. Delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Christine!