Blueberry Coffee Cake (aka Boy Bait)
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This tender blueberry coffee cake topped with a crunchy cinnamon streusel is cleverly named for its habit-forming effect on boys.
This old-fashioned blueberry coffee cake comes with a darling name and story. In 1954, a 15-year-old girl from Chicago named Renny Powell submitted a blueberry coffee cake recipe to the Pillsbury $100,000 Recipe & Baking Contest (the precursor to today’s Pillsbury Bake-Off). Renny took second place in the junior division for her recipe, cleverly named “Boy Bait” for its habit-forming effect on young men.
Tender, easy to make, and jam-packed with berries, boy bait has been popular ever since. My version is updated with lemon zest to complement the flavor of the blueberries and a crunchy cinnamon streusel topping. You certainly don’t need to be a teenage boy to enjoy it, but I can attest that this 14-year-old loves it — so maybe Renny was onto something ?.
What You’ll Need To Make Blueberry Coffee Cake
Fresh blueberries are ideal for this coffee cake, but frozen will work, too. If you’re using frozen berries, stir them into the batter without thawing, otherwise they’ll turn the batter purple. If you have extra blueberries on hand, or find them on sale at the market, you might also enjoy my blueberry pancakes, blueberry cobbler, or lemon blueberry pound cake – all family favorites!
How To Make Blueberry Coffee Cake
To begin, make the streusel topping by combining the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl.
Using your fingers, mix until no lumps of brown sugar remain, then add the cold butter.
Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture reaches a crumbly state. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Next, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar until creamy, about 2 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating well after each addition.
Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, beating on low speed to combine.
The batter will be quite thick.
Add the berries to the batter.
Fold gently with a spatula until evenly distributed. Do not over-mix.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly.
Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the batter.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown around the edges and a cake tester comes out clean.
Let cool in the pan on a rack for about 20 minutes, then serve right from the pan. Enjoy!
You May Also Like
- Best Blueberry Muffins
- Blueberry Cornbread Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
- Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon-Walnut Swirl
- Blueberry Cobbler
- Crumb Cake
Blueberry Coffee Cake (AKA Blueberry Boy Bait)
This tender blueberry coffee cake topped with a crunchy cinnamon streusel is cleverly named for its habit-forming effect on boys.
Ingredients
For the Streusel Topping
- 6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½-inch chunks
For the Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon packed lemon zest, from 1 lemon
- ½ cup milk
- 2 cups fresh blueberries (frozen may be used but do not defrost)
Instructions
- Make the streusel topping: Combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Using your fingers, mix until no lumps of brown sugar remain. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it reaches a crumbly state. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 9-inch square pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
- Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, beating on low speed to combine. Add the berries to the batter and fold gently with a spatula until evenly distributed. Do not over-mix.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown around the edges and a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a rack for about 20 minutes, then serve right from the pan.
- This cake is best served on the day it is made. Leftovers will keep well for a few days wrapped in foil and stored at room temperature.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, double-wrap it securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, or place it in heavy-duty freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (16 servings)
- Serving size: 1 piece
- Calories: 223
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 31 g
- Sugar: 15 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 169 mg
- Cholesterol: 47 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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Hi. We love your recipes and always have success with them. We are trying to use ingredients we have on hand. Can we substitute apples for the blueberries in this recipe?
Hi Tracy, Glad you like the recipes! If you want to use apples, I’d suggest this recipe instead (and you could put a streusel on top if you’d like).
I’ve baked this several times as directed and it never disappoints. I love your blog. The directions are clear and the pictures are beautiful.
This time I subbed coconut oil for butter and, in the crumb topping, I halved the cinnamon and used dark brown sugar.
The coconut oil needed to cream with the sugar for a longer period to fluff up, probably 5 minutes total. I used a stand mixer.
When I made the topping, I had to chill the coconut oil for it to create a coarse texture.
I didn’t have my 9×9 metal pan handy so I used my 11×7 glass pan. Baked at 350F for 50 minutes. It came out about 2 inches thick after cooling.
Thank you for sharing! Honestly, if I didn’t trust your recipes so much, I’d never try to substitute ingredients and experiment.
Looks delicious! Can I omit the lemon zest?
Sure – hope you enjoy!
Made this cake on Saturday afternoon … It was a big hit…pretty much gone!
I love most of your recipes because of the ease in making them.
Thanks
Hi Jenn from Toronto! I just took this cake out of my oven. My kitchen smells so good and I can’t wait to cut a piece for dessert tonight! Easy peasy recipe too. Thank you.
Want to make this coffee cake but want clarification re: flour
2 1/2 cups flour in total…but there is no breakdown for the amount in streusel topping & cake batter.
As well, oven temperature not mentioned…
Thank you in advance for your reply
Hi Diane, If you look at the ingredients, they are broken down into two sections–one for the streusel and one for the cake. You’ll need a half cup of flour for the streusel and 2 cups for the cake. And the cake should bake at 375°F/190°C. Hope that helps and that you enjoy!
Hi Jenn, Made your recipe this weekend. Fantastic!!!! The texture and blueberry ratio are just right. The crumb topping really finishes it perfectly. My wife generally does not care for coffee cakes but this one she really enjoyed. Thank you
Follow this recipe exactly and you won’t be disappointed. Don’t forget to scrape your mixer attachments to get the lemon zest removed.
I made this today but realized I only had an 8 inch pan. The cake was dry. I am not sure if the pan size made a difference.
Hi Karen, Sorry to hear this came out dry. With an 8-inch pan, did it need to bake for longer? Also, cakes can be dry if too much flour is used. Did you use the spoon and level method to measure the flour? Even a few extra ounces can make a big difference. This article/video explains it nicely.
Hi Jenn, Thanks for the article. I did not bake longer. I did use convection bake. I did not spoon the flour so could be the reason it came out dry.
Hi Karen, You may have done this but when baking in a convection oven, it is best to reduce the oven temp by 25°F.
Can you make this in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with the same amount of ingredients on the list?
Hi Patty, If you’d like to use a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, I’d recommend doubling the recipe.