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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Hi there! Made this tonight after a morning of blueberry picking – WOW!!! Oh my gosh it came out GREAT! Added a lil bit of naughty by topping it with a powdered sugar glaze while warm! Lets just say it truly MAN BAIT! My hubby signed on for another lifetime! Thanks much!
Great recipe! For the topping, I simply put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulsed a few times, adding teaspoon after teaspoon of iced water until I got the right consistency (about 4-5 total). Easier than doing it by hand. The baking time was 40 minutes in my oven and the cake came out amazing.
This cake received the highest praise from my husband and son. It beat out Grandma’s cinnamon streusel coffee cake. Thanks so much for such a hit. It truly is boy bait. And…all of your recipes are the bomb!
Made this cake today and it is by far the best blueberry crumb cake ever.
Thanks for the recipe. I used fresh blueberries since they are in season here on Long Island.
We made this with blueberries and strawberries and it was so so so good. I also shared it on Facebook to let everyone know it’s delicious.
After 3 years of reading your emails, I finally got an oven of my own to start experimenting, and this recipe sounded easy enough to try to replicate.
Making the topping was the worst part for me, I think I used too much butter and turned out much less quantity than expected, but it wasn’t all that essential so it didn’t affect the overall result that much.
Used strawberries instead because they’re easier to find here (Dominican Republic), 8×8 inch glass dish, electric oven, placed it in the middle rack at 365 F for 45 minutes. Turned out pretty good, considering this is my first time baking anything! The neighbors like it, and hopefully next one will be better.
Thanks for the easy to follow recipe!
And I forgot to ask. Given that this one is made with strawberries, can it still be stored the same way? AKA, at room temp wrapped in foil or frozen?
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, I’d store it the same way. 🙂
Excellent! Update: coworkers also loved it. Thanks for the answer.
Picked an obscene amount of blueberries the other day and was thrilled to make this! The cake itself is not overly sweet, so the crumble is the perfect accompaniment. And the lemon zest lends a balanced brightness. It is so tasty, I’ve decided to bake another pan off tonight to keep in the freezer. Thanks for the keeper : )
Made this today for a family brunch and it was a HUGE hit – devoured by everyone with many requests for the recipe. I followed directions exactly, don’t have a 9×9 square pan, so made it in an 11×7; my oven runs a little hot so I baked at 350 for 50 minutes (not done enough at 45). The blueberries were nicely distributed and the texture was perfect. I don’t bake very often, but the preciseness of these directions gave me confidence and I was very happy with the outcome.
Another winner. This will replace my old recipe that I’ve used for a few years. I forgot a cup of the blueberries (oops!) and it was still amazing. We ate it as a dessert for Father’s Day. So good!!!
Great taste, but I found it a bit too dry. I made it exactly as written and suggest that bakers start checking at 35 minutes and check your oven temp. I’ll make it again, but will try 350 degrees.