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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Another great recipe! Made two of these coffee cakes-one for home and one for work! Rave reviews from both! My boss, a dentist, said it was the best cake he’s ever had! His wife made it for him the next day!
Question-I bought too many blueberries and decided to make two more coffee cakes and freeze them. I found that the butter from the streusel was pooling on top of the coffee cake. It made it very hard to determine when the cooking was complete. Any idea why that would’ve happened? I took it out of the oven after 50 minutes because I didn’t want it to be over done. The butter is still pooled on top. So I rotated the pan around to try to evenly distribute the butter. But it doesn’t resemble streusel topping. It is more like a hard crust.
Glad this was a hit! It sounds like you froze the extra cakes before baking them? If so, I think that may have been the problem. If you want to make this ahead and freeze it again, I’d bake before freezing. Hope that helps!
I had a similar experience.
Made this with half the toppings but it still took additional time to bake and was almost too buttery. Flavor was very good so I would try it again. Not the “coffee cake” style I was looking for.
I had the crumble pool up (and sink in the center) of mine, even though I followed the recipe and didn’t freeze anything along the way. Any suggestions, Jenn?
Sorry you had a problem with the crumble. I suspect that if the crumble pooled up and sunk in the center, the batter was a bit too thin. What brand of flour are you using? I have great luck with King Arthur flour. Next time, you may want to try adding another 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour. Hope that helps!
My family LOVES this recipe!! I add oatmeal to the topping with some chopped pecans which gives it a little crunch. Sunday morning breakfast along with a veggie scramble and everyone is in seventh heaven.
Hello,
I only have 1 cup fresh blueberries, would it be ok to do 1c fresh and 1c frozen?
Sure, Lily. Hope you enjoy!
This recipe is delicious and my family thought so, too. I thought I’d really messed it up because I inadvertently used 6 Tbsp butter in the topping instead of the 4 it called for, but the topping was still crispy and delicious! Practically foolproof. I also used frozen berries and it worked beautifully. I’ll make it again! Thank you.
Hi is 1/2 cup of butter 1 stick?
Yep – hope you enjoy!
I have a Blueberry Buckle recipe I have used for years – but I’ve never been overly excited about it. So I found yours online and tried it this morning. Now THIS I am excited about! It is wonderful! Not too dry!! Wonderful flavor! I have to admit that I did double the topping – but I always do that!! Thankyou so much! I have a new ‘go-to’ Blueberry coffee cake recipe!! A full five stars!
This recipe makes the best blueberry coffee cake EVER! It is everything…..easy to make, tastes fabulous, lovely to serve to guests as a dessert with ice cream, or on it’s own with a cup of coffee/tea. Definitely a keeper!
I made this and got rave reviews from my friends. I used frozen blueberries which I didn’t thaw. The mixture turned purple when I mixed so the cake tasted better than it looked. How would I prevent the dough from turning purple?
Hi Vernelle, I’m surprised that the batter turned purple despite the fact that you didn’t thaw the blueberries – usually that’s the key. Next time you make it try to reduce the amount of folding you do once you add the berries to the mixture. You want them to be evenly distributed, but the more you stir, the more likely the batter will start to take on that purple hue. Hope that helps!
Just made it this morning. It was delicious. My husband loved it . I will make it again. Thank you for all the information you put into your recipes it is very helpful.
IdaB in Idaho
9/19/20
Hi Jenn, I just wanted to tell you that when I use frozen fruit the cake takes longer and the berries always sink (I don’t use flour on them) even if the berries are fresh. This time my solution was to dump the frozen berries in the pan (since that’s where they’re gonna end up) then pour batter on top. It turned out ok and I didn’t have purple batter. I used cake flour. This cake is just like the cake my mom made when I was a child. I’m so happy I found your recipe…its a ten!! Thank you!!!
This was really delicious! Loved it,
& your instructions are so easy to follow. Also made your blueberry muffins – also delish!!! Thank you!
Delicious! I get rave reviews when I make it!