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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I was looking to make something for a friend who just returned from the hospital. I made this and not only did she love it but her whole family did. So I made it last year for Christmas presents for neighbors. I now have requests to get this every year. It is truly a hit. So moist and the lemon adds just the spark that sends it over the top. We love this cake. 🫐❤️
This recipe is a keeper. It was one of Jenn’s first recipes that I tried, and I’ve used it many times: book club dessert, Pot Luck dinner, carry-in dinner for a sick friend–not to mention that it is a family favorite. Based upon the feedback I’ve gotten from this recipe, I have given Jenn’s signed “Once Upon A Chef” Cookbooks to two of my friends for birthday presents.
The recipe is easy, texture is excellent, and it is loaded with flavor.
I made this cake last night and it’s already gone (12 hours) later. It was a huge hit!
My daughters and I have been making my grandmother’s blueberry cake for years. I always thought it was perfect…until I tried this one! This cake is moist, fruity and has the perfect balance of flavors–the added lemon makes a huge difference!
I’ve had to make this many, many times because my husband, friends, and family members keep asking me to make it again! For some reason it seems to taste even better when I use frozen blueberries and bake it for a bit longer. I have no clue why! You are the best Jenn, thank you for bringing so many smiles to my kitchen the last couple of years 🙂
Do you really have to call this ‘boy bait’? What time is it, 1950?
The sponge didnt taste that great and went stodgy.
I dont mean to be cruel, but this tasted awful! I did everything exactly as you’ve instructed down to the 2 min. beater time for the butter and the sugar as well as beating in the eggs one at a time and the measurings were precise and it tasted like a bunch of flour mixed with water with blueberrys. Not sweet at all and the topping was way too dry. I dont understand. I took it out of the oven at 47 min. when the toothpick was dry. I WISH I had done something wrong, bcuz I was so hoping this would be as great as it looks and sorry but for myself AND my family agreed that it lacked sweetness and it even made my sweet blueberrys bitter! Sorry but I will try again just to be sure and I’ll update but i know i followed to a “T”. Thank you.
I used a little more sugar in the cake and on top. More butter on top could help the dryness, mine was a little dry too. I always use new baking powder because if it’s older it won’t work. I use fresh eggs and whole milk. Ingredients are gonna make a huge difference. This cake is also baked at a higher temperature than usual. G
I made it today. It was perfect. I didn’t have any lemon so it was just blueberry. I used a 9 inch square stoneware pan. 45 minutes was exactly right time.
How long do I bake if I only have an 8 inch square pan?
Thanks.
Hi Barbara, It will take a few extra minutes in the oven. I’d start checking at 45 to 50 minutes. Enjoy!
I also only have an 8 inch Pyrex square pan. I have followed the recipe exactly and baked it 15 minutes longer and it´s still raw in the middle. Now I have put foil loosely covering it on top. Do you think it´s just my oven, or am I doing something wrong?
Hi Cynthia, it’s strange that with all that additional time tacked on, it’s still raw in the middle. Is there any chance you made a measuring error?
Try an oven thermometer to check if the temp is off. I have to add 25 degrees to mine. My thermostat is not working properly. Also, if your baking powder is old it won’t cook properly.
Made this recipe and it came out delicious thank you