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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Can I make this in a 10 inch springform pan? Thanks
Hi Ira, I would increase the recipe by 1.5. Hope that helps!
Followed your recipe exactly and it turned out great. We used frozen (unthawed) blueberries. Sweet enough but not too sweet. Dessert last night, breakfast with coffee this morning!
I made this today
I’ve made a lot of coffee cakes in my day, and I’m sad to say that this recipe is mediocre. It’s not “bad”, it’s just not great, and there are better recipes available. Why?
First, 375f is way too hot. I probably should have caught that, but I was pressed for time. Basically cooking a cake like this at 375 for 45 mins causes two problems; the cake becomes drier than it should be (not moist) and the bottom crust of the cake becomes tougher and thicker. Neither of these are desirable qualities in a cake.
Second, while I like the lower level of overall sugar/sweetness, the topping is WAY too little for this cake. A good crumb cake should have a fairly thick streusel, like minimum 1/2 inch. I made a little extra topping and it was still barely enough to cover the cake, resulting in a topping no thicker than 1/4″ and bald in places (as the cake rose and expanded).
If you cook this cake at 350f for 50 mins it “might” be better… it also would probably benefit from some sour cream (in place of some butter and the milk, but that’s a guess). I’m a big coffee cake person, and I’d recommend looking elsewhere.
what recipe would you suggest? I am using frozen blueberries
I agree, to a point. My cake is still baking, but I’ve set the oven to 350F, and will start checking the cake after 30 minutes. If, as I expect, the berry juice will supplement the 1/2 c of milk, it won’t be dry. But 375F for a single batch coffee cake ? Wow.
Usually when I make a blueberry crumb cake I melt the butter for the crumble, and I’ve never used lemon before. I followed this recipe exactly and – oh my goodness – what a huge difference the cold butter and lemon zest makes. Thanks for upgrading my baking with this recipe!
This got rave reviews by friends and family. It turned out perfectly and nice and moist. Topping was delish. I didn’t bother to use my mixer and just stirred by hand and it came out lovely. Thanks for the great recipe.
Another 5 star recipe! Made it for a family brunch…everyone loved it!!!
Never left a review before but have to say after so much time and energy this recipe should not get these good reviews. Love most of once upon a chef but this is dry and tasteless.
Never had anything but rave reviews on this. I made this when I was a teenage baker. Yum
We love this cake! I make it often and enjoy it for anytime I’m in the mood. I am so lucky to have both of your cookbooks!
Perfect recipe for a delicious coffee cake. It is the only blueberry coffee recipe you’ll ever need. And I say this as someone who doesn’t eat raw blueberries so it’s not like I expected to like it.
This cake was a huge hit with guests – lovely texture, moist and tasted just as good a couple of days later.
Will definitely be making again 😀