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 seem to have every pan except a 9 inch square metal one. Can I use a 9×3 inch springform or am I better off using a 9×2 inch round? Thanks!
Hi Kathy, a 9-inch springform pan will work nicely. The bake time may be slightly different, so just keep a close eye on it. Enjoy!
Can I substitute oil, specifically extra light olive oil, for the butter in this recipe?
Hi Gay, Unfortunately, that won’t work as you need something solid to cream the sugar. Sorry!
I wish I could add pictures, unfortunately I have still not joined the instragram world. But this recipe is perfect the way it is written, be diligent with the instructions and it turns out exactly like the pictures. Definitely use the 9×9 metal pan. I used the same unsalted butter in the recipe to grease it, put the timer on for 40 and in my oven it was done, but a good time to check if you set it to 45. Amateur baker so my husband is the quintessential “bait boy” and it rings true to the name. Thank you!!
Excellent recipe. I have made it several times with blueberries & then tried it with apple chunks from 3 large apples. I added some fresh grated ginger to the apple cake. Also, because I like streusel in the middle I put 1/2 of the batter & then sprinkled 1/2 of the crumb topping then the rest of the batter & topping.
Hi, I made this and loved the cake part. I’ll probably try a different streusel topping recipe next time though. Not sure why I didn’t care for this one. I’ll also bump up the lemon flavor because I wasn’t tasting very much. I might try rubbing extra lemon zest into my sugar before I cream it with the butter. I also made this in a 9×13 because I have a crowd to feed and I did 1.5 of the recipe instead of doubling it. All in all, it was a delicious blueberry cake that I’ll be making again! Thanks for the recipe!
An absolutely incredible recipe. I’ve been searching for a blueberry coffee cake for years that doesn’t take all morning to make, isn’t soggy, and is reliable. This is not only straightforward to make, it is delicious, has the perfect texture and ratio of streusel/cake/berries.
I made this recipe with gluten free flour. It was delicious, fluffy, and moist.
Michelle
Can you use gluten free flour 1:1? The original recipe is awesome but wanted to share it with my gluten free friends.
Hi Bridget, I haven’t made a gluten-free version of this, but a few readers have commented that they have successfully. Hope you and your friends enjoy!
Another great recipe, loved by all. However, I have had trouble getting the center to firm up the two times I made it. The rest of the cake gets overdone before the center is done. I made it exactly as instructed and know how to bake. Used a 9″ x 9″ glass pan. I may try it in a bunt pan as suggested by one of the other comments. Perhaps the glass pan is the issue.
Hi CB – Yes, the issue is very likely the glass pan. I would use a metal pan if you have one; if not, try reducing the heat by 25°F and bake it a bit longer.
I made it yesterday in a glass pan. The middle wasn’t cooking. Easy recipe but mine was too dry to serve. I also have gas propane oven. Not sure middle rack is good for baking anything. I was looking forward to trying one of Jenn’s recipes…Simple easy to follow recipe but I need to keep trying! Thanks Jenn
Sorry you had a problem with this! You may have better luck with a metal pan.
Hello, how do I adjust ingredients
for a 9×13 pan?
Hi Kim, I’d double the ingredients for a 9 x 13-in pan. The bake time will be a little shorter, so keep an eye on it.
I made this recipe for company. I have made many of Jen’s recipes in the past and I am always happy with how they come out. So much so that I have no issue with making a new recipe of hers for company. This recipe was delicious. I did make it the day before and I put parchment over it and then tin foil. It was absolutely delicious and moist and the perfect denseness for a coffee cake. The blueberries were the perfect complement. Everyone enjoyed this and all said how good this was.