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Blueberry Crumb Cake

This effortless Blueberry Crumb Cake is loaded with plump, juicy blueberries, then topped with an irresistible, buttery brown sugar cinnamon crumb. 

sliced of Blueberry Crumb Cake stacked on a wire rack

Easy Blueberry Crumb Cake

This simple Blueberry Crumb Cake is just the kind of cake you’ll find yourself making over and over. It’s quick and easy to make, super moist, and the flavor is fantastic! You might think of it as a cross between blueberry muffins and coffee cake—you get a burst of blueberry flavor in every bite, with the welcome addition of a buttery, spiced brown sugar crumble topping.

When fresh blueberries aren’t in season, frozen berries will work just fine. This recipe will also work well with other fruits—my personal favorites are raspberries or sour cherries, but apple crumb cake is delicious, too. If you change up the fruits, you may want to also change the spices in the crumb topping; cinnamon complements just about any fruit, but the nutmeg can be swapped with cardamom or ginger.

And, if you’re in the mood to try out more fabulous blueberry desserts, check out this blueberry coffee cake or this blueberry cream cheese coffee cake!

Why You’ll Love This Blueberry Crumb Cake Recipe

This blueberry cake is a huge hit at my house. Here’s why I think your family will love it too!

  • Sweet flavor. The tender cake is packed with juicy blueberries and vanilla, while the crumb topping is full of light brown sugar and homey cinnamon. Put them together and you’ve got an irresistible sweet treat.
  • Perfect for summer baking. If you’ve got freshly picked blueberries sitting around and you’re wondering how to use them, look no further than this crumb cake recipe!
  • Ideal for any occasion. This blueberry crumb cake can be made for a summer cookout or picnic, a bake sale, or you can just enjoy a slice with a cup of coffee! Whatever feels right to you.
Overhead view of blueberry crumb cake ingredients

What You’ll Need

This recipe calls for a lot of blueberries, which is what gives the crumb cake its moist, tender crumb. Here’s what you’ll need (if you’re looking for the exact quantities, check out the recipe card below):

For the Cake

  • Flour – I like to use all-purpose flour for this recipe.
  • Baking powder – To help lift the cake a little.
  • Salt – To balance and enhance the sweetness from the other ingredients.
  • Unsalted butter – Let the butter sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before you start the recipe to allow it to soften properly.
  • Sugar – Granulated sugar is fine.
  • Eggs – Your eggs should be room temperature for easier mixing.
  • Egg yolks – These will help you achieve an ultra-tender texture in your cake.
  • Vanilla extract – You can use almond extract for a different flavor, if you like.
  • Blueberries – Fresh or frozen, either will work! Just keep in mind that frozen berries have more moisture, which can affect the texture and color of the cake. Learn more: Fresh vs Frozen Fruits in Baking

For the Crumb Topping

  • Flour – All-purpose is also good here.
  • Light brown sugar – Add this in for its subtle caramel-like sweetness.
  • Ground cinnamon & freshly grated nutmeg – Store-bought grated nutmeg will do in a pinch, but it doesn’t have quite the same flavor as fresh!
  • Unsalted butter – If you’d prefer to add a salty bite to the topping, you can use salted butter.

How to Make Blueberry Crumb Cake

This is the perfect recipe for making in an afternoon or even in the morning for breakfast! Here’s what you’ll need to do (you can find the full set of directions in the recipe card as well):

  • Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a 9″x 13″ baking pan with parchment paper or foil. Butter the lining to make sure that your cake doesn’t stick.
  • Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.
  • Mix the wet ingredients. Use a heavy-duty mixer on medium speed to cream the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture is soft and light. Beat in the whole eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
  • Finish the batter. Turn the mixer to low speed, then add half the flour mixture and mix well. Beat in the egg yolks, then add the remaining flour mixture.
  • Assemble the cake layer. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spreading it evenly. Scatter the blueberries over the top.
  • Make the crumb topping. Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Stir in the melted butter and use your fingers to combine until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle this over the blueberries.

Tips for Success

Here are some hints to help you get the best possible results when you make your blueberry crumb cake!

  • Measure the flour accurately. Use a scale if you can. Otherwise, spoon and sweep!
  • Use a light-colored, non-reflective pan. Dark pans will bake the outside more quickly, resulting in over-baked edges and a potentially under-baked middle, and glass pans conduct heat differently. Use a light-colored metal pan for the best results.
  • Using frozen blueberries. Fresh berries will give you the best results, but frozen can work, too. No need to thaw the berries first, but be sure to rinse them well with cold water and dry them thoroughly before adding them to the cake.

Substitutions & Recipe Variations

As mentioned above, you can change some of the ingredients in this recipe if you like! Here are a few possible substitutions to try:

  • Fruit. Instead of blueberries, use raspberries, sour cherries, a mix of berries, or even apples.
  • Nuts. If you’d like to add a bit of crunch to your crumb topping, try adding in a handful of chopped pecans!
  • Spices. I love this mix of cinnamon and nutmeg, but you can also swap in ginger or cardamom depending on what kind of fruit you use.
Pieces of blueberry crumb cake on wire rack

How to Store Leftovers

Wrap the cooled blueberry cake tightly in the pan or transfer pieces to an airtight container. Store it at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, but note that it tastes best on the day that it is made.

Can I Freeze This Blueberry Crumb Cake?

Yes, you can freeze blueberry crumb cake, too! Wrap the slices well or place them in an airtight container and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw the cake in the refrigerator, then bring it to room temperature before serving.

slice of Blueberry Crumb Cake on a white plate

More Blueberry Cake Recipes

If you love this blueberry crumb cake, check out some of these other blueberry cake recipes, too! They’re just as tender and delicious.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

Yield 20-24
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

A simple, moist coffee cake that's packed with plump, juicy blueberries and topped with an irresistible cinnamon crumb. Perfect for summer, or any time of year, really!

sliced of Blueberry Crumb Cake stacked on a wire rack

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 1 & 1/2 cups (180g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups (510g) blueberries

For the crumb topping:

  • 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup (67g) firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

To make the cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9″x 13″ baking pan with parchment paper or foil and butter the lining.
  2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  3. Using a heavy-duty mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until soft and light (about 5 minutes). Add the whole eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
  4. On low speed, add half the flour mixture and mix well. Add the egg yolks, mixing well, then add the remaining flour mixture.
  5. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan, and spread evenly. Scatter the blueberries over the batter.

To make the crumb topping:

  1. Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in the melted butter and combine with your fingers until the mixture is coarse crumbs. Scatter the crumbs evenly over the berries.
  2. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the cake is firm.
  3. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack.

Notes

  • Recipe slightly adapted from Perfect Cakes.
  • To store. Wrap the cooled blueberry cake tightly in the pan or transfer pieces to an airtight container. Store it at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, but note that it tastes best on the day that it is made! 
  • To freeze. Wrap the slices well or place them in an airtight container and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw the cake in the refrigerator, then bring it to room temperature before serving.

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    51 Comments on “Blueberry Crumb Cake”

  1. I love it so much, it’s irresistable!!!!
    Plein de gourmandise!!!

  2. That’s a great looking crumb cake…. yum!!!

  3. Mmmm looks incredible! I love blueberry crumb cake, especially with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream 🙂

  4. The massive number of blueberry recipes and concoctions floating around right now is just great. Think we’ll toss some into a cobbler this weekend!

  5. Looks wonderfully moist and delicious. I wish I had a piece.

  6. yummm. It looks delicious and its the perfect recipe for summer. Not to mention I have a ton of blueberries in my house xD I cant wait to try this recipe out!

  7. Oh, god, this is a FANTASTIC recipe. I’ve made it before & it really is terrific.

  8. This was so ver good!!! I ate it for breakfast a little warmed, and it was wonderful!

  9. It sure looks great. i’ll have to give it a try.

  10. Oh my! This looks great!

  11. I love Nick Malgieri’s recipes and Perfect Cakes is my favorite one of his books. This recipe looks wonderful! In that same book, have you ever tried his white and dark chocolate cheesecake (not sure if that’s the exact title, but it’s something close to that)? It’s just incredible.

  12. While I am addicted to Gale Gand’s recipe for Double Blueberry Muffins, I will give this a go – you never know, somethign could topple the queen of the breakfast table, right?

  13. I had planned to try a blueberry cupcakes recipe for something I’m going to tomorrow but I’ve decided to try this instead. Thanks for sharing it.

  14. Oh man, this looks wonderful!!! Can’t wait to try it.

  15. Gorgeous. And the fact that your blueberries didn’t sink makes me want to try it RIGHT NOW. I have such a hard time with that!

  16. I love a good crumb cake, and yours looks like something I want to dig into right away!

  17. I made this yesterday, for church today, and it was wonderful. Got rave reviews.

  18. Made this last night for a weekend trip to the beach today! I keep staring at it, looks so delish! Keeping my fingers crossed that it tastes just as good!

  19. It looked delicious. I made it….frankly, it did not get the rave reviews that I had expected. Maybe not sweet enough? Maybe needed more topping?

  20. I love the idea for the sour cherry variation!

  21. Great post! Looks really yummy!

  22. This looks amazing. Just picked some blueberries. Might have to try this one.

  23. Fab. U. Lous! I did a gingered blueberry cobbler recently, can’t seem to get enough of the little buggers this summer. The rec of trying sour cherries is excellent. And any recipe by Malgieri is a winner in my book!

  24. Anything blueberry calls me by name! I’ll be trying this recipe very soon. Thanks for sharing it!

  25. Wow, this crumb cake with blueberry looks so yummie…love the idea of using blueberries, specially that we can get them fresh here…I am sure that will taste good as well 🙂

  26. This cake was so good…so good in fact that none remains.

  27. Oh ,it looks so delicious ,I like it

  28. Hello! Our selection committee compiled an exclusive list of the Top Baking Blogs, and yours was included in the Top 100!Check it out at http://thedailyreviewer.com/top/Baking

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  29. I come here every day to see if you’ve updated and every day I see this picture which makes me soooo hungry!

  30. Thanks for posting this — I made it the same night I saw it with a container of blueberries I had in the fridge. It came out GREAT, and it was simple to make! A couple days later, tried the recipe again with frozen tart cherries, and again it came out delicious! For the cherry version, I thawed the cherries in a bit of Amaretto liquor and granulated sugar. When I drained the cherries, I saved the liquid and made a flat icing to drizzle over the cake after it had cooled — just added powdered sugar to the liquid and it was a hit… my co-workers gobbled it up!

  31. This recipe looks amazing. Loving your photography!

  32. Yum Yum Yum! And blueberries are so perfect right now! I can’t wait to try them 🙂 A little note for you over here: http://bakergirlcreations.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/a-pleasant-suprise/

  33. MMMMMMMMM,…the crumb cake looks so delicious! fab presentation too!

  34. Just what I’m always looking for. Quick, simple and delicious. Thanks!

  35. i love blueberries, and the way they dye everything around them, your cake looks delicious and the rest of your recipes too, great blog!

    cheers from london

    pity

  36. Now this is the right kind of recipe for me. Easy, fast, chalked full of anti-oxidants, and tasty enough to eat alone in one sitting. Great one, keep em coming!

  37. I have many different blogs I follow each day, but I somehow am unable to get updated content for your blog. The last post I can get is in July for the Blueberry crumb cake. Any advice?

  38. Arlene, can you figure out a way to light a fire under me and get me to update more frequently? 😉 Sadly, that crumb cake is the last thing I posted. More is coming soon, though. I promise!

  39. Yum! These look great. I have tried something similar with blackberries, but I bet these are very sweet and tasy with blueberries! Thanks for sharing!

  40. I just made this and posted about it on my blog…it was so good! And it got better the second day. Thanks for another great recipe. 🙂

  41. This is one type of cake I’ve always loved. Thanks for sharing it. I haven’t thought of making one in ages and now I think it is about time I do while I can still get my hands on fresh blue berries.

  42. AHHHHHHH, these close-ups are just sinful. Now I can’t do anything else unless I take a bite of this yummy cake…

  43. Great cake..will bake in a 9” square next time

  44. ahhh this looks DELICIOUS!! can’t wait to try it!

  45. So yummy, so moist and sweet savory! I love it!

  46. I’ve made a good number of blueberry muffins, but never crumbcake. It looks great. I’ll have to try it.

  47. I have this book, and this was the first recipe I tried. It’s a wonderful cake, I think it was better the next day. It got soft and light, just delicious!

  48. Made this with fresh raspberries instead of blueberries, topped with fresh whipped cream and it was AMAZING.

    This recipe is a keeper.

  49. I made this for the 4th of July, it was absolutely delicious and completely devoured by my family. However, I love the crumb topping so much I will definitely make it x1.5 or double it for the next time I make it.

  50. I will definitely try this.

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