This Simple Blueberry Cake is a favorite for summer! Easy to make, moist and light, and studded with juicy berries, you’ll want to make this cake again and again.
Easy Recipe for Blueberry Cake
It’s funny how we find some of our favorite recipes. I decided to make this blueberry cake after reading a discussion about it while browsing Chowhound. Sadly, I neglected to bookmark the thread, but I did manage to save the recipe, which is a variation of a cake from Martha Stewart.
I made a few changes, like replacing some of the granulated sugar with brown sugar, and I also sprinkled a little sanding sugar on top, because we all know how I love the way it dresses up simple desserts. The cake is just the right amount of sweet, a bit delicate, and all-around lovely.
While I made this with blueberries, you can certainly use your favorite fruit or a combination of ripe summer fruits. Strawberries and raspberries are always a good choice, but I think this cake would also work well with sweet cherries, juicy peaches, or even plums. Frozen fruit should work, too, if you have a hankering for this cake once summer has moved along.
(Can’t get enough blueberries? Here are 12 Blueberry Recipes to Make This Summer!)
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- All-purpose flour – Learn more: How to Measure Flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter – Learn more: Unsalted or Salted Butter: Which is Better for Baking?
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar – You’ll want to use light brown sugar in this cake, not dark; dark brown sugar has a more pronounced molasses flavor that won’t play well with the rest of the ingredients here.
- Egg – Let this come to room temperature so it holds more air when beaten.
- Vanilla extract – If you have almond extract on hand, it would be lovely in this recipe!
- Milk – Whole milk is always best for baking!
- Blueberries
- Sanding sugar – This is optional.
What can I use instead of sanding sugar?
Sanding sugar adds sparkle and a delightful crunch to the tops of cookies, cakes, and muffins. Another coarse sugar, like Demerara, can be used as a substitute.
How to Make This Simple Blueberry Cake
If you can make blueberry muffins, you can make this blueberry cake! Here’s what you’ll need to do.
Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F and generously grease a 9-inch round cake pan with butter or cooking spray.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Mix the wet ingredients. Use an electric mixer on medium speed to beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until creamy. Then, beat in the egg and vanilla.
Finish the batter. Beat in the flour mixture in 3 portions, alternating with the milk. Mix until just combined.
Assemble. Pour the batter into the greased pan. Scatter the blueberries over the top and gently press them into the batter (you can use a straw or skewer if you don’t want to get batter on your fingers). Sprinkle the top of the cake with sanding sugar.
Bake. Place the cake pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes more, or until the cake is golden brown and firm.
Cool. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edges. Turn out the cake onto a plate, then flip it again onto a wire rack so it can finish cooling.
How Long Should You Leave Cake in the Pan After Baking?
The general rule is to wait about 10 to 20 minutes before removing a cake from the pan, but different cakes need different cooling times, so always follow the recipe’s instructions!
Leaving the cake in the pan to rest gives it enough time to cool and solidify a bit so it doesn’t break or crumble when you try to remove it. That said, you don’t want it completely cool before turning it out either, because it will be more likely to stick to the pan. It’s one of those Goldilocks situations where you want it neither too hot nor too cool!
Tips for Success
This blueberry cake is easy as can be, but these hints and tips will help you make it perfect!
- Don’t over-mix the batter. The more you mix the batter, the more the gluten in the flour will develop. This is bad news for your cake because it won’t have the light, fluffy texture you want!
- Make sure the blueberries are dry. Wash them and let them dry in a colander, or if you’re short on time, pour them out onto a few layers of paper towels and pat them dry. You don’t want them introducing water into the batter when you pop them in!
- Use room temperature eggs, butter, and milk. When these ingredients are room temperature, your batter will hold more air, yielding a lighter cake texture. Keep an eye on your butter, especially if your kitchen is warm, so it doesn’t get too soft. Learn more: How to Soften Butter
Serving Suggestions
This blueberry cake is delicious as-is, but you can easily dress it up, too:
- Serve it with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream and a pile of fresh summer berries.
- Or, pair it with homemade lemon curd for a sweet-tart contrast.
- Plate the cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (preferably the kind flecked with vanilla beans!) and spoon blueberry compote over the top.
How to Store
This cake will keep at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. Wrap it well, or transfer smaller portions of leftovers to an airtight container.
Can I Freeze This Cake?
Yes, you can freeze blueberry cake for up to 3 months. Wrap it well or freeze it in an airtight storage container; let it thaw at room temperature before serving.
Video Tutorial: Blueberry Cake
Simple Blueberry Cake
Turn fresh blueberries into a tasty Simple Blueberry Cake!
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2-1 cup blueberries
- 1-2 tablespoons sanding sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 9-inch round cake pan.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing well.
- Add the flour mixture in 3 portions, alternating with the milk. Mix just until combined.
- Transfer the batter to prepared pan. Scatter the blueberries over the top of the batter and lightly press them into the batter. Sprinkle the top with sanding sugar.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and firm.
- Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the cake. Transfer the cake to wire rack to cool completely. (You'll need to flip the cake twice so it can cool right side up.)
Notes
Recipe slightly adapted from Martha Stewart.
51 Comments on “Simple Blueberry Cake”
bookmarked-the word ‘simple’ suits me (no-my baking!)
Gorgeous! I am definitely picking up some blueberries to make this right away…yum!!
I love simple recipes. This one is begging to be made.
Yumm!!! It’s definitely good to have a simple cake recipe like that in one’s repertoir…so versatile!!
simply the best!it looks great! 🙂
wow, simply delicious
There I met with the review of Manfrotto
I will follow with great pleasure
this cake looks stunning! I love fresh fruit in cakes. All I want is a slice of this with a cup of tea!
Simple enough that I can make this fresh in the morning while drinking my coffee… and hopefully not muffle it up!!! By the time Goalie wakes up to warm deliciousness I will be out of my fog and look like a hero!!!
We have a family gathering in September and this will be on the breakfast table for sure! My hubby doesn’t care for sour cream and so many of these little cakes include that- so glad this one doesn’t and I don’t have to scramble for substitutions! Whatever berries are in the farmers market I will use for this! Thanks for simplifying my family weekend a bit.
I made this cake last night with fresh blueberries from my yard and added raspberries. It was a hit with the family. Would be delicious with some homemade icecream.
I made this cake today and since i had so much sour cream in the fridge i used it instead of butter, using the same proportions : it was soooo good ! Thanks for sharing this recipe !
I have just made this cake – I struggled with measuring the tablespoons of butter as I don’t know if US tablespoons are the same size as English so I used about 90-100 ml of butter. Here we tend to use scales for measuring rather than cups but I managed fine. The cake is absolutely delic. I cooked it with a fan setting of 170C then turned down to 160C but only cooked it for 45 minutes altogether. I reckon this would be good with gooseberries or rhubarb mixed in. Thank you for a lovely recipe.
Made this last night and it was delicious! The batter was quite thick when everything was mixed so I added milk so it would pour more easily into my cake pan. I used closer to a cup of milk than a half cup. But it turned out great! I will definitely be making it again.
I am making this cake right now, for my daughter`s breakfast tomorrow. I hope it will turn good, definitely I will make it again on the weekend.
I replaced 1/2 cup of flour with oats, and 1/2 C of sugar with honey.. oh my gosh, honey just adds a kick of different sweetness which goes wonderfully with the blueberries.
Did u add ground oats?
I may have added too much almond milk(didn’t have the regular kind) or my flour just behaves differently, but I had to bake for nearly an hour and a half to get it not liquid… Will try again with some changes and report on results, but at the very least it looks pretty.
Hi, Chai. I’ve never baked with almond milk, so I can’t offer any advice as to how it behaves versus regular milk in baking. If you’re having trouble with other things taking a long time to bake, you might check your oven’s temperature with an inexpensive oven thermometer.
I made it & really fantastic . Thanks a lot for recipe dear
I just made this cake this morning–delicious!!! This is my new favourite blueberry cake recipe .. Thank you for sharing!!
Made it with Black Mulberry jam. Excellent and very easy receipt!
Very good. We really enjoyed topped with ice cream. Thanks for sharing.
Would frozen berries work in this cake?
disregard my ^ question, just read through and see that frozen will work too 🙂
Turned out just like on the picture! Just lovely! Thanks for a wonderful recipe all the way from Russia 🙂
I’m so glad you liked it, Alice!
Hi Jennifer, just wanted to enquire if we can use canned blueberries pie filling instead of the fresh ones?
You see this is all the way from India, we don’t really have fresh ones available here easily.
I think all the liquid in pie filling would alter the cake too much and not give you the result that you want. If you have frozen berries, that would be a better choice. Or if you have access to other kinds of berries, you can certainly substitute.
Hi, i am from India. We get dried blueberrys. How to use please.
You could either let them soak in water to rehydrate a bit, or just stir them directly into the batter.
I love this cake & have been making it since it was first put on the website. I make 2 at a time. I freeze them for a winter treat. I baked 20 cakes this year and gave most as gifts. Everyone raves about the cake!!
Thank you for your website
That’s a lot of cakes, Vivian! 🙂 I’m so glad it’s such a hit, and I’m sure the recipients of all of those cakes are appreciative of your efforts.
Just made this cake rhis evening, as I picked fresh blueberries and wanted to use them.
A beautiful easy cake to make, thay showcased my berries wonderfully.
Will definately make again!
Can you bake the cake on 350 for the whole time? 50-60 min?
Thank you
Hi, Jennifer. I’ve not tried that, so I can’t give you a definitive answer. It’s mostly baked at 325°F, so that long at 350°F is likely too long. It will also likely affect how the cake rises and what the final texture is.
I made this recipe gluten free. It was wonderful! Thank you for sharing.
I never leave comments on recipes, but I just wanted to say thank you for this wonderful recipe. I made it exactly as stated, but added some blackberries as well. I made a vanilla icing to drizzle over the cake and it was AMAZING! The whole cake was gone in an hour!
I’m so glad you liked it, Candice!
Can you add nuts to this recipe? Pecans, or walnuts perhaps?
Sure! Whatever kind of nut you’d like should be fine. I’d try 1/2 to 1 cup mixed into the batter.
This looks lovely. Can i use 1 cup of granulated sugar instead of some brown sugar? And can i top with regular sugar rather than sanding sugar? And do you use your KA or hand mixer for this?
You can use all granulated sugar if you like. Brown sugar generally makes baked goods softer, so just keep in mind that the texture may be a little different. Any sugar on top is fine, or you can omit it. For this small amount of batter, I like to use my hand mixer.
Sorry, forgot to ask if I can test doneness with toothpick test.
The blueberries can make that tricky, but it’s certainly an additional method you can use.
Thanks! For my blueberry cakes, i try to keep a small portion in the center that doesn’t have blueberries so i can check with toothpick. Works pretty well. Not for muffins though!
I made this recipe tonight, instead of only using blueberries i used mixed types of berries and added some black chocolate on top when was cooling. It came out delicious. Next time i’m going to double the batter. Thank you for this amazing recepi.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake, Ivis! It works so well with most any kind of berry!
Hi from South Africa. Thanks for this recipe. I’ve made it twice before, once with blueberries and once with raspberries both times were a hit. We like to eat ours with ice cream 😃
I’m so glad you enjoy the cake, Colleen! It’s a great recipe for using most any kind of berries.
I’ve made this recipe a few times and love it. I’m wanting to make it as cupcakes to take to picnic for easy serving. Have you tried that, or can you recommend possible adjustments to the cooking time?
Hi, Shaunna. I’ve not tried this recipe as cupcakes, but I think that would work. I’d reduce the baking time by about 15 minutes and then check for doneness and reassess.