Blueberry Muffin Cake โ This fast and easy cake tastes like a big buttermilk pancake that ran into a blueberry muffin on the way to the oven. Itโs fluffy, tender, and moist from both the buttermilk and sour cream thatโs incorporated into the batter!
Easy Blueberry Breakfast Cake
I was going to make blueberry muffins but didn’t want to deal with the one-by-one nature of muffins. I thought about blueberry pancakes, but didn’t want to be held hostage to the stove flipping them.
So I made batter that was a hybrid of muffin batter and pancake batter, poured it into an 8-inch square pan, and baked it as a cake. It turned out to be one of the softest, moistest, and best little cakes. And so easy.
It tastes like a big buttermilk pancake that ran into a blueberry muffin on the way to the oven.
It’s the kind of cake that I’d want served for breakfast in bed or leisurely Sunday mornings with coffee and the newspaper. Since those things never happen for me, it’s also a great Wednesday cake.
The batter comes together like standard pancake or muffin batter in 5 minutes flat. A bowl of dry ingredients and a bowl of wet. Pour the wet over the dry, stir, pour into a pan, and bake. No mixer, nothing complicated or fussy.
The cake is like a good muffin or pancake should be. Light, soft, fluffy, and tender with just enough density to give it some heft and dimension, with a springiness to it that I loved.
I loathe dry cake and muffins so I used buttermilk, sour cream, and oil to keep it moist. And boy, it’s falling apart soft and moist. That could also have something to do with the abundance of blueberries. They’re juicy and add so much moisture.
They sank a little, but I don’t mind blue walls at the bottom of my cake. A trick to prevent sinking is to roll them through flour before folding them into the batter.
However, with this cake, it’s thinner and I used a ton, so they’re bound to be near the base, no matter what tricks are used.
I’m so glad I decided not to make muffins or babysit pancakes and made this cake instead.
We polished it off in 12 hours. In our defense, it’s a small, thin muffin cake and not some big Bundt that’ll be lingering for a week.
I’m wondering what this blueberry breakfast cake would taste like with strawberries, apricots, raspberries, or peaches. I’ll have to find out.
What’s in the Blueberry Muffin Cake?
To make this easy blueberry cake, you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Salt
- Egg
- Buttermilk
- Sour cream
- Oil
- Vanilla extract
- Blueberries
- Confectioners’ sugar (optional, for topping)
How to Make Blueberry Muffin Cake
Simply whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another, then combine them. Gently fold in the berries.
Pour the batter into an 8×8-inch baking dish. Bake the muffin cake until the center is slightly domed and set, golden in color, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Can I Use Frozen Blueberries?
Absolutely! I actually used frozen blueberries in this recipe because I’m cheap and don’t bake with fresh. I save those for eating and bake with frozen.
When baking with frozen blueberries, add them into the batter frozen because they’ll run and bleed less than if you thaw them first.
Can I Double This Recipe?
I imagine so! Double the ingredients and bake in a 9×13-inch pan.
Tips for Making a Blueberry Breakfast Cake
The baking time listed reflects using ice cold, frozen berries. If you’re using fresh, the baking time could, and likely will be, dramatically less. This is definitely a recipe where you should watch your cake, not the clock. Bake until it’s done. Simple as that.
At any time your cake is beginning to look a bit too golden brown before you suspect the center will set up, tent it with a sheet of foil laid across the top.
Optionally dust the blueberry muffin cake with confectionersโ sugar or a simple glaze. This lemon glaze, this buttery vanilla glaze, this browned butter glaze, or this vanilla cream cheese glaze are all excellent, quick, and easy options.
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Blueberry Muffin Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ยพ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon cinnamon
- ยฝ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 large egg
- ยฝ cup buttermilk
- โ cup sour cream, thick, full-fat Greek yogurt may be substituted
- 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ยผ cups frozen blueberries, donโt unthaw, add them to the batter frozen; see below about using fresh
- confectionersโ sugar, optional for dusting or see glaze suggestions below
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the first 6 dry ingredients (through optional salt); set aside.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the next 5 wet ingredients (through vanilla).
- Add the wet mixture to the dry, mixing lightly with a spoon or folding with a spatula until just combined. Lumps will be present and this is okay. Donโt overmix or try to stir them smooth.
- Gently and briefly fold in the frozen blueberries.
- Bake until done. I hesitate to give a baking range because you must watch your cake, not the clock. Bake until center is slightly domed and set, golden in color, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. At any time your cake is beginning to look a bit too golden brown before you suspect the center will set up, tent it with a sheet of foil laid across the top. I baked for 52 minutes total, and at the 45 minute mark, I tented with foil. Baking times will range dramatically based on if baking with fresh or frozen berries; ranging from 30 to 60 minutes depending on the temperature of the berries going into the batter and how much water they release.
- Place pan on a wire rack and allow cake to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Optionally, dust with confectionersโ sugar or a simple glaze. This lemon glaze, this buttery vanilla glaze, this browned butter glaze, or this vanilla cream cheese glaze are all excellent, quick, and easy options.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Blueberry Dutch Baby Pancake โ This oven-baked pancake has the chewiness of crepes with the thickness of clafoutis, and making it is as easy as making pancake batter!
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I couldn’t agree with you more – I hate dry muffins or cake! This cake looks so moist and delicious! What a great idea for when you want pancakes but don’t want to stand at the stove flipping them!
Man is it easy to get lost on here looking at all the different variations you have on old family favorites :) We all LOVE blueberries- this is just the thing to make for a July 4th party coming up! Thanks Averie!
LOL. Glad I made you get lost :)
averie these pictures are SO beautiful. beautiful! and i jut love how this is a muffin pancake CAke!!!!
Thanks, Angela! And I bet your kids would love it too!
I haven’t made anything with blueberries yet this summer and this looks like a great place to start! Love that it’s muffin and pancake inspired but way easier than both.
Omg! The photos and the fact that it has all of my favorite ingredients makes this so drool-worthy!!
Thank you, Kiran!
Let’s eat cake! Looks very berrylicious!
Thank you for not skimping on the blueberries..yum :)
You’re welcome :) And thanks for the instagram comments and likes yesterday!
This is soooo delicious!! I’m trying very hard not to eat it all in one sitting….the dangers of cooking for one. In a hurry I forgot to roll the blueberries in flour and they sank to the bottom – which I also don’t mind. It actually let me taste how delicious the cake itself is. I will definitely make this again!! Thanks for the recipe.
That is so awesome that you made it, already! Same day I posted it! Love it when that happens with recipes and I don’t mind it when the berries sink, either. That just means you get certain bites that are like one big wall of berries. So moist, juicy, and delectable! And as you said, you get to taste the cake itself better! Thanks for trying the recipe and telling me!
What a great idea! Love the pictures in this post very much :)
Thank you!
I think I need seconds. And thirds :)
Averie, this looks SO good. The texture is perfect. I’m wondering why you chose to use baking powder instead of baking soda since the recipe includes buttermilk & sour cream. I’m newish to baking & you obviously know what you are doing, so just wanted to know how you make that judgment call? I love coming here and being inspired – thank you!
Muffin recipes and donut recipes typically use powder rather than soda (or use more powder than soda) and it leavens in a slightly different way with a different texture and result.
I normally actually prefer soda b/c powder can dry things out I find, but in this application, I wanted the fluffiness you’d find in muffins and pancakes, thus, baking powder. Plus it was buffered with oil, buttermilk, and sour cream.
Thanks for answering… I was curious, so thought I’d ask. I like knowing these things. Keep up the good work :)
You’re welcome and please LMK what you decide to bake!
By the way, baking powder is just baking soda with cream of tartar as a binding agent…
That right there is blueberry heaven! And WAY better than making muffins!
OMG!!! I want to eat this now or I`ll die, soo delicious, only looking at the pictures I can imagine how tasty they are
Thanks, Sheila!
how fun! I love it.
Oh, I’m definitely trying this. I really really dislike making pancakes, so this seems to fit me perfectly :)
What a fantastic idea! Looks delicious!