Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake is so soft and moist with fresh blueberries through the middle, a buttery brown sugar streusel topping and vanilla glaze. It is sure to become one of your favorite cakes! It is so quick and easy to make with a plush texture and rich flavor from sour cream. What makes coffee cake so delicious is the crumb topping, so be sure not to skip that part. This recipe is a delicious way to use fresh or frozen blueberries and is perfect to serve for brunch, but is also a great breakfast, dessert or afternoon treat. If you love making coffee cake, check out my Classic Banana Bread and my Maple Strawberry Coffee Cake.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

• Easy to make - this recipe comes together quickly and uses basic pantry ingredients that you likely have on hand already.
• Moist sour cream coffee cake- the cake is perfectly moist and has such a soft texture. It stays moist for days in an airtight container.
• Perfectly sweet - the combination of blueberries and sour cream is delicious and this cake has the perfect amount of sweetness.
• Fresh or frozen blueberries and blackberries - you can use fresh or frozen berries for this recipe. I love combining blueberries and blackberries, but you can also use all blueberries.
• Brown sugar streusel - like every good coffee cake, there's a buttery brown sugar crumb topping that makes it so moreish.
• Vanilla glaze - this is optional, but I promise it is so worth it! It gives the topping a melting quality.

INGREDIENTS FOR BLUEBERRY SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

• All purpose flour - regular unbleached all-purpose flour works great for coffee cakes. Do not pack it down when measuring or use a scale to get the right amount.
• Baking powder - you'll need equal amounts of baking powder and baking soda to help this batter rise.
• Baking soda - baking soda gives this cake golden crumb color and also reacts with the sour cream to help leaven the batter.
• Butter - you will need unsalted or salted butter for this recipe. If you use salted, then you can reduce the salt a bit in the cake batter. If you use salted butter for the streusel, then you don't need to add any salt to it.

• Brown sugar - light or dark brown sugar works great in this recipe. It adds a lovely hint of molasses flavor and also keeps it extra moist.
• Blueberries - you can use fresh or frozen blueberries for this recipe.
• Blackberries - you can use fresh or frozen blackberries, or you can replace the blackberries with more blueberries.
• Sour cream - it's the main flavor in the cake batter and the only source of moisture aside from eggs. Use full fat sour cream for best results.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

• STEP 1). Make the crumb topping. Combine the crumb topping ingredients well in a medium bowl until it forms crumbs and set aside.
• STEP 2). Make the cake batter. Combine dry ingredients. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and whisk to blend well.
• STEP 3). Blend butter and sugar. Combine soft butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and best using an electric hand mixer for about 2 minutes until smooth, creamy and a bit pale and fluffy.
• STEP 4). Add wet ingredients. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition until evenly incorporated. Mix in the sour cream.
• STEP 5). Add dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients and fold them in gently. The batter will be thick. Do not over-mix.
• STEP 6). Add berry layer. Spoon about two-thirds of the batter into the pan and spread it in an even layer. Scatter the berries evenly over the batter. Spoon the remaining batter over the berries in dollops and spread to an even layer the best you can.
• STEP 7). Add crumb topping. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the batter and lightly press it in.
• STEP 8. Bake for 35-50 minutes (depending on whether you use fresh or frozen berries) until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. The crumbs should be golden brown and the very middle of the cake shouldn't be wet or doughy.
• STEP 9). Make the icing. Whisk all of the icing ingredients together and drizzle over the slightly warm cake. Serve cake warm or at room temperature.

EXPERT BAKING TIPS

• Measure flour correctly. Adding too much flour to the batter can result in a dense cake. This batter is thick since the moisture is only coming from eggs and sour cream, but too much flour will make it dry.
• Use full fat sour cream. Full fat sour cream as 14% milkfat compared to 5% for "light sour cream". That's almost 3 times more fat so it will make a difference in the texture of the cake.
• Do not over-mix - this is a thick and dense batter and doesn't need to be perfectly smooth to turn out wonderfully. Just gently fold the flour in until evenly incorporated so there aren't any large dry streaks, but no need to mix excessively. Over-mixing will lead to a drier, tougher crumb texture instead of soft and tender.

RECIPE FAQ

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Video

Blackberry Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Christina Marsigliese

This soft, moist and tender coffee cake is packed full of flavor with sour cream and a layer of juicy blueberries and blackberries through the middle. It's topped with a buttery brown sugar streusel and vanilla glaze. It's a staple recipe for brunch!

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Servings 9 servings

Ingredients

  

Crumb topping:

• ⅓ cup (50g) all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup (55g) packed light brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoon (42g) unsalted butter, soft but cool and cut into pieces
• pinch of salt

Cake batter:

• 1 ⅓ cups (190g) all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoon (84g) unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• ¾ cup (180ml) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
• ¾ cup (100g) fresh or frozen blueberries
• ¾ cup (100g) fresh or frozen blackberries*, cut in half if very large

*Note: you can replace blackberries with more blueberries

Icing:

• ⅓ cup (40g) powdered confectioner's sugar, sifted
• 2-3 teaspoons (10-15ml) milk

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-inch square baking pan (9-inch square is too big for this recipe) with parchment paper. I usually use this square pan or this square pan.
• Make the crumb mixture. Combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter and rub it in with your fingertips (or use a food processor) until the mixture resembles crumbs. Cover the bowl and set aside.
• Make the cake batter. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and whisk to blend well. Combine soft butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and best using an electric hand mixer for about 2 minutes until smooth, creamy and a bit pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition until evenly incorporated. Mix in the sour cream. Add the dry ingredients and fold them in gently. The batter will be thick. Do not over-mix.
• Spoon about two-thirds of the batter into the pan and spread it in an even layer. Scatter the berries evenly over the batter. Spoon the remaining batter over the blueberries in dollops and spread to an even layer the best you can. Use a small off-set spatula to to this. The batter will be really thick and it will be a little tricky to spread it over the bumpy berries, but just apply some pressure over the berries and spread it out. Some of the berries will still poke through because there isn't that much batter left. It doesn't have to be perfect. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the batter and lightly press it in.
• Bake for 35-50 minutes (depending on whether you use fresh or frozen berries) until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. The crumbs should be golden brown and the very middle of the cake shouldn't be wet or doughy. If the top starts browning before the inside of the coffee cake is done, cover the pan loosely with foil for the remainder of the baking time. Allow cake to cool in the pan set on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
• Make the icing. Whisk all of the icing ingredients together and drizzle over the slightly warm cake. Serve cake warm or at room temperature.