This blueberry crumb cake is packed with juicy blueberries, a soft vanilla cake, and a thick, golden crumble on top. The crumb topping bakes up crisp and buttery, just like the one in my strawberry crumb cake, and stays defined from edge to center. It comes together in about 1 hour and works with fresh or frozen berries, so you can make it anytime.
This is one of those recipes that’s hard to mess up because it’s built like a classic bakery crumb cake: simple, reliable, and consistent every time.
It leans more dessert-style, with the same kind of batter I use in my blueberry coffee cake, just with a lighter crumb and streusel on top.
You’re going to love it!
Step by Step Process (with photos)
1
Prep the blueberries by tossing them in a bit of flour, sugar, and lemon juice. I love baking with wild blueberries for a strong blueberry flavor.
They’re the same ones I use in my wild blueberry crumble scones, but use whatever you have on hand.
2
Make the crumb topping and refrigerate until ready to use. This prevents the crumble from melting into the cake during baking.
3
The cake batter will be thicker than a standard cake batter. This is done intentionally to support the weight of the berries and crumb topping.
4
Spread the cake batter evenly into an 8×8 baking pan. Make sure you’re using a metal pan (not glass or ceramic) for the best results.
5
Spread the prepared blueberries over the cake batter. Make sure you spread them evenly; the cake might sink where there are too many.
6
Spread the crumb evenly over the blueberries. Then it’s ready to bake!
If you’ve already got blueberries out for this, the rest can go straight into my blueberry crumb muffins. Same ingredients, just a quicker bake.
I can’t wait for you to try it!
—Cambrea 🫶🏻
If you tried this or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments; I love hearing from you! Also, please leave a star rating while you’re there! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Blueberry Crumb Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Blueberry Layer
- 2 1/2 cups frozen wild blueberries, *see notes for fresh blueberries*
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
Vanilla Cake
- 1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, *see notes for measuring*
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted full-fat European butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large whole eggs, room temperature, whisked together
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 1/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
Instructions
- Lightly grease a square 8×8 baking pan and line it with parchment paper on all sides. Preheat the oven to 350°F(180°C).
Make the Crumb Topping
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, and melted butter until crumbs form. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon (100 g) all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons (25 g) light brown sugar
Prep the Blueberries
- In a medium bowl, combine the blueberries, sugar, flour, and lemon juice until evenly coated. Set aside.2 1/2 cups (340 g) frozen wild blueberries, 1 tablespoon (15 g) granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons (30 g) all-purpose flour, 1/2 lemon
Make the Cake
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon (190 g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.1 cup (226 g) unsalted full-fat European butter, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- Scrape down the bowl. Slowly stream in the whisked eggs and vanilla, mixing very well after each addition. Do not do this too quickly, or the mixture will curdle.3 large (150 g) whole eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- Add in half of the dry ingredients and mix on low until almost combined. Then mix in the buttermilk, followed by the remaining dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.1/4 cup (58 g) buttermilk
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan. Then evenly spread the blueberries over the batter. Finally, sprinkle the crumb topping over the berries.
- Bake for 65-75 minutes, or until the middle is puffy and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool for 20 minutes on a wire cooling rack, then remove it from the pan and let it cool completely.
Hi love! I have baked it in wrong sized pan, burned at the bottom(BADLY!) and streusel went swimming all around creating a cement-like, partially burned top.
Cake was so „baked in“ I could not force it out of the pan(yes, it was lined!)
Of course, these were all my mistakes and I have learned alot about patience and logical thinking today.
It was the best tasting disaster cake ever. Im kidding you not, the best, absolutely marvelous cake. My little heart cannot comprehend what would actually happen if the cake did go as planned. I am about to bake a new one with bigger pan and better streusel ratios/Baking Temperature.
This is a keeper! Thank you from the bottom of my heart and the top of my stomach. You are the best!
Omg! Thanks for sharing Carlie, I’m glad it all worked out in the end haha. I hope your second batch goes much smoother, and I’m so glad you enjoyed it regardless!
Hi Cambrea! This looks amazing and I would love to make it but I only have Bonne Maman Blueberry Preserves in my fridge. How many grams should I use if I am to replace the fresh/frozen blueberries with it? Thank you!
Hi! I wouldn’t recommend swapping in blueberry preserves for this one. The recipe is designed for whole berries that bake on top of the cake, and preserves will be much wetter and can sink or make the cake soggy. If you do want to try it, I’d use a thinner layer and swirl it into the batter rather than replacing the full amount, but for best results I’d stick with fresh or frozen blueberries. 💛
A very great and perfect recipe
I’ve made this cake and turned out the crumbs and the fruits were sinking inside the cake , I was using fresh fruits. May I ask what did I do wrong in this case ? Can u give me some tips to overcome this kind of problem, thank you!
Hi Zeera! That’s definitely frustrating, I’m sorry that happened! I haven’t personally run into that issue with this recipe, and most readers using fresh berries haven’t either. The only thing I can think of is that there was maybe an error in the cake batter making it thin and not sturdy enough to hold the toppings. It should be pretty thick! Did you happen to substitute any ingredients?