Breakfast is one of our favorite meals of the day, and this cake makes it even better.
This really is the perfect morning treat. Make yourself a delicious cup of hot coffee and a slice of this incredible crumbly coffee cake, and you’ll be in heaven. If you like banana nut bread, zucchini bread, or cinnamon raisin swirl bread, you will flip for this breakfast sensation. And, it honestly could not be easier to make and can be made a day in advance of serving.
How To Make Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake
There are so many things to love about this amazing cake.
Taste, of course, has to be #1.
But it’s also so easy to make. And can be made one, two, or even three days ahead of time!
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The Ingredients You Will Need
The ingredients for this coffee cake are pantry friendly, with the exception of almond flour, although, most well-stocked supermarkets carry it.
For the streusel topping, here’s what you’ll need:
Flour – All-purpose
Sugar – Granulated
Salt – Adds a nice, subtle contrast
Butter – Unsalted and room temperature
Almonds – Sliced, no need to toast
For the coffee cake, here’s what you’ll need:
Butter – Unsalted, room temperature (1 stick)
Sugar – Granulated
Vanilla extract – Adds incredible depth of flavor
Almond extract – You could use 100% vanilla, but seek out the almond, it’s so good
Flour – All-purpose
Almond flour – You could use 100% all-purpose, but, you know it, seek out the almond, it’s really so good
Baking powder – So it will rise
Salt
Whole milk and sour cream – To make it moist and luxurious
Blueberries – Fresh, if possible
Turbinado sugar – Any kind of coarse sugar will work
EXPERT TIP: We recommend pouring the batter into a 9-inch straight-edge cake pan that has been well greased and floured. This will give you the perfect-shaped coffee cake that will slip right out of the pan without issues.
Tips for the Perfect Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake
Make Sure Your Pan Is Prepared Correctly – We’ve already mentioned this, but it bears repeating. Grease your cake pan liberally with softened butter or cooking spray. Then sprinkle flour all over the interior and gently tap and shake the pan so the flour is evenly distributed. The cake is done baking once an inserted toothpick comes out with no batter (you will probably see blueberry juice, this is okay).
Cream the Butter and Sugar Sufficiently – A stand mixer helps you get the best results when mixing the softened butter with the sugar (this is called “creaming” the butter and sugar). Beat the mixture on medium for 3 to 5 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides with a spatula. The mixture will be light in color and have an almost fluffy texture.
Take Care When Inverting the Cake – After running a sharp knife along the inside edge of the pan, and letting the cake cool for at least 15 minutes, it’s time to invert the cake. Place a flat dinner plate or platter (if possible, no curves) on top of the pan. Use both hands to flip the cake over. Tap the top of the pan with the back of a knife and gently lift and remove the pan. Hold your serving dish onto the pan, and invert again. You may need to add back any of the toppings that didn’t stay with the cake.
How To Serve
This coffee cake is spectacularly served warm or at room temperature.
To heat, you can cut slices, place them on a baking sheet, and warm them in the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes.
Obviously, be sure to have a nice pot of hot coffee nearby.
We love to let guests cut their own individual slices and place them on their plates. It’s so beautiful as the layers of the cake are revealed with lifted from the plate. Serve on a cake stand or on a plate.
Other Classic Breakfast and Brunch Recipes To Serve
This coffee cake is wonderful when served by itself with beverages. But, it’s also wonderful to have a full spread, including some, or all, of the following:
Caramel Banana Baked French Toast
Homemade Monkey Bread
Orange Sweet Rolls
Sausage Bread
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
Buttermilk Waffles with Blueberry Sauce
Jumbo Lemon Muffins with Blueberries
Ham and Gruyere Savory Popovers
But folks, we have to tell you, this incredible coffee cake just may steal the show!
We just can’t rave about this breakfast sensation enough.
And quite honestly, it’s so good, you’ll be happily eating on it well after the breakfast hours have passed.
And remember, you can make this one to two days in advance, and if kept covered, it stays incredibly moist and flavorful the entire time! It is perfect for a quiet breakfast alone or serving guests!
Ready to make the best breakfast or brunch treat in town? Go for it!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo of it, post it on Instagram, and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake
Equipment
- 1 9-inch cake pan preferably 2 inches tall and straight-edged
Ingredients
For the Streusel
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour 42 grams
- ¼ cup sugar 50 grams
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds 38 grams
For the Cake
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup sugar 200 grams
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour 156 grams
- ¼ cup almond flour 24 grams
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ cup whole milk
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1½ cups fresh blueberries divided
- 2 tsp turbinado sugar raw sugar, or coarse sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease a 9-inch round deep cake pan and flour generously.
Make the Streusel
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt.
- Stir in butter until the mixture is crumbly (using your hands works well).
- Stir in almonds. Set aside.
Prepare the Cake
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl, as necessary.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Stir in the extracts.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together both types of flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
- Stir in sour cream.
- Pour half of batter into prepared pan.
- Sprinkle with 1¼ cup blueberries, and top with the remaining batter, smoothing the top with a spatula.
- Top with remaining ¼ cup blueberries, and sprinkle with streusel and turbinado sugar.
- Bake until a toothpick, or wooden pick, inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes.
- Let cool in pan for 15 minutes.
- Run a sharp knife around edges of cake to loosen sides.
- Invert onto a plate, and then invert again onto a serving plate. Serve at once, or cover, and let cool until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
POST UPDATE: This recipe was originally published in February 2017, but was updated with improved tweaks to the recipe with new tips and photos and a fabulous new video in September 2022!
Ohhhh so glad I bookmarked this page! It looks just like the image you posted, and the taste is amazing. The family loved it. Thank you.
Hi Susan!!! We are thrilled you made the coffee cake and had such great success with it! Thank you SO MUCH for sharing and for the wonderful review! Please stay in touch!! xoxo Kris & Wesley
Hi Guys. I told you that I was going to try this recipe. OMG was it fabulous. Great recipe to dig out the stand mixer. Everything was so easy putting this together. Just kept adding ingredients as I left the mixer running. The container of blueberries that I bought was around 2 cups so I used them all. The extracts really made the flavor. I loved using both flours. Made a nice taste as well. I couldn’t get my streusel as crumbly as yours and I even added a tad more flour since it was too wet. It still tasted fabulous. I had a much nicer flip then the Loon had LOL. It was just a heavenly moist cake served warm for a dessert and will have plenty for weekend breakfast which means no cooking for me!!! That is the best. Thanks for a wonderful and versatile cake recipe.
Hi Diane! Yay!!! This coffee cake is one of our all-time favorites!! Sounds like you made it perfectly! You are truly a rock star in the kitchen! xoxo
This cake is very moist and delicious. I used a springform pan so easier to not damage topping. I also added a teaspoon of cinnamon to topping.
We loved this cake! I baked it in a 9″ springform pan with a parchment round on the bottom and the depth was just right. It took my oven about 15 more minutes than the recipe stated for the center to cook and the streusel to become the just-right color. As you suggested, definitely use the almond extract and almond flour. And I probably used more almonds than the recipe called for because I measure those with my heart. I will be baking this cake again and again. Thank you so much!
Hi Theresa!!! Woo hoo!!! We are THRILLED you made the coffee cake and had such great success with it! Thank you so so so much for sharing and for the GREAT review! That means the world to us!! Stay in touch!! xoxo Kris & Wesley
How long would you bake these as muffins?
Hi Mary, you could start that in a 425°F and bake for 5 minutes. Reduce to 350, and bake for another 15 to 18 minutes. We’ve not done this before with this recipe, but it should work out just fine! Let us know if you make them and how they turn out!
Hello, can I use frozen blueberries? They’re fresh from our 3 bushes, but no way can we eat the full harvest, so we freeze.
Thank you!
I also need to know if frozen blueberries (not thawed) will work. Thanx
Hi Dennis and Danielle!
So sorry for the delayed response! Yes…frozen blueberries will work. Let us know if you try the coffee cake and how it turns out! Best, Kris & Wesley
Can you use all almond flour and a sugar substitute.My daughter is on the Keto diet?
Hi Janet! We’ve not tried that, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work just fine! Let us know if you make the coffee cake and how it turns out! Best, Kris & Wesley
Great coffee cake. Very tender, just delicious. I will definitely make this again. YUM!!!
Hi Mary!! We are so so happy you enjoyed the coffee cake!! That is one of our favorites. In fact, we’re about to take new photos of it and make a video for the recipe!! Thanks for the inspiration!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
This coffee cake is perfect, light and delicious! I will add more crumble next time, and sprinkle it in to the inside layer of blueberries. But honestly it is perfect as is and I got many compliments. I meant to save a slice to test if it freezes well but that wasn’t going to happen this time. The second day the cake gets a bit denser but it is still fabulous.
Hi Robin! We are SO THRILLED you loved the coffee cake! That is one of our favorites to make and we are so happy you had such great success with it! It should freeze nicely…but we’re like you…every time we make, it goes! Thanks again! xoxo Kris & Wesley
I’m confused about the flour…It’s an almond flour but later I saw it said all purpose flour… Can we just use all purpose flour? I would love to make this cake! Thanks
Sorry about that! All-purpose flour is a-ok!! Let us know how it turns out!
This is a delicious cake, moist and full of blueberries and flavor. My only variation was to add about 3/4 tsp. of Penzeys Baking Spice, a blend of 2 types of cinnamon, ground Spanish anise seed, allspice, mace and cardamom to the streusel topping, which adds a depth of flavor to the topping. Will definitely make it again!
Can I use a 9” SPRINGFORM pan instead? Seems to me it would be easier on the streusel topping?
Absolutely! We’ve had other cooks do it that way and had great success! Let us know if you make the coffee cake and how it turns out! Best, Kris & Wesley
Can it be made the day before it is eaten?
Hi Pauline! Absolutely! If you have a tupperware to keep it in, that will keep it from drying out. Or, carefully wrap it in plastic wrap. It will stay fresh for up to 1 week! Let us know if you make it and how it turns out! Best, Kris & Wesley
Can you use a sugar substitute? Thanks and regards
Kris,
I recently returned from a cruise where one of the choices at the salad bar was fried rice noodles. I would love to replicate them but have no idea how to cooked them. Can you help?
p.s. I love all your recipes and make them all the time. Keep up the good work!
Brenda
Hi Brenda, sounds delicious! We’ll look into and see about adding into the upcoming recipes! Thanks for the idea!!
what kind of pan you used?
HI Jen,
I used a 9-inch round, 2-inch height, cake pan that I greased and floured generously. Lining with parchment paper isn’t a bad idea either, but not completely necessary. Just helps in releasing the cake from the pan. Thanks!