Blueberry Crumb Cake - simply beautiful, simply delicious
Next week is Cake Week, and in honor of our efforts to woo you with cake and as a teaser of the treats to come, I’m sharing this little snack cake to help get you in the mood. This recipe features one of my favorite things – itty bitty dried wild blueberries. They’re so sweet, they’re like candy. You’ll love how simple this crumb cake is to make. And it’s even more perfect warm out of the oven with your morning coffee or cup of tea.
NanaBread’s Blueberry Crumb Cake:
2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of table salt
1/2 cup (one stick) of butter, softened
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla, if you prefer)
1/2 cup milk
1 pkg. dried wild blueberries (3 to 4 ounces)
For the crumb topping:
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 cup of light brown sugar
1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (half a stick) of butter, softened
Optional Glaze:
4 ounces of cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon of almond extract
1 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 – 1 tablespoon of milk
To start, pre-heat your oven to 400F. Prepare an 8″ x 8″ square pan. I use parchment paper to make a paper sling, then lightly spray it with cooking spray.
To start the cake batter combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl, mixing with a wire whisk to blend as well as remove any lumps. Set it aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy, then add the sugar and continue to beat for 2 minutes more. Add the egg and almond extract; mix just until combined. Add half of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Add the milk and mix to incorporate, then finish with the other half of the flour mixture, stopping just before the flour is fully incorporated. For a tender crumb cake, you don’t want to over mix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the blueberries, and finish incorporating the flour and berries with a rubber spatula. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
To make the crumb topping, combine the sugars, flour and softened butter in a mixing bowl. Beat with a wire whisk until it forms soft, lumpy crumbs. Spoon them evenly over the cake batter and place in the middle of the center rack of the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean from the center of the cake.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before glazing or serving.
If you’d like to make the optional glaze, place the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high power for 30-45 seconds, or until the cream cheese is completely softened. Whisk in the flavorings, then slowly whisk in the powdered sugar. Add enough milk to thin to the consistency you like. Spoon or pour over the top and serve.
Makes 4 very large servings or 9 regular servings.
Now, I’m off to have a slice with my coffee this morning. Care to join me?
Care to join me for breakfast? Coffee or tea?
Inside NanaBread's Head 
“Makes 4 very large servings or 9 regular servings.”
But one incredibly large serving would also do nicely, thank you very much.
One very large serving, indeed! I’m more inclined to cut it into 1″ squares and snack on it from time to time. But if you want the entire pan, I’m down with that. Just have to figure out how to get it to you. (Always the trickiest part, isn’t it?) How are you, my lovely?
This looks so good. And I love blueberries. I know what I’m making this weekend.
If you make it with fresh blueberries, just rinse them then toss them in flour. It will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake as it bakes. Hope you like it, Thoughtsy!
I’d love to have some with you. That cake looks scrumptious!
Well, bring the girls and c’mon down!
NanaBread, I received your post in my email today, and just wanted to let you know that the picture was so huge I couldn’t even give it a good look. I’m not really computer savvy, so I’m not sure if there is something you can fix on your end, or if I need to do something on my end to fix the problem?
Anyway, I see that you’re a fan of the blueberry coffeecake, so I wanted to let you know that I have a recipe that is so good, I cannot even make myself try another. And if you knew what a little ‘experimenter’ I am when it comes to recipes, you would know how shocking that statement is. It’s the blueberry crumble coffeecake from texasokie at TK. I wrote her a little note telling her that I doubled the crumb topping the first time (which I did), but honestly, that cake should be made EXACTLY the way it reads. I’d bet my (somewhat dubious) reputation on it. : )
Thanks for letting me know about your e-mail issue. I’ve sent an e-mail to WP support to see if they can help me figure out what the problem may be. I have one other reader who has reported having this same issue, and one other whose notification e-mail was completely blank. I’ll let you know what I find out.
I looked up the recipe you mentioned on Tasty Kitchen, and it is very similar to mine. I’m not really surprised by that, since crumb cakes of all flavors seem to follow the same basic recipe. I will have to try her version the next time to see if I like the fresh blueberries as much as the wild dried ones. With such a glowing endorsement, I’d be crazy not to try it. Thanks for sharing the suggestion, Shari.
Oh, my gosh…that looks totally heavenly.
Delish!
Thanks, Carrie!
I just love those cute little dried blueberries. What an awesome reason to have cake for breakfast! Love that you put a cream cheese glaze over the crumb topping–way to go big! :) Promise me that when we finally have tea and cake together that we’ll use that gorgeous china!
1. Me, too.
2. Absolutely.
3. I knew you’d like that. :)
4. You betcha! Nothing but the best for my buds.
OHMIGOD. Kirsten and I are having another china mind-meld I think. The cake? Looks delicious and gorgeous. But mostly I would just like your china and silverware, please and thank you.
Okay, ladies. I have to be honest; it’s not a set of china. As an antique shop hopper, I have developed a love for cup & saucer sets that are made of transferware. That cup and saucer is but one set in a small collection of cups & saucers. I wish I had an entire set of this stuff, but I don’t. The purple set in the photos is a new acquisition. It’s called “My Old Kentucky Home”. It is lovely. My goal is to acquire one cup & saucer set in all of the known colors of transferware. The silver spoon is from a set of 6 tea spoons I found at an estate sale. Paid $2 for the set of six. Couldn’t believe my luck. Thanks for feeding my obsession!
Yes, I will absolutely meet you for breakfast. And coffee. And tea. Especially if you keep posting things like this!
My next coffeecake will involve sour cream, cherries soaked in amaretto, and toasted almonds. How does that sound?
Mmmmm…amaretto….
Hahaha…I feel the same way, Thoughtsy. And I say it the same way as the K-Y commercial that refers to nutmeg. :)
I love all things coffee cake, but the cream cheese glaze puts me over the edge. I wish I had a permanent spot at your kitchen table.
You’re always welcome, Mads. You and Jonathan and Josie. (Ziggy says, “Especially Josie. Hubba-Hubba!”)
Jeanne….consider me sufficiently woo’ed! I love dried wild blueberries and buy them at Trader Joe’s all the time. This is such a perfect recipe to showcase them! Perfect for breakfast and every snack for the rest of the day! Looking forward to seeing more of your scrumptious cakes! : )
Thanks, Anne! High praise coming from a baker such as yourself. When I make this one again, I’m going to stir in a little yogurt or sour cream & maybe even a little lemon zest to add some zing and a little more moisture. I like my coffeecakes to be super soft and tender. Can you believe I have never been to a Trader Joe’s? We have Whole Foods & Central Market, but no Joe’s. What’s the point in living in a city with 4 million people if you can’t shop at Trader Joe’s? It’s criminal neglect, I tell ya’.
GO CAKE WEEK!!!
I made this over the weekend! Kiefer, Boo, Radley, and my coworkers loved it. =)
Awesome! Thanks so much for letting me know, Thoughtsy!
This looks pretty good. I may try the recipe to serve after Easter supper. A friend of mine actually opened a new york style-crumb cake business called Crumb Cake Creations a few months ago. She’s doing real well with it, so I wanted to share it seeing as though they look similar to this recipe. Not sure if she lists any recipes on the website, but the cakes are darn good. I’ll check back here once (if) I go forward with the Blueberry Crumb Cake above.
I love a good crumb cake, so I wish your friend great success with her new business. If you try my recipe, I hope you’ll let me know how it turned out. Thanks for visiting!