Blueberry Lemon Crumb Cake

Blueberry lemon crumb cake is deliciously moist, and speckled with scrumptious, juicy blueberries baked right into the batter, and topped with crumbly, rich streusel.

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Sweet Breakfast Treats

Cake for breakfast! A very American phenomenon. I was astonished at the first pot-luck breakfast meeting I experienced here in America. I didn't quite understand how we would eat 'breakfast', but I dutifully brought a gallon of orange juice.

I had visions of pouring cold cereals into bowls with milk, but was pleasantly surprised by all the tempting breakfast cakes to start the day off on a sweet note.

"What a great country," I thought. "You can't beat cake and donuts for breakfast."

My waistline has since realized it may not be such a good idea after all.

One of my favorite breakfast cakes is streusel topped crumb cake with loads of juicy blueberries baked into the cake batter. Yummy!

An American Breakfast Cake Recipe

Just in case you all thought I cook nothing but Irish recipes, the time has come to start sharing the results of my American cooking evolution. Over the past twenty years I have tried and adapted many American kitchen favorites, to suit my Irish palate.

To mark Independence Day this year I thought we might celebrate the red, white and blueberry, with my version of this delicious breakfast cake.

And if you follow this blog, you'll know I love blueberries. Together we've made blueberry scones, blueberry banana oatmeal muffins and now this delicious cake.

Ingredients for Blueberry Lemon Crumb Cake

Here you’ll find a quick list of what you’ll need for this recipe. Check out the printable recipe at the bottom of this post for US and Metric equivalent versions of the recipe. There you can choose the measurement system that works best for you.

For the Cake

• butter
• sugar
• eggs
• pure vanilla extract
• grated lemon zest
• plain yogurt
• all-purpose flour
• baking powder
• baking soda
• salt
• fresh blueberries

For the Streusel Topping

• white sugar
• brown sugar
• grated lemon zest
• butter
• all-purpose flour

Directions for Blueberry Lemon Cake

Here you’ll find step-by-step photographic instructions to help you recreate this recipe successfully. There are plenty of tips included along the way.

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.

Butter and flour the inside of a 9-inch round cake pan. I like to use a springform pan for easy release of the cake when baked.

Tap the pan upside down over the sink to remove any excess flour. Here’s how the prepared pan looks.

Alternatively, you can use a flour infused cake pan spray.

Prepare the Streusel Topping

I like to make the streusel topping before I make the cake batter.

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, and cut the butter into small pieces, adding them to the flour.

Using a pastry cutter or the tips of your clean fingers, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

This time the crumbs will be very coarse and lumpy. The ratio of butter to flour is far more than would be used to make pastry.

Add the sugars and the grated lemon zest to the mixture and mix well together.

Most American recipes for this type of cake call for cinnamon and nutmeg in the streusel topping. I prefer a hint of lemon. I think it compliments the blueberries beautifully.

Set the streusel mixture aside while you make the cake batter.

Make the Cake Batter

First prepare the dry ingredients for the cake batter.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl. Set it aside at this point.

Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together for about 5 minutes.

Be patient. Incorporating lots of air into the butter results in a lighter cake. Stop the mixer every few minutes to scrape the sugary butter down from the sides of the bowl using a spatula.

The mixture is ready when the butter turns a pale ivory color.

Add the eggs, one at a time, combining into the butter mixture on low speed.

Don’t overbeat, since the eggs can curdle.

Add the vanilla, lemon zest and plain yogurt.

Continuing on low speed, add the flour mixture gradually. I add one or two spoonfuls at a time, mixing it slowly until fully combined.

Do not overbeat the mixture at this stage.

I love blueberries. Don’t they look great going into this cake.

Blueberries aren’t often found in Irish supermarkets. Next time I am back in Dublin, I think I might try this cake using Irish blackcurrants instead of the blueberries.

Use a spatula to clean the batter from the sides of the bowl and gently fold in the blueberries.

Spoon the cake batter into the prepared cake pan.

Smooth out the top using a spatula or knife. The back of a spoon works great too.

I felt compelled to show you this photo of my mixing bowl scraped clean with a spatula to remove all the cake batter.

Does it ever annoy you to see television chefs leave half the batter behind in the bowl? Beautiful cakes never happen when half the batter is left behind in the bowl.

I never understand why the show’s editors can’t include an image of a cleaned out bowl. I think my fear of wasting food has created this pet peeve.

Anyway, back to the cake. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the cake batter.

Bake at 350° F for 50 to 60 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Place the cake pan on a wire tray and cool for ten minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely on a the wire tray.

Serve the cake when cooled. It’s delicious with a side of blueberries. This is perfect breakfast cake in my book.

Blueberry Lemon Cake Recipe Card

Here's a short video outlining the steps for making this delicious breakfast cake.

Plus here's the printable recipe card for your kitchen files.

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