She’s the Goose
From the Oven · Summer
Blueberry Crumb Cake
Berries layered through the middle, sour cream keeping the cake tender, and big brown-sugar crumbs doing the rest.
This cake is intentionally generous with both the blueberries and the crumb. Layering the berries instead of simply stirring them all into the batter gives you pockets of blueberry running through the center, while the sour cream keeps the cake underneath exceptionally tender.
Ingredients
Brown sugar crumb
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Blueberry cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup full-fat sour cream
- 2 Tbsp whole milk
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Vanilla-lemon glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1½–2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp milk or cream, as needed
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of kosher salt
Method
- 01
Prepare the pan. Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment.
- 02
Make the crumb. Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt.
Add the melted butter and vanilla and stir until the mixture forms moist crumbs. Use your fingers to press some of the mixture into larger, irregular clusters. Set aside.
Don’t make the crumbs too fine — the big pieces are what give the finished cake its craggy top.
- 03
Make the cake batter. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar for about 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Mix in the vanilla.
Add the sour cream and mix until combined.
Add the dry ingredients in two additions, alternating with the milk. Mix only until combined.
- 04
Prepare the blueberries. Toss the blueberries gently with 1 tablespoon flour. This helps keep them suspended throughout the cake.
- 05
Layer the cake. Spread approximately half of the batter into the prepared pan.
Scatter about 1 cup of blueberries evenly over the batter.
Carefully spoon the remaining batter over the berries and gently spread it to the edges. Scatter the remaining blueberries over the top, pressing them very lightly into the batter.
Cover the entire surface generously with the brown-sugar crumb mixture. Use all of it.
- 06
Bake. Bake for 55–65 minutes, until the crumb is deeply golden and a toothpick inserted into the cake portion near the center comes out without wet batter.
Because this is a tall, berry-heavy cake, start checking around 50 minutes but don’t pull it prematurely. If the crumb becomes dark before the center is finished, loosely tent the top with foil.
Cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, then release the springform ring. Let the cake cool completely before glazing.
- 07
Make the glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar, 1½ tablespoons lemon juice, vanilla and salt.
Add additional lemon juice or a little milk or cream until you have a thick glaze that falls slowly from a spoon.
- 08
Finish. Drizzle the glaze generously back and forth over the completely cooled cake, allowing some of it to settle into the crumb topping and run slightly toward the edges.
Let the glaze set for about 15 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Don’t pulverize the streusel. Those big buttery brown-sugar pieces are what make this a crumb cake rather than simply a blueberry coffee cake.
The little bit of lemon in the glaze isn’t there to make this a lemon cake — it just cuts through the sweetness and makes the blueberries taste brighter.