Summer isn’t complete without my Blueberry Lemon Crumb Cake recipe! Similar to a coffee cake, this scrumptious dessert is topped with brown sugar cinnamon streusel. I swear this dessert is a huge hit at every gathering. It is definitely one of my favorites.
Lemon Infused Cake
The first step in this scrumptious Blueberry Lemon Crumb Cake is creating the cake batter. This cake batter recipe is on the thicker side, so be warned. The thickness believe or not, adds airiness to the cake and that classic crumbly texture. This batter is also on the lightly-sweet side. Again, believe it or not, the light sweetness works best to highlight the lemon flavor.
Begin by whisking the traditional dry cake ingredients of: flour, baking powder, and salt, in a large bowl. Next in a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Of course, the wet ingredients start with creaming the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then, add the eggs and vanilla extract. Since this is a lemon infused cake batter, add lemon zest AND lemon juice. I find that adding both of these lemon flavors really compliments the Blueberry in this Blueberry Lemon Crumb Cake. Finish the batter by slowly folding the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
As I mentioned, the batter will resemble a thick dough. However, not to worry! To transform this dough into a cake batter, lastly add milk. This should thin out the batter just enough, that it is easy to smooth.
Blueberries and Streusel
The most important steps in this Blueberry Lemon Crumb Cake are, of course, the blueberries and the crumbly streusel topping. What makes this recipe so popular is the freshness of the blueberries. While you may be tempted to use frozen blueberries, they often bake mushy. It is definitely BEST to use fresh blueberries.
Nata Tip: Toss the blueberries in some flour.
This ensures that they do not sink to the bottom of the cake.
My biggest tip is to toss the fresh blueberries in flour. This helps evenly distribute them throughout the batter, so you get blueberries in every bite! Plus, who doesn’t love the iconic poke-a-dot pattern of white cake batter and purple-ish blueberry circles? I know I LOVE it!
The final and best step in this Blueberry Lemon Crumb Cake is the brown sugar cinnamon streusel. As you guessed, this streusel resembles a crumb topping with flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, cold butter (of course) and a pinch of salt. Anyone who has tried this dessert can promise that this streusel alone is extremely addicting. It provides the perfect overall sweetness, especially since the cake itself was lightly sweet.
Also, when preparing the streusel, make sure to cool it for a few minutes in the fridge. Since in my recipe, I prepared the streusel with my hands, it did cause the cold butter to start softening too much. For this – I definitely recommend using a food processor to create the streusel.
Fast forward: Bake the cake with the streusel on top. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or some coffee.
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Blueberry Lemon Crumb Cake Recipe
Ingredients
BLUEBERRY LEMON CRUMB CAKE
- 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup of unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 2 teaspoons of lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1 large egg
BLUEBERRY FILLING
- 1 cup of fresh blueberries
- 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour
CRUMB TOPPING/STREUSEL
- 1/3 cup of all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup of brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons of cold cubed unsalted butter
- Dash of cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F)
- Whisk together the butter, sugar and egg until smooth and fluffy. Then add the lemon zest and juice.
- In another bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet mixture bowl. Once smooth, add milk and vanilla extract. Whisk again.
- In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with a tablespoon of flour. Carefully fold the powdered blueberries into the batter. Transfer the batter into a well greased baking dish and rest.
- While the batter rest, combine cold butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour and crumble by hand. Mixture should resemble the texture of wet sand. Once achieved, sprinkle topping on the batter and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
