Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake
This post is sponsored by Bonne Maman. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own.
Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake makes a delicious breakfast in bed for that special person in your life! This simple coffee cake makes a delicious Mother’s Day breakfast or a brunch centerpiece. Makes one 9″ coffee cake.
I don’t have many Mother’s Day memories from when I was a kid, but I know that my sister, my dad and I always worked together to make something for Mom for dinner or dessert.
The only memory that comes to mind without fail is centered around a Key Lime Pie. A failed one.
My mom loves Key Lime Pie. But key limes are hard to find. And since the rest of us were just so-so on the pie, she never made one for herself.
One Mother’s Day, we decided to go all in and baked a Key Lime Pie to show how much we love and appreciate her.
We baked a gorgeous pie – complete with a homemade crust – and when we took our first bite of it after our special Mother’s Day dinner, everyone cringed.
Bitter faces all around.
Turns out, we forgot to add the sugar to the pie, making it inedible.
Why I love this recipe:
Whenever I think of Mother’s Day, that pie comes to mind, as well as how we wanted so badly to make Mom something she loved.
In the years since, I’ve worked on my execution of baked goods. While I still fail on occasion, I’ve gotten more consistent.
And I’ve gotta say: This Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake turned out dreamy, even though it’s not the failed dessert we once served.
It’s got excellent lemon flavor, thanks to lemon zest, with pops of blueberry goodness, courtesy of Bonne Maman preserves. It’s the perfect sweet-tart combination, wrapped up in a gorgeous cake with a streusel topping.
What’s not to love?
Other Mother’s Day brunch recipes are adore: Chocolate Raspberry Overnight French Toast Casserole / Vegan Banana Muffins / Gluten Free Broccoli Quiche Lorraine Bites / Princess Violette Cocktail / Sage Browned Butter Homemade Home Fries
Looking for more brunch ideas in general? Check out my Breakfast and Brunch landing page.
What do I need to make this recipe?
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- Round cake pan
- Glass bowls
- Hand mixer
- Dough blender (for the streusel.)
- Zester
Let’s talk ingredients!
In addition to the tools above, you’re going to need some ingredients to make this recipe, too! Chances are, you might already have some of them in your fridge or pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full measurements and instructions.
Here’s what you need:
- Unsalted butter — we want the butter softened and at room temperature, so remember to take it out of the fridge about 45 minutes before you want to bake this coffee cake recipe.
- Granulated sugar — also known as white sugar, there is no substitute for this.
- Lemon zest — we’ll need about 2 lemons’ worth of zest, so get some good ones at the store, and wash them before you zest them.
- Plain Greek yogurt — I suggest using whole fat yogurt here because it results in a better tasting coffee cake, but you can use nonfat yogurt if that’s the only yogurt you have on hand.
- Eggs — I use large eggs from the grocery store.
- All-purpose flour — we keep unbleached flour at our house, but you can use regular AP flour, too. I have no tried this coffee cake recipe with a gluten free substitute, so I do not suggest making a flour swap.
- Leaveners — we’re using a combination of baking powder and baking soda to give our coffee cake some lift! Make sure yours are fresh.
- Kosher salt — I like to use a medium grain salt in recipes like these. You may also use a medium grain sea salt if you have that on hand.
- Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry Preserves — these add the wonderful blueberry flavor!
- Dark brown sugar — we’ll need this for the streusel topping. You may use light brown sugar if that’s what you have on hand
- Pecans — roughly chopped, please and thank you
- Unsalted butter — I’m listing this again because for the streusel, we need the butter to be cold and cut into ½” cubes!
- Pure vanilla extract
Please note that the lemon coffee cake with blueberries gets its blueberry flavor from the preserves, not from fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries.
How to make Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake
Make The Crumble Topping
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and chopped pecans. Use a fork to mix them together.
Add in cubes of chilled butter and vanilla. Use a pastry blender or that same fork to combine the mixture until it’s the texture of wet sand. (I prefer the pastry blender for this step since it can get the streusel topping mixture a bit finer.)
When the streusel reaches the texture of wet sand, pop the bowl in the refrigerator until time to bake.
Make the coffee cake
Prepare. Preheat the oven, and spray a round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
Cream the butter and sugar in a medium bowl with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the lemon zest, yogurt and eggs to the wet ingredients. Blend until smooth.
Sprinkle the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined, and then pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
Using a tablespoon measure, dollop the Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry Preserves on top of the batter. I like to space mine out and give each dollop a little breathing room since we’re going to swirl these preserves into the batter.
Run a butter knife through the preserves, swirling them into the batter. Obviously, you can do as much or as little of this as you’d like. I recommend trying to swirl evenly, so every bite has some blueberry.
Sprinkle the cold streusel topping on top of the batter.
Bake. Transfer the cake pan to the preheated oven and bake.
Once baked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, remove from the oven, cool completely, remove from the pan and serve with your favorite breakfast beverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Simply put, Bonne Maman makes my favorite preserves in the whole world, and I definitely wanted to work with them to make a sweet treat for Mom for breakfast in bed.
Bonne Maman preserves with natural ingredients that anyone can find in their pantry. The Non-GMO Project Verified preserves have no high fructose corn syrup, artificial flooring or added preservatives.
You can always find a jar in our fridge, and you’ll find them starring in this Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe, adding the blueberry goodness to balance out the tart-sweetness of the lemon!
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips
This Lemon Coffee Cake with Blueberry Preserves would be an excellent recipe to serve at an at-home brunch.
Here are some ideas for using this breakfast recipe for a gathering:
- Bake the coffee cake in advance. That way, you don’t have to wake up earlier to bake this goodness. Reheat the coffee cake in a 200°F oven before it’s time to serve.
- Make double. If you’re serving a crowd, make two coffee cakes instead of one so everyone can have a big ‘ol slice!
- Serve it alongside sippers. If your people like mimosas, consider creating a mimosa bar.
Quick tips and tricks to the best coffee cake
- How to store: Wrap the completely cooled coffee cake in plastic wrap, and store in the fridge. Reheat in a 200°F oven.
- Don’t have yogurt? Use sour cream instead!
- Don’t like pecans? Leave ’em out, and have your coffee cake be nut free.
What can I pair with this?
Now who’s ready for a slice of this gorgeous cake?
Scroll on down to learn how to make this beauty of a breakfast to surprise your mom with…
Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake
Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake makes a delicious breakfast in bed for that special person in your life! Elevate traditional coffee cake base with a ton of lemon zest. Then once the batter is poured into the pan, dollop Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry Preserves in for blueberry goodness. Sprinkle on the crumbly pecan streusel topping, then bake until golden brown. This simple coffee cake makes a delicious Mother's Day breakfast or a brunch centerpiece.
Ingredients
Coffee Cake
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon zest (about 2 lemons worth)
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt (nonfat or whole fat OK)
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 tablespoons Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry Preserves
Streusel Topping
- 6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- ½ cup pecans, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into ½” cubes
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Streusel Topping
- In a medium-sized glass bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and chopped pecans.
- Using a fork, mix the ingredients together until they’re incorporated.
- Add in the ½” cubes of chilled butter and the vanilla, using a pastry blender (or the same fork) to combine the mixture until it’s the texture of wet sand.
- When the streusel is the correct texture, pop the bowl in the refrigerator until time to bake.
Make the Coffee Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spray a 9” round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray, and set aside.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar together using a hand mixer.
- Add the lemon zest, yogurt and eggs to the mixture, and blend until smooth.
- Slowly sprinkle the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared round cake pan.
- Using a tablespoon measure, dollop the Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry Preserves on top of the batter. (I like to space mine out, as we’re going to incorporate the blueberry preserves into the batter using a knife.)
- Run a butter knife through the preserves, swirling them into the batter. (You can do as much or as little of this as you'd like. I recommend trying to swirl evenly, so every bite can feature some blueberry goodness.)
- Sprinkle the cold streusel topping on top of the batter, and transfer the cake pan to the preheated oven.
- Bake 45-55 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven, cool, and remove from the cake pan, then serve slightly warm or at room temperature with your favorite breakfast beverage.
Notes
Adapted from my Vanilla Bean Coffee Cake Muffins recipe.
Recommended Products
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 447Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 196mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 2gSugar: 29gProtein: 7g
Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate.
This looks so good! I wish I was eating a slice with my morning coffee!
Thank you, Krista! I wish I’d had a slice of this with my morning coffee, too.
This is stunning. Very clever usage of the preserves. I’d love a slice now.
Thank you, Michelle! I wish I could share a slice with you!
I just love a great piece of coffee cake! Love how you incorporated the preserves.
You and me both, Dorothy! Thank you so much!
This is so, so lovely, and I love how you’ve indulged in lemon zest! such a pretty treat!
Thank you, thank you! That lemon zest just adds a lovely zing to this coffee cake. 🙂
This looks perfect for Mother’s Day Brunch — I’d love a slice or two!
It really is perfect for Mother’s Day brunch! I hope you got a slice of your own!
That looks so scrumptious, I want a big slice of it now!
Thanks, Kimberly! This cake is totally scrumptious!
I am a huge fan of coffee cakes and lemon and berries make my favorite flavor combo! I’d love a piece (or two!) of this beauty for Mother’s Day!
I’m a huge fan of those, too, Anna! And I hope you got a slice of two of this coffee cake for Mother’s Day!
Erin,
I made the Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake last evening and had it this morning for breakfast. It tasted very good but the streusel topping fell into the center and the blueberry preserves fell down to the bottom of the cake making it mushy on the bottom. I’m wondering if you can think of anything that I may have done wrong. Also, the amount of chopped pecans is left out of the recipe on the Bonne Maman website. I got the amount from your muffin recipe that you referred to. I hope you can help. Thanks.
Karen Fandrick
Karen, Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment on this recipe. I’m disappointed to hear that the streusel topping fell and the preserves made the cake mushy on the bottom. (However, I’m encouraged to hear it still tasted good. That’s gotta count for something, right?) My only guess is maybe your butter wasn’t the right consistency. If the batter was too thin (if it was melted instead of softened), that could maybe be the problem? I’ve run into this when making other dishes when my kitchen has gotten too hot and melted the butter inadvertently. Other than that, I don’t know what could have happened, but I’m so sorry to hear that it did.
Also, thanks for bringing to my attention that the chopped pecans were left out of the recipe, as well. I’ve gone ahead and added those back in–not sure what happened there!
I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment to let me know how it turned out, Karen. Hopefully, we can sort this out! And hopefully, I can make one of these beauties to see if I can troubleshoot it some more for you in the near future.