I just got some blueberries at the store. I chose Frozen bb this time, the fresh are still pretty pricey. Im excited for this recipe especially because we get to use lemon again!!
I almost used frozen wild blueberries, but I ended up with fresh blackberries and lime zest (both of which I had in the fridge). I baked a half recipe and used a smaller square pan (about 6″ per side). I usually toast my nuts before using them but I didn’t for this recipe – they’d have gotten too brown as the topping baked. The recipe is pretty straightforward, and we enjoyed the coffeecake.
I’m bummed I won’t be able to do this. We are going out of town for spring break and things are so crazed getting ready to go. But I will definitely be making this sometime over the summer!
Okay, so mine was not so good….. Guess why….
I forgot to add the sugar to the mixture… No idea what I was thinking. So, I’ll bake up a new batch tomorrow….
I used frozen cranberries and it was incredible. I tossed the frozen berries in a little sugar and lemon juice and let them sit in the fridge until I mixed them into the batter. Super good.
I made this a few weeks ago when–to my happy surprise–fresh blueberries were on sale…I did not have enough walnuts on hand but had tons of almonds so used an almond-walnut combo for topping–yum!
I loved this cake…I made it and the french yogurt cake around the same time…made for some great breakfast munchies over coffee!
This was soooo good, lol!! I baked it this morning and then took most of it to my mom’s office…had to get it out of my house!! Luckily I was able to find some fresh blueberries to use.
I am currently in quite a blueberry haze. Since moving to New England, I can’t seem to get enough of Wyman’s blueberries. So much so that I now have a 3 lb. bag of them in the freezer from Costco. I can’t wait to make this.
Second attempt was a success: the cake looks, smells and tastes delicious! Only one problem: all the blueberries have sunk to the bottom…. How can this be avoided?
I also made muffins. 6 1/2 from my muffin pan. To intensify the blueberriness, some blueberries were crushed to release the juice. It added more moisture to the batter and needed about 5 more minutes of baking.
juju: thanks for the advice, unfortunately I already did that since it was written in the recipe… :(
Also I used frozen blueberries, could that be the cause?
I’ve got a great idea if someone wants to try it. I got it after I made it and won’t have time to make it again. Here is my idea:
*slightly caramelize two diced (skins included) granny smith apples with 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Throw everything in a heavy bottom pan on medium heat and cook stirring occasionally until almost all the liquid is absorbed and apples are slightly caramelized. Set aside to cool.
Add to crumb cake recipe as directed for the blueberries.
This recipe is the best. I made it following the recipe exactly and it turned out perfect. The crumb topping is fantastic. I had a chunk with some cold vanilla ice cream and it was luscious. Don’t walk to make this one..RUN!
Pinkstripes, the apple idea sounds sooooooo good! Pears, too… I’m inspired! I love sauteed/ caramelized apples. The next time you come by, I have a breakfast puff recipe that uses them.
My cake is in the oven right now. I love to use Wyman’s frozen wild blueberries too (the little ones), but I had some (big) frozen blueberries from when they first appeared in the store a month or so ago.
It’s interesting to me that this cake uses the same ingredients (different proportions) and the same exact mixing method as one of my favorite quick breads. I’m looking forward to comparing the flavors and textures.
Pinkstripes, you read my mind! I use this technique for apple pie after seeing it in the NYT a few years back. I’m planning on doing one with apples (though I bought Gala since they cook up softer) and one as written.
Marthe – I always save a few berries (tossed in flour) and add those to the top of the batter after it’s spread in the pan. Not sure if they stay there, but at least they *all* don’t end up towards the bottom.
Did anybody have a pool of butter in the center of theirs mid-bake? I did, and it went away after the full 65 min bake, but it still weirded me out. Smells awesome though.
I used frozen berries and made 16 cupcakes–easier to share. I must say these were the best blueberry crumb cakes I have ever eaten (and I have made and eaten plenty)! This will be my ‘go to’ blueberry recipe. I’m new at TWD, I jumped at the chance and joined on St. Pattys Day. I’m excited to be part of this great blogging/baking group.
Another idea for keeping the blueberries from all ending up on the bottom — after you’ve mixed the batter but before you’ve mixed in the blueberries, pour a little of the batter into the prepared pan and spread more or less evenly over the bottom. Then mix the blueberries into the rest of the batter and pour that in.
I just put mine in the oven. I ended up with very blue batter. I think I went wrong by mixing my frozen berries and flour and setting them aside (like the recipe says) before I made the batter. I should have gone with my first instinct of leaving them in the freezer until I needed them. Oh well, I’m sure the cake will still taste good.
Mine too had puddles of bubbly butter while baking. I also had to bake mine about 15 mins longer, it didn’t seem to want to set up, but it finally did. I kept some parchment over the top so it didn’t brown too much.
I’m thinking there is too much butter in this? The cake seemed moist with butter, but not to bad. Anyone else? I guess I’m used to more dry coffee cakes.
Caitlin – I had the same thing happen. I pulled it out since the edges seemed to be brown enough. I wonder if melting the butter to start with instead of just softening it would incorporate it a little better. If I was going to make this again, I would likely just reduce the amount of butter in the crumb topping.
Caitlin, I also had butter in a pool in the middle. Rachelle, the middle sank, but the sides seemed done. I guess I should have baked it longer. Mike and Barbara, good idea about distritubing the blueberries. Even though I tossed them with flour, they mostly ended up on the bottom and they were fresh and dry. I will try this recipe again, using less butter in the crumb topping.
My edges were getting pretty brown too and the middle wasn’t done. So I covered all the sides with foil and put it back in till the center was done. Perfect :) I also made a glaze from some blueberry juice and powdered sugar. MMMMM it didn’t need it though, it was sweet enough without it!
We ate half and I gave the other half to my neighbor who raved about it. A winner!
My edges were getting pretty brown too and the middle wasn’t done. So I covered all the sides with foil and put it back in till the center was done. Perfect :) I also made a glaze from some blueberry juice and powdered sugar. MMMMM it didn’t need it though, it was sweet enough without it!
We ate half and I gave the other half to my neighbor who raved about it. A winner!
I had the pool of butter in the center of my topping too, and also it sank a bit. I agree perhaps it’s too much butter in the crumb top but it tastes soooo good! I used half white whole wheat flour which gave it a nice earthiness.
Caitlin, I also had a pool of butter in two of my three cakes. The first one I assembled didn’t have it, but the next two did. My theory is I left the crumb topping out of the refrigerator while I assembled the cakes and it wasn’t cold as it was for the first one so it actually separated before it could become crumby. I think the crumb topping needs to be cold when it goes in the oven so that it bakes rather than separating. This impacted when my cakes tested done since I was plunging the knife through an oozy crumb mixture at the center of the cake, so my second two cakes took much longer than the first to test done, but they ended up just a tad overbaked. Since the first cake used the crumb mixture cold out of the fridge, I think it was the temp of the crumb mixture.
I agree with Leslie- I think that refrigerating the crumb mixture until you put it in the oven is the key to avoiding the butter pool! I also noticed that though most of my cake look done at about 55 minutes the crumbs in the middle still looked wet- I went about 7 minutes more and the crumbs baked up perfectly!
Leslie & Emily Rose — sorry to poke a hole in your theory, but I took the crumbs out of the fridge, put them on the cake and put it straight into the oven — so they were cold. And I still got two small pools of butter. The cake underneath was a little mushy. Overall it still was delicious!
Hmmm…Barbara, I thought we were on to something. My crumb mixture sat out long enough for me to make three different versions of the recipe, but if yours didn’t, the puddling must be unrelated.
My second Blueberry Crumb Cake is in the oven right now. We love it! The first time I used fresh blueberries and this time I’m trying it with frozen. Can’t wait to see all of the crumb cakes tomorrow :)
I had the pool of butter too – actually more of a ribbon along one side (and btw my topping was straight from the fridge). It made it harder to judge doneness, but it didn’t hurt – actually, I think it just pushed that sweet streusely goodness down into the batter on that side. I thought this was a definite keeper!
About the pool of butter, my topping was straight from the refrigerator also. So, I am not sure that made a difference. It is really interesting reading all of the comments.
I *obviously* overprocessed my crumb topping because when I took it out of the fridge (after getting the cake batter in the pan) it was the consistency of peanut butter. UGH! I tried to add more flour to get it to be crumbles but nah, wasn’t happening. I’m too afraid to peek in the oven and see my beautiful disaster :(
I didn’t get a butter pool, but I reduced the butter a little. I also didn’t use the food processor because I was lazy, not sure if that makes a difference. When you compare flour and butter, there is a 1:1 ratio almost… it’s like brownie practically so maybe it’s too much butter like other people suggested.
Interesting… I got a small crevice with butter, but not bad really. I also didn’t use the food processor for the crumb. I used a pastry blender (less dirty dishes that way).
I had the pool of butter in the center, too. Also, I ended up baking it a lot longer so that it could set-up. I just put foil over the top to keep it from over-browning. It was delicious!
I’m not an official TWD baker – but this fit into my New Year’s resolution to bake every month. Aside from using every bowl in the house, it came out perfectly. It did take 72 minutes in my oven. I was manically careful about folding the blueberries into the batter – so didn’t break them all! I used my frozen blueberries that I had saved from last summer – they are still so plump. The cake is moist, speckled with blue and the perfect antidote to the thunderstorm. I love that the topping is not too sweet. And now I worry because my husband is out of town and I need to serve this to people…
In the oven right now…. Can’t wait to try it!
I just got some blueberries at the store. I chose Frozen bb this time, the fresh are still pretty pricey. Im excited for this recipe especially because we get to use lemon again!!
I’m so excited for this one, I’ve never made a crumb cake before. No blueberries.. maybe I’ll sub cranberries or frozen raspberries.
I almost used frozen wild blueberries, but I ended up with fresh blackberries and lime zest (both of which I had in the fridge). I baked a half recipe and used a smaller square pan (about 6″ per side). I usually toast my nuts before using them but I didn’t for this recipe – they’d have gotten too brown as the topping baked. The recipe is pretty straightforward, and we enjoyed the coffeecake.
I’m bummed I won’t be able to do this. We are going out of town for spring break and things are so crazed getting ready to go. But I will definitely be making this sometime over the summer!
Okay, so mine was not so good….. Guess why….
I forgot to add the sugar to the mixture… No idea what I was thinking. So, I’ll bake up a new batch tomorrow….
I used frozen cranberries and it was incredible. I tossed the frozen berries in a little sugar and lemon juice and let them sit in the fridge until I mixed them into the batter. Super good.
If you can stop eating the blueberries before they go into the batter, these are really, really good.
I made muffins instead of one cake – easier to pass around in the morning. Another great recipe!
THis looked good- I may bake it when I am back in the US. But my cookbook was a bit too heavy for the carryon!
I made this awhile ago (though can’t seem to find the pics i took)!
It was super easy and delicious.. too good.. very hard to not gobble up!
I made this a few weeks ago when–to my happy surprise–fresh blueberries were on sale…I did not have enough walnuts on hand but had tons of almonds so used an almond-walnut combo for topping–yum!
I loved this cake…I made it and the french yogurt cake around the same time…made for some great breakfast munchies over coffee!
This was soooo good, lol!! I baked it this morning and then took most of it to my mom’s office…had to get it out of my house!! Luckily I was able to find some fresh blueberries to use.
What do you change, baking time/temp wise, if you do muffins?
@Beth: I usually half baking time when making muffins out of a cake recipe, I don’t change the temperature. So far it worked every time….
rainbow brown– i love that idea! i have cranberries in the freezer, too.
I am currently in quite a blueberry haze. Since moving to New England, I can’t seem to get enough of Wyman’s blueberries. So much so that I now have a 3 lb. bag of them in the freezer from Costco. I can’t wait to make this.
This sounds great! I’ve had everything ready to go, can’t wait till this weekend!
I can’t wait to make this Sunday morning! ahhh nothing like a nice warm breakfast on sundays! yay…i can’t wait for the weekend!
Stupid question here: about how many muffins does the recipe make? I imagine you can just sprinkle the topping on top of each muffin too?
Second attempt was a success: the cake looks, smells and tastes delicious! Only one problem: all the blueberries have sunk to the bottom…. How can this be avoided?
This is a Five Star cake. It got raves at work. I made it with raspberries instead of blueberries. What a winner!
I also made muffins. 6 1/2 from my muffin pan. To intensify the blueberriness, some blueberries were crushed to release the juice. It added more moisture to the batter and needed about 5 more minutes of baking.
Marthe-Toss the blueberries with a little bit of flour. That should do the trick. This also works for other berries, chocolate chips and raisins..
juju: thanks for the advice, unfortunately I already did that since it was written in the recipe… :(
Also I used frozen blueberries, could that be the cause?
I made this earlier this week and it came out great. Simple and delicious. It was a hit in mine and the boyfriend’s office.
I halved the recipe and got 7 large muffins. I also substituted half whole wheat flour and mixed the topping with my fingers. They were a hit!
I’ve got a great idea if someone wants to try it. I got it after I made it and won’t have time to make it again. Here is my idea:
*slightly caramelize two diced (skins included) granny smith apples with 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Throw everything in a heavy bottom pan on medium heat and cook stirring occasionally until almost all the liquid is absorbed and apples are slightly caramelized. Set aside to cool.
Add to crumb cake recipe as directed for the blueberries.
Oh, I forgot to say that two apples would be good for a 1/2 of a recipe. Double everything for a full recipe.
This recipe is the best. I made it following the recipe exactly and it turned out perfect. The crumb topping is fantastic. I had a chunk with some cold vanilla ice cream and it was luscious. Don’t walk to make this one..RUN!
Marthe-I didn’t realize that the recipe called for tossing the blueberries with flour until just now. I’m sorry.
When I use frozen blueberries, I normally rinse them, pat them dry, then toss them with flour. Most of the time that keeps them from sinking.
Pinkstripes, the apple idea sounds sooooooo good! Pears, too… I’m inspired! I love sauteed/ caramelized apples. The next time you come by, I have a breakfast puff recipe that uses them.
My cake is in the oven right now. I love to use Wyman’s frozen wild blueberries too (the little ones), but I had some (big) frozen blueberries from when they first appeared in the store a month or so ago.
It’s interesting to me that this cake uses the same ingredients (different proportions) and the same exact mixing method as one of my favorite quick breads. I’m looking forward to comparing the flavors and textures.
Pinkstripes, you read my mind! I use this technique for apple pie after seeing it in the NYT a few years back. I’m planning on doing one with apples (though I bought Gala since they cook up softer) and one as written.
Me and my sister decided to make it on the weekend heheh :))
Marthe – I always save a few berries (tossed in flour) and add those to the top of the batter after it’s spread in the pan. Not sure if they stay there, but at least they *all* don’t end up towards the bottom.
Mike-That’s a fabulous idea! Thanks for the suggestion!
I made this yesterday and it’s already gone!! My whole family loved it! I can’t wait to try it with other berries- maybe cherries next time?!
Did anybody have a pool of butter in the center of theirs mid-bake? I did, and it went away after the full 65 min bake, but it still weirded me out. Smells awesome though.
I used frozen berries and made 16 cupcakes–easier to share. I must say these were the best blueberry crumb cakes I have ever eaten (and I have made and eaten plenty)! This will be my ‘go to’ blueberry recipe. I’m new at TWD, I jumped at the chance and joined on St. Pattys Day. I’m excited to be part of this great blogging/baking group.
Another idea for keeping the blueberries from all ending up on the bottom — after you’ve mixed the batter but before you’ve mixed in the blueberries, pour a little of the batter into the prepared pan and spread more or less evenly over the bottom. Then mix the blueberries into the rest of the batter and pour that in.
I just put mine in the oven. I ended up with very blue batter. I think I went wrong by mixing my frozen berries and flour and setting them aside (like the recipe says) before I made the batter. I should have gone with my first instinct of leaving them in the freezer until I needed them. Oh well, I’m sure the cake will still taste good.
I used peaches because blueberries and my stomach do not play well together. Definitely yummy!
Mine too had puddles of bubbly butter while baking. I also had to bake mine about 15 mins longer, it didn’t seem to want to set up, but it finally did. I kept some parchment over the top so it didn’t brown too much.
I’m thinking there is too much butter in this? The cake seemed moist with butter, but not to bad. Anyone else? I guess I’m used to more dry coffee cakes.
Caitlin – I had the same thing happen. I pulled it out since the edges seemed to be brown enough. I wonder if melting the butter to start with instead of just softening it would incorporate it a little better. If I was going to make this again, I would likely just reduce the amount of butter in the crumb topping.
Caitlin, I also had butter in a pool in the middle. Rachelle, the middle sank, but the sides seemed done. I guess I should have baked it longer. Mike and Barbara, good idea about distritubing the blueberries. Even though I tossed them with flour, they mostly ended up on the bottom and they were fresh and dry. I will try this recipe again, using less butter in the crumb topping.
My edges were getting pretty brown too and the middle wasn’t done. So I covered all the sides with foil and put it back in till the center was done. Perfect :) I also made a glaze from some blueberry juice and powdered sugar. MMMMM it didn’t need it though, it was sweet enough without it!
We ate half and I gave the other half to my neighbor who raved about it. A winner!
My edges were getting pretty brown too and the middle wasn’t done. So I covered all the sides with foil and put it back in till the center was done. Perfect :) I also made a glaze from some blueberry juice and powdered sugar. MMMMM it didn’t need it though, it was sweet enough without it!
We ate half and I gave the other half to my neighbor who raved about it. A winner!
I had the pool of butter in the center of my topping too, and also it sank a bit. I agree perhaps it’s too much butter in the crumb top but it tastes soooo good! I used half white whole wheat flour which gave it a nice earthiness.
I didn’t have any trouble with the pool of butter. ???
Caitlin, I also had a pool of butter in two of my three cakes. The first one I assembled didn’t have it, but the next two did. My theory is I left the crumb topping out of the refrigerator while I assembled the cakes and it wasn’t cold as it was for the first one so it actually separated before it could become crumby. I think the crumb topping needs to be cold when it goes in the oven so that it bakes rather than separating. This impacted when my cakes tested done since I was plunging the knife through an oozy crumb mixture at the center of the cake, so my second two cakes took much longer than the first to test done, but they ended up just a tad overbaked. Since the first cake used the crumb mixture cold out of the fridge, I think it was the temp of the crumb mixture.
I agree with Leslie- I think that refrigerating the crumb mixture until you put it in the oven is the key to avoiding the butter pool! I also noticed that though most of my cake look done at about 55 minutes the crumbs in the middle still looked wet- I went about 7 minutes more and the crumbs baked up perfectly!
Leslie & Emily Rose — sorry to poke a hole in your theory, but I took the crumbs out of the fridge, put them on the cake and put it straight into the oven — so they were cold. And I still got two small pools of butter. The cake underneath was a little mushy. Overall it still was delicious!
Come to think of it, I cut out a Tbsp of butter since I didn’t have enough. I can’t remember if it was in the topping or the cake itself…
I just pulled this out of the oven.
It smells great.
Hmmm…Barbara, I thought we were on to something. My crumb mixture sat out long enough for me to make three different versions of the recipe, but if yours didn’t, the puddling must be unrelated.
My second Blueberry Crumb Cake is in the oven right now. We love it! The first time I used fresh blueberries and this time I’m trying it with frozen. Can’t wait to see all of the crumb cakes tomorrow :)
just took mine out of the oven, smells and looks great!!!!
I had the pool of butter too – actually more of a ribbon along one side (and btw my topping was straight from the fridge). It made it harder to judge doneness, but it didn’t hurt – actually, I think it just pushed that sweet streusely goodness down into the batter on that side. I thought this was a definite keeper!
About the pool of butter, my topping was straight from the refrigerator also. So, I am not sure that made a difference. It is really interesting reading all of the comments.
Weird – I actually refrigerated the crumb topping before baking and still got the butter pool. Maybe it just felt like it, who knows.
I *obviously* overprocessed my crumb topping because when I took it out of the fridge (after getting the cake batter in the pan) it was the consistency of peanut butter. UGH! I tried to add more flour to get it to be crumbles but nah, wasn’t happening. I’m too afraid to peek in the oven and see my beautiful disaster :(
I didn’t get a butter pool, but I reduced the butter a little. I also didn’t use the food processor because I was lazy, not sure if that makes a difference. When you compare flour and butter, there is a 1:1 ratio almost… it’s like brownie practically so maybe it’s too much butter like other people suggested.
Barbara and mike: thanks for your suggestions! I will try this next time!
Interesting… I got a small crevice with butter, but not bad really. I also didn’t use the food processor for the crumb. I used a pastry blender (less dirty dishes that way).
I had the pool of butter in the center, too. Also, I ended up baking it a lot longer so that it could set-up. I just put foil over the top to keep it from over-browning. It was delicious!
I’m not an official TWD baker – but this fit into my New Year’s resolution to bake every month. Aside from using every bowl in the house, it came out perfectly. It did take 72 minutes in my oven. I was manically careful about folding the blueberries into the batter – so didn’t break them all! I used my frozen blueberries that I had saved from last summer – they are still so plump. The cake is moist, speckled with blue and the perfect antidote to the thunderstorm. I love that the topping is not too sweet. And now I worry because my husband is out of town and I need to serve this to people…
simple and delicious but messy to make!