This Blueberry Streusel Cake is one of my all time favorites! It has a dense vanilla cake filled with layers of blueberries, a cinnamon-sugar swirl, and topped with a delicious streusel. I classified this as a dessert but honestly, this cake tastes amazing any time of day! It works for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dessert, and as a snack. You can serve it warm or chilled – it is just that good.
In order to make this cake, you will need a tube pan. My favorite time to make this is during peak blueberry season but this cake is fabulous any time of the year. You can even use frozen blueberries too. (See a tip for using frozen blueberries later in this post.) When creating this recipe, I drew my inspiration from our Jewish Apple Cake. In our apple cake, we use orange juice in the batter. For this recipe, you can either use orange juice or fresh apple cider, if it is available to you. We are surrounded by many apple farms and they produce the most wonderful fresh apple cider. When it is in-season, I love to use it in this cake for the added warmth from the spices.
Blueberry Streusel Cake Ingredients
Let’s take a closer look at the ingredients that make up this delicious cake.
Flour
I use King Arthur flour for all of my baking needs. (Not an affiliate – just really like their flour!) This specific all-purpose flour has a higher protein percentage (11.7%) than most other brands. A higher protein percentage equates to a stronger flour. All-purpose flour serves a wide variety of baking needs from cakes to pies to some breads.
Granulated Sugar
We use granulated sugar in this cake to not only add sweetness but to tenderize as well. When sugar is added, it results in the flour and eggs forming weaker bonds which produces a more tender cake crumb.
Baking Powder
Baking powder serves as a leavening agent.
Vegetable Oil
Vegetable oil adds moisture to the cake evenly. A cake made with this oil will also stay moister longer than one made with butter.
Eggs
Eggs are important because they give your cake structure.
Fresh Apple Cider or Orange Juice
Orange juice adds moisture and brightens the cake. If in-season, I like to use fresh apple cider in place of the orange juice. The cider gives the cake an added warmth from the spices.
Blueberries
I prefer to use fresh blueberries if possible but frozen blueberries will work too. (See a tip for using frozen blueberries later in this post.) We use blueberries both in the batter and in between the cake layers.
Cinnamon and Sugar
Cinnamon and sugar help to enhance the natural flavor of apples.
Streusel Topping
We use butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and all-purpose flour in the streusel topping.
Can I Use Frozen Blueberries in Blueberry Streusel Cake?
Yes! While we always prefer to use fresh blueberries, sometimes they are just not available. Frozen blueberries will definitely work. Here’s a little tip to prevent the frozen berries from turning your cake a strange bluish-green color. Take them straight from the freezer and rinse them under cold water several times until the water draining from them is no longer dark blue. Then, dry the blueberries well with paper towels and fold into your batter carefully so as to not squish them. Take care to not over-mix or they may start to bleed into the batter.
How to Make Blueberry Streusel Cake
We have detailed instructions in the recipe that follows but this is a brief overview of how to make this delicious cake.
Cake Batter
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add oil and cider/orange juice. Mix until just combined. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Fold in 1 ½ cups blueberries (that have been tossed with 1 Tbsp flour).
Layers of Blueberries
For the blueberries that are layered in between the cake batter, toss with 1 Tbsp flour. In a separate bowl, mix together 5 Tbsp sugar and 3 tsp cinnamon. This will get sprinkled over the blueberries when we assemble the cake.
Streusel Topping
In a medium bowl, combine 6 Tbsp butter, brown sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon until thoroughly mixed and crumbly. I use a fork to mix this.
Assembly
Spread one third of batter in a greased tube pan. Add one third of blueberries on top of batter. Sprinkle half the cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of blueberries. Spread another one third of batter, then blueberries, and remaining half of cinnamon/sugar mix. Add last third of batter and blueberries. Sprinkle streusel over top. (Please note: When adding batter over blueberries, the batter will not fully cover the blueberries and that is ok. Do your best to evenly distribute the batter between layers. It will fill in as it is baking.)
Bake
Bake for 60-90 minutes. (Mine takes 85 minutes.) Let cake cool before removing from the pan. This cake stores well (covered) at room temperature for 3 days or for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Removing a Cake from a Tube Pan
It can be a little tricky removing a cake from a tube pan. This is the method I find works for me.
- Let the cake cool for either 20 minutes or completely (if I’m in a rush, I only wait 20 minutes to speed the cooling process up). Carefully, run a knife along the outside edge of the pan (the sides of the cake). Gently, lift the cake out using the tube portion of the pan. Let the cake now cool completely (several hours).
- After cake has cooled, carefully run a knife down around the tube portion of the cake and the bottom of the pan. Using your hands, gently lift the cake off the tube pan and place onto a serving plate. You may need someone else to help you with this. Alternatively, you can place a piece of parchment paper (with a hole cut out in the center to fit on the tube) over the top of the cake. Say a prayer (ha) and invert the cake onto your hands (carefully), remove the tube pan, and then place back down right side up onto serving plate.
Tips
- Measure correctly – I highly recommend using a kitchen scale when baking. Because baking measurements need to be exact, using a scale helps to measure as precisely as possible. It quite honestly was a complete game changer for me when I first started using one! I would be lost without it now.
- Room temperature is important! When certain ingredients (eggs, cream cheese, butter, etc.) are listed as room temperature, there are scientific reasons behind this. At room temperature, these ingredients blend together better and result in a smoother batter. Ultimately, you will end up with a better final product!
- Over-mixing – Take care to not over-mix the cake batter. When batter is mixed too much, the cake may be dense and tough.
- Frozen blueberries – If using frozen blueberries, use them straight from the freezer, rinse well with cold water, and pat dry. This will help to prevent your batter from changing color.
My Preferred Tools
You may already have many of these items in your kitchen. I recommend the following for this recipe:
- Kitchen Scale – precisely measure ingredients
- Stand Mixer – to mix batter
- Tube Pan – to bake cake
- Cooling Racks – to cool cake and dishwasher friendly!!
If You Liked This Recipe, Try Our
Blueberry Streusel Cake
This Blueberry Streusel Cake is one of my all time favorites! It has a dense vanilla cake filled with layers of blueberries, a cinnamon-sugar swirl, and topped with a delicious streusel.
Ingredients
- CAKE:
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (396 g) granulated sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup apple cider or orange juice
- 4 eggs, room temp
- 1 ½ cups blueberries, tossed with 1 Tbsp flour
- BLUEBERRIES:
- 1 ½ cups blueberries, tossed with 1 Tbsp flour
- 5 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 3 tsp cinnamon
- STREUSEL TOPPING:
- 6 Tbsp salted butter, softened
- ½ cup (107 g) brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Directions
- Step 1 PREP: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a tube pan with melted vegetable shortening or spray with Pam Baking Spray (with flour). Set aside.
- Step 2 CAKE: In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add oil and cider/orange juice. Mix until just combined. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Fold in 1 ½ cups blueberries (that have been tossed with 1 Tbsp flour).
- Step 3 BLUEBERRIES: For the blueberries that are layered in between the cake batter, toss with 1 Tbsp flour. In separate bowl, mix together 5 Tbsp sugar and 3 tsp cinnamon.
- Step 4 STREUSEL: In a medium bowl, combine 6 Tbsp butter, brown sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon until thoroughly mixed and crumbly.
- Step 5 ASSEMBLY: Spread one third of batter in greased tube pan. Add one third of blueberries on top of batter. Sprinkle half the cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of blueberries. Spread another one third of batter, then blueberries, and remaining half of cinnamon/sugar mix. Add last third of batter and blueberries. Sprinkle streusel over top. (Please note: When adding batter over blueberries, the batter will not fully cover the blueberries and that is ok. Do your best to evenly distribute the batter between layers. It will fill in as it is baking.)
- Step 6 BAKE: Bake for 60-90 minutes. (Mine takes 85 minutes.) Let cake cool before removing from the pan. (See article above for details about removing from the pan.)
- Step 7 STORAGE: This cake stores well (covered) at room temperature for 3 days or for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
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