Simple Blueberry Cake
Make this simple blueberry cake recipe! This blueberry cake is tender and delicious, loaded with blueberries, and not too sweet. It's perfect.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
This blueberry cake is my official summertime dessert. I hope it becomes yours, too. It’s tender, fully loaded with blueberries, and simple to make—no mixer required. It’s a dream!
This blueberry cake recipe is naturally sweetened with maple syrup, which makes it extra delicious. Thanks to the blueberries and maple syrup, it’s nicely sweet but not over the top. Some cakes are so sweet that they give me a stomachache, but this one is just right.
This cake will absolutely be a hit at your Fourth of July festivities. Serve it as a “snacking cake” or make it celebration-worthy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. I’ve even enjoyed a slice with yogurt for breakfast.
Blueberry Cake Recipe Development
To create this cake, I started with my Healthy Blueberry Muffins and adjusted the recipe until I arrived at a perfectly sweet cake. Since we started from a recipe that I know like the back of my hand, I’m able to offer adjustments to make this cake gluten free, dairy free or vegan. Check the recipe notes for those details.
To make the recipe taste like a true cake, I substituted melted butter for the coconut oil or olive oil. I also traded buttermilk for the Greek yogurt for a fluffier texture with the same nice tang.
I managed to triple the blueberries, too. You’ll need 3 cups (1 1/2 pints) total. I trust that you can polish off the leftover blueberries on your own!
Watch How to Make Simple Blueberry Cake
Blueberry Cake Tips
Pan options: This cake bakes beautifully in a standard 9-inch springform pan. You could also use a 9-inch cake pan. I imagine that you could bake the cake in an 8-inch square baker. Any time you’re changing the baking pan size suggested in a baked good recipe, keep an eye on the oven and pay more attention to the visual cues provided for doneness than the actual timing (your cake could be done a few minutes sooner or later than specified).
This recipe works with a variety of flours. My favorite is white whole wheat flour, which is a variety of whole wheat with a very mild flavor closer to all-purpose. Use regular whole wheat flour for a faintly nutty flavor and a slightly rustic texture. Otherwise, all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose blends work, too.
You can make this cake with fresh or frozen blueberries. Do not defrost frozen blueberries before using.
Toss the blueberries with a small amount of flour so they don’t sink to the bottom of the cake. The extra teaspoon of flour in the ingredients list is there for good reason.
Sprinkle raw sugar on top. Raw sugar, also known as turbinado sugar, makes the blueberries sparkle and adds a lightly crackly burst of sweetness on top. You can buy raw sugar in the sugar aisle of most grocery stores these days. Or, just grab a few extra raw sugar packets from your go-to coffee shop (I won’t tell).
More Berry Desserts to Enjoy
Just a few of many recipes with blueberries, strawberries and raspberries:
- Blueberry Almond Crisp
- Gluten-Free Almond Cake with Berries on Top
- Mixed Berry Crisp
- No-Bake Greek Yogurt Tart
- Roasted Berry and Honey Yogurt Popsicles
Please let me know how your cake turns out in the comments! I’m so eager to hear how you like it.
Simple Blueberry Cake
Make this simple blueberry cake recipe! This blueberry cake is tender and delicious, loaded with blueberries, and not too sweet. It’s naturally sweetened and whole grain as written, too (check recipe notes for more flour options). Recipe yields one 9-inch round cake, enough for 8 slices.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups plus 1 teaspoon white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup maple syrup or honey
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
- 2 eggs, preferably at room temperature
- ⅔ cup buttermilk*
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups blueberries, fresh (1 ½ pints) or frozen, divided
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (also called raw sugar), for sprinkling on top
- Optional serving suggestions: Vanilla ice cream, Greek yogurt or whipped cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the base of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper cut to fit inside. Butter the sides of the pan to prevent the cake from sticking.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ¾ cups of the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir them together with a whisk.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the maple syrup and butter and beat together with a whisk. Add the eggs and beat well, then add the buttermilk and vanilla. Mix well. (If the butter solidifies in contact with cold ingredients, gently warm the mixture in the microwave in 30 second bursts, then stir again.)
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a big spoon, just until combined (a few lumps are ok). In a small bowl, toss 2 cups of the blueberries with the remaining 1 teaspoon flour (this helps prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom). Gently fold the blueberries into the batter. The mixture will be thick, but don’t worry.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Distribute the remaining blueberries on top, focusing them more toward the center of the cake. Sprinkle the top of the blueberries with the turbinado sugar.
- Bake for 34 to 38 minutes, until the cake is golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (blueberry bits aside). Place the cake on a cooling rack to cool. Before releasing the springform sides, you might need to run a butter knife along the outer edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan.
- Serve as desired. Store leftover cake covered, at room temperature for 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Or, freeze leftover cake for up to 3 months.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my Healthy Blueberry Muffins.
*How to make buttermilk: Combine 2 teaspoons vinegar with ⅔ cup milk of choice (any milk will do). Let the mixture rest for 5 to 10 minutes before adding it to the other liquid ingredients.
Flour options: All-purpose flour and gluten-free all-purpose blends also work well here. I bet that you could use 2 ½ cups oat flour instead, but haven’t tried to be sure.
Change it up: Know that the cinnamon and turbinado sugar are technically optional. You could try this cake with raspberries or sliced strawberries in place of the blueberries. Instead of buttermilk, you could use 1 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream. For lemony cake, whisk the zest of 1 medium lemon (about ½ teaspoon), preferably organic, into the liquid ingredients.
Make it dairy free: Make your own buttermilk from your non-dairy milk of choice. Replace the butter with ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or mildly flavored extra-virgin olive oil, like California Olive Ranch.
Make it vegan: Follow dairy-free guidance above and substitute flax eggs for the regular eggs.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
yes, like the idea of Oat Flour
This is SO GOOD Your recipies are always at the top notch of flavor.
This blueberry cake is SO GOOD! I didn’t have any whole wheat flour so I had to substitute with some oat flour and a little bit of regular flour, but it worked!!
Great to hear, Jennifer!
Wish I knew what I did wrong. My cake cooked for 1 hr 15 minutes before I pulled it out. The center was no done and the edges were getting too well done. My cake was so dense that the middle didn’t cook. My oven temp is calibrated. Not sure where I goofed. (I tasted the outer part of the cake and it was very good!) Maybe next time I will try a bundt pan instead of the springform.
I’m sorry to hear that. How did you measure the flour? Did you use fresh or frozen blueberries?
I measured the typical way in a measuring cup and the blueberries were fresh.
Same thing happened to me, my cake was not done in the middle at all. I used frozen blueberries. I’m
So sad
Same here, springform pan, and the measurements are as done by the recipe, and the blueberries were fresh, not frozen.
My centre was gooey. I used fresh blueberries. In my opinion, use 2 cups of fresh blueberries and mix in. Do not use another cup of blueberries for the centre – skip that step all together. You can use a 9 inch Pyrex and it was cook nice on bottom rack. I threw out the centre, kept the rest of the cake and cut it into pieces to serve. Still tasted good.
Thank you for sharing, Renata!
I started to have the same result as others, cake cooking well on the outside but very raw in the middle. After about 20-25 min. I reduced the temp to 325 and used convection for about an extra half an hour of cooking time until it got to an internal temp of 195. After letting it rest for about an hour it was quite delicious!
Simply the best! Followed recipe to the ‘t’. The blueberries I had were huge so only used 2 cups. My pan was a touch less than 9”, more like 8. It was perfect! Grandkids new favourite! Thank you!
What are the ingreds in grams / ml?
As usual, Kate knocks this baked good out of the park! Perfect flavors, not too sweet, and very simple recipe. Others said it didn’t cook well – I didn’t find that, but I also used fresh blueberries so maybe the frozen ones affect the cooking. Thanks, Kate!!
We read through the comments and opted to try this recipe with only 2 cups of blueberries (1.5 cups for batter, 0.5 cups for topping). Frozen wild blueberries made things easy. We love this recipe and have already made it several times!
Can you give recipe on grams instead of cups please
Hi Barbara,
Thank youfor the suggestion. One of my long term goals is to update some of my baking recipes to include weight of ingredients.
Thankyou for your reply.
Could you email me the measurements for blueberry muffins in grams, as I am eager to make them as they are an healthy option.
Regards
Barbara
Excellent cake ! Everyone loved it
Always wonderful recipes. I was reading some of the comments. I always use a scale to measure ingredients for baking especially flour. There is a huge difference in measurement.
Never any issues using a scale for measurements.
Thanks Kate!
I made this gluten free with frozen blueberries and it was absolutely delicious! I put it in the oven for 38 minutes and it was still quite jiggly in the center, but after another 10 minutes, it was perfect. This will be my go-to dessert for sure!
I made this cake and it was absolutely delicious. I substituted 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil for the butter and added the lemon zest as recommended. The lemon zest really brightens the flavor. I have a question though… could I pour the batter into muffin tins rather than the springform pan? If so, for how long should I bake the muffins? Thanks
Hi Helen, I would start checking muffin tins at 20 minutes. I haven’t ever tried this as a muffin because I just make my favorite blueberry muffin recipe.
As always,
Great recipe!
Everything ive made of yours is quite right Thank you for sharing!
Absolutely perfect♥
Christine
Made this today. As others have said they had trouble getting the centre of their cake to cook, I decided to mix in 2 cups of blueberries as per the recipe. Then I just dotted some more over the top of the cake, and it worked out fine for me. It tasted amazing too! Thanks Kate, legendary yumminess! ❤️
This is a lovely cake, moist and not too sweet. I switched up a few things. I used 1 cup white wheat flour, and 3/4 cup light rye flour. I substituted sour cream for the buttermilk, substituted 4 Tbsp. olive oil for the butter, and used 2 cups frozen blueberries instead of three. I used a 9×5 loaf pan, which baked at 350 degrees for about 75 mins. Came out yummy. The turbinado sugar lends the best crunchy bite. Thank you.
This cake was delicious! My sons are all about the protein, so I used 2 T of plant butter and substituted 4 T of Greek yogurt and it baked beautifully in a 9 x 9 metal pan. I baked it for 29 minutes. I didn’t have turbinado sugar so I substituted with brown sugar and it was lovely. This will be my new go-to and so much easier than muffins! I enjoy your recipes very much, Kate – thank you for sharing them!
Hi Anne, thanks so much for sharing your adaptations and how they turned out.