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The Best Blueberry Coffee Cake with Greek Yogurt

Merritt Allen

The Best Blueberry Coffee Cake with Greek Yogurt

I often wake up on the weekend looking for a cozy breakfast that compliments my favorite thing in the world: coffee. Blueberry coffee cake with Greek Yogurt is an easy bake that not only goes with coffee, but actually gets tastier throughout the day! My homemade blueberry coffee cake recipe uses Greek yogurt to add flavor and a little extra richness. The Greek yogurt adds flavor and makes for a moist coffee cake. Combined with natural sweetness of delicious fresh blueberries, this coffee cake is one of my favorite baking recipes.

The best part is that its super easy to put together, bakes while you sip your coffee, and enhances any morning! Though coffee cake does not have any coffee in it, this delightful and flavorful blueberry coffee cake is topped with a cinnamon streusel that will pair with a big cup of your favorite coffee and is the perfect crumb topping. I hope you give this recipe for Greek Yogurt Blueberry Coffee Cake a Try!

Notes and Tips for Easy Blueberry Coffee Cake:

  • Homemade blueberry coffee cake with Greek Yogurt is really easy to bake since most of the ingredients come together in one bowl.

  • To increase my cakes richness, I beat the butter with my flour before adding the rest of the wet ingredients. This helps eliminate the possibility of overbeating which can happen if you melt the butter and mix it with the wet before adding it to the dry ingredients. This method is called the paste method or the reverse creaming method and it helps prevent tough cakes. You can read about the reverse creaming method on the Epicurious Website if you are interested in learning more! If you have a method for great cake, let me know in the comments below.

  • Make sure your egg, butter, and yogurt come to room temperature or very close to it. The most important ingredient is the butter, since it needs to be soft when mixed with the flour. You should be able to press into room temperature butter with your finger and leave an impression without pushing all the way through. This helps prevent flour flying everywhere when the butter is added.

  • Don’t skimp on the crumb topping! Coffee cake is delicious all on its own but the crumb topping is what really elevates it, adds flavor, and gives coffee cake that dense richness we all know and love. I put my crumb topping all on top because I like when its a really thick layer of butter and sugar, but you can also put it in the coffee cake batter so that you have a couple layers of this delicious topping.

  • Baking times will vary for cakes. Depending on the baking dish you use and your oven. Be sure to check your cake as it cooks by inserting a knife to check if your cake is still wet. Your cake is complete when the cake is stable, and only a few crumbs stick to the knife.

Common Questions Blueberry Coffee Cake:

What Does Adding Greek Yogurt to Coffee Do?

  • Adding Greek yogurt to your blueberry coffee cake adds moisture, richness, and flavor. I use full fat Greek yogurt for this coffee cake and it is an incredible addition.

  • The fat adds richness to the cake, in addition to a tangy flavor that milk does not always offer. If you do not have yogurt on hand, you can use sour cream or buttermilk. The sourness in those is how you get the tangy addition.

  • The acidity in yogurt will also help activate the baking soda, adding lift and air to your cake. This, combined with the reverse creaming method described above, makes an incredible cake.

What Fruit Goes In Coffee Cake?

  • Though blueberry coffee cake is my favorite, because I love fresh blueberries, You can add in different fruits that cater to taste or season.

  • Blackberries or raspberries are an easy fruit since they are similar in size. If you use blackberries, I recommend an extra half cup because they are larger than blueberries.

  • You can also leave blueberries or any berry out all together if you prefer. No berries leaves you with a tender and delicious cake that still tastes great and goes with a hot cup of coffee.

What Makes Coffee Cake Different From Other Cake?

  • The crumb topping is the signature for coffee cake. It is a combination of butter, flour, sugar, and spices.

  • The secret ingredient for my crumb topping is all in the spices. I add fresh cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and a dash of espresso powder. This is a similar topping to the one I make for an apple crisp. It is customizable depending on what spices you have on hand or what flavors you like! You can substitute in pumpkin pie spice, fresh cardamom, a little vanilla paste, or ginger. Let me know what you use in a custom crumb topping in the comments below!

  • Some coffee cake is drizzled with white icing but I prefer this breakfast cake without the icing since the crumb topping is very sweet.

Can You Freeze Fresh Baked Coffee Cake?

  • You can freeze coffee cake! Blueberry coffee cake freezes quite well. Wrap the baked coffee cake in parchment paper as tightly as you can and then place in a freezer safe container or Ziploc freezer bag. Store in the freezer for a couple of weeks.

  • To defrost, unwrap the cake and allow to defrost on a plate on top of the parchment paper. When ready to eat, pop in the microwave for 5-10 seconds and enjoy with coffee. If you have a whole coffee cake frozen, feel free to pop it in the oven on a baking dish for 10-15 minutes at 300F.

  • Make sure your blueberry coffee cake is completely cooled before freezing! If your cake is hot when you place it in the freezer, it will likely get freezer burn. This will happen because the heat will create condensation that will freeze into ice.

Can I Use Frozen Blueberries In Blueberry Coffee Cake?

  • Yes you can use frozen blueberries in blueberry coffee cake! Just toss the blueberries in frozen to the batter. Do not defrost before hand or your cake will be mushy!

Ingredients and Equipment for Blueberry Coffee Cake:

Recipe for Greek Yogurt Coffee Cake:

  • 1/2 cup butter (113g), very soft. Use unsalted butter since the recipe will add salt in later.
  • 1 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt, 230g Look for full fat greek yogurt. It will make the cake that much richer and delicious. Lower fat yogurt will work as well.
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 100g
  • 1 1/2 cup flour, 165 g all purpose, wheat, or even gluten free flour work.
  • 1 Tbs vanilla extract This seems like a lot of vanilla but it adds a ton of flavor!
  • 1 egg Egg is a binder for this coffee cake.
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda The baking soda and powder add lift to the cake.
  • 1/2 tsp salt Salt helps enhance the flavors of all the sweet! Use fine sea salt or iodized salt.
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries You can use frozen too. Do not defrost the blueberries before using or they will be super mushy!
  • 2 Tbs flour for blueberry coating. The flour helps prevent the blueberries from falling in the batter when the coffee cake cookes.

Recipe for Coffee Cake Crumb Topping

  • 1/2 cup butter 113 g butter, soft
  • 1 cup flour, 122 g flour You can use any type of flour here!
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, 75 g Light or dark brown sugar works. I prefer dark as it has more moisture and flavor.
  • 1 tsp cinnamom
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp clove
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Equipment:

  • Stand or hand held mixer. Though you can mix by hand, having of these will help!
  • Oven safe baking dish

How To Make Blueberry Coffee Cake With Greek Yogurt:

  1. Prepare the Blueberry Coffee Cake

    1. Preheat the oven to 375 F

    2. To a stand mixer, add half the butter and half the flour. Mix until combined. Add the other half of each and mix until you have a shaggy dough.

    3. Add the vanilla and egg, mix until combined.

    4. Add the yogurt, mix until combined

    5. Add the sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined

    6. In a separate bowl, add the blueberries and 2 Tbs of flour. Toss until the blueberries are coated with flour.

    7. Incorporate the blueberries with the batter

    8. Spread your batter evenly in an 8”x8” baking dish.

  2. Prepare the Crumb Topping

    1. To a bowl, add the flour, brown sugar, spices, and salt.

    2. Add your softened butter.

    3. Pinch with your hands until a sandy like mixture is formed.

    4. Add the crumb topping to the baking dish with your batter.

    5. Bake the coffee cake until the sides are browning and the cake no longer jiggles when checked, about 40-45 minutes.

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