Blackberry Coffee Cake Recipe

This simple blackberry coffee cake recipe is made with buttermilk, fresh blackberries, and an addictive pecan crumb topping. Soft, sweet, and full of fresh baked berry juices with a buttery crunch on top, this is a blackberry breakfast cake you’ll want every morning.

Despite being a California girl, born and raised, I actually strongly dislike the warm weather…except for the fact that it brings amazing fresh produce with it! I love berry season. I wait literally ALL YEAR for those first berries to strike the market, and eat them with abandon. Add them to a baked good, and I’m pretty much sold 100 percent.

This particular cake is just everything I love about coffee cake, tender and moist, with a crumbly sugary top. It’s made special by the bursts of tart-sweet berries that stud the top of the cake, hiding just below that crumb layer. While I make this whenever the craving strikes (often), this is also a perfect brunch for Mother’s day or another special occasion!

What is Coffee Cake?

As a kid I always thought coffee cake was cake made with coffee. Well here in the US, modern that is definitely not a rule. Back in the 17th century however, there were versions of sweet breads, eaten alongside coffee or tea, that did contain actual coffee flavor.

BUT, the origin of the name actually comes from coffee break tradition in Germany, where various of baked goods were had with their morning brew. Often these cakes were sweet yeast breads, but they eventually transformed into a cake with a streusal topping.

The modern US coffee cake includes a vast variety of flavors and preparations. Varieties now include fruit, nuts, and much more. Like this one!

Streusal Vs. Crumb TOpping

If we want to get technical, this particular recipe is a crumb topped cake, not a streusal topped cake.

• Streusal is traditionally a topping made with a ratio of sugar, butter, and flour (1:1:2) that results in a crumbling topping that bakes into almost a shortbread like cookie crust.
• Crumb toppings have a much higher ratio of sugar and butter, equal to if not more than the flour, resulting in a loose crumb like topping that crisps while baking.

But having a crumb topping doesn’t make it a crumb cake! A crumb cake is made up of mostly the crumb topping, while coffee cake has a much higher ratio of cake to crumb topping.

That being said what really matters is that you have a delicious cake and enjoy eating it, whatever you decide to call it.

The Ingredients

This blackberry breakfast cake will come together with just your basic cake ingredients, plus a few add ons.

• Flour – Just your regular all purpose for this one!
• Sugar – either cane or granulated white sugar
• Eggs – 2 large, room temperature eggs
• Butter – Unsalted, COLD butter. It’s essential that its as cold as possible.
• Baking powder + Baking soda – both chemical leavening agents create a lovely rise.
• Salt – Because salt goes in everything.
• Vanilla – Because it makes things taste good.
• Blackberries – Fresh, juicy, and sweet are ideal.
• Pecans – Be sure to use the unsalted variety for this!
• Buttermilk – Instead of the traditional sour cream of coffee cake, buttermilk (the kind made from milk and vinegar is totally fine!) keeps the cake moist and helps it rise.

What’s amazing? These ingredients go together a few remarkably simple steps.

How to Make BlackBerry Coffee Cake

I love crumb toppings. But when I’m baking, that extra step of making the crumb topping only happens half the time. Sometimes I just don’t want to dirty up the extra dishes!

Which is why I love, love, love this recipe. Your batter and crumb topping happen practically all at once, in one bowl!

1. First step, to simply dump and pulse! Add all your flour, sugar, baking soda and powder, and salt into a food processor. Pulse to blend, then add in all but 2 tablespoons of cold butter. Pulse until it resembles coarse crumbs the size of peas.
2. Dump all that out into a large bowl, then return one cup of it to the food processor. Add in the remaining butter and pecans, then pulse again, until the nuts are more or less broken down. No need to go crazy. Boom. Crumb topping made. Put it in a bowl in the fridge until you’re ready for it.
3. Add the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla to the flour mixture. Stir to combine, but don’t over-mix, there will be lumps. Pour that into a 9×13 baking dish.
4. Top with blackberries. If you have monster blackberries, cut them in half. Small ones can go on whole. (This is important, really large berries just sink straight to the bottom!)
5. Sprinkle your prepared crumb topping evenly over the top. Place in your preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes. That’s it!

Pro Tip: If you don’t have a food processor and want to do this by hand follow the same steps. First cut the 1/2 cup of butter into the flour mixture. Remove one cup, cut in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, and add in the nuts. You’ll have to chop the pecans by hand first, but it will work just fine!

FAQ’S

Enjoy Your Coffee Cake!

Go on, pour yourself a hot cup of coffee, and cut a nice piece of your sweet, delicious buttermilk, pecan, blackberry heaven. It’s gooey in all the right places, and crisp and caramelized in others.

It’s the perfect brunch cake, and easy to make, so dad’s or kids if you’re reading this, make this for mom on Mother’s day! Mom, if you’re reading this, print it out and leave it somewhere obvious ? They’ll get the hint.

I sincerely hope you enjoy this cake, both as a special treat and as a fun way to celebrate the arrival of berry season. Until next time, Happy Eating!

Other Cake recipes you may enjoy…

• Sicilian Whole Orange Cake
• Lemon Raspberry Ricotta Cake
• Rosemary Olive Oil Cake
• Chocolate Pear Cake
• Norwegian Apple Cake

Originially published 5/2/2019, Updated 4/16/2020