Blueberry Muffin Cake

Mama arrived Wednesday afternoon for her two-week summer visit with Brayden. She is staying at the apartment with us. Brayden is now twelve weeks old, smiling consistently, holding his head up, and just starting to track moving objects with his eyes. Mama held him on the couch for the first six straight hours after she arrived without standing up except for the bathroom, and Brayden slept on her chest for most of those hours.

The household has been a rotation of grandparents and aunts since Brayden was born — the apartment has had Mama (twice), Dustin’s parents (once for ten days), and Aunt Linda (a long weekend) all visit in alternating waves. The pattern has worked out to roughly one grandparent in residence every two to three weeks since the birth, which has given Dustin and me coverage to do the new-parent work without falling apart from exhaustion.

Sunday I made blueberry muffin cake because Mama had requested it Saturday afternoon and Carol’s box has a recipe for blueberry muffin cake from 1984 that I had not yet made. The card was titled “Blueberry Muffin Cake — Carol's brunch” and was dated June 1984, when Carol had been hosting a brunch for one of Linda’s high-school graduations. Mama remembers the brunch.

The cake is structurally a giant muffin baked in a square pan with a streusel-and-cinnamon top — the texture is between a coffee cake and a giant blueberry muffin, with the same tender-soft crumb of a real bakery muffin scaled up.

The technique: in a large bowl, whisk two cups of all-purpose flour, two and a half teaspoons of baking powder, a half-teaspoon of baking soda, a half-teaspoon of salt. In a separate bowl, beat half a cup of softened butter with one cup of sugar for three minutes until pale and fluffy; add two eggs one at a time, a teaspoon of vanilla, three-quarters cup of buttermilk, the zest of one lemon. Whisk the wet into the dry until just combined. Fold in two cups of fresh blueberries dusted lightly with a tablespoon of flour (the flour-dust prevents the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the cake during the bake).

Pour the batter into a buttered nine-inch square pan. The streusel topping: a half-cup of brown sugar, a half-cup of all-purpose flour, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a quarter-cup of cold cubed butter. Worked together with fingertips into clumpy crumbles. Sprinkled generously over the batter.

Bake at three-seventy-five for forty-five minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool fifteen minutes before serving warm.

Mama and I ate cake at four PM Sunday with coffee while Brayden slept in the bouncer chair. The cake was Carol-perfect.

Flour-dust the blueberries. Streusel top. Three-seventy-five for forty-five. Here’s the build.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 12

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup whole milk
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon flour (for tossing blueberries)

Streusel Topping

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan or springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Make the streusel. In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in the cold butter with a fork or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside in the refrigerator.
Whisk dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat softened butter and 3/4 cup sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract.
Combine wet and dry. Add the sour cream and milk to the butter mixture and stir to combine. Fold in the dry ingredients until just incorporated — do not overmix.
Fold in blueberries. Toss the blueberries with 1 tablespoon flour, then gently fold them into the batter.
Assemble and bake. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the chilled streusel topping evenly over the surface. Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden.
Cool and serve. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Blueberry Muffin Cake