Blueberry Cream Cheese Crumb Cake

This blueberry cream cheese crumb cake has a creamy filling, a whole pint of juicy berries, and a Buttery crumb topping. The sour-cream cake is soft, dense, and just sweet enough, making it perfect for breakfast or dessert. You’re going to love how special it feels without being fussy.

Why You’ll Love It

• Creamy berry center — a tangy cream cheese layer and a whole pint of blueberries run through the middle.
• Tender, not too sweet — sour cream keeps the cake moist with just the right amount of sweetness.
• Buttery crumb topping — cold butter creates crisp, pea-sized crumbs without overwhelming the cake.
• Feeds a crowd — the sturdy 9-by-13-inch cake gives you somewhere around 16 to 20 pieces.
• Make-ahead friendly — it keeps nicely in the refrigerator for several days.

Ingredient Notes

Use regular full-fat cream cheese here, the kind in the blocks. This is not the moment for whipped cream cheese in a tub, and I wouldn’t fool around with reduced-fat either. The filling needs that nice, substantial creaminess. Let the blocks soften a bit before beating them with the sugar, unless you enjoy chasing cream cheese lumps around a bowl with a spoon. I do not.

Fresh blueberries are what this cake calls for, and a pint is plenty, though I usually toss in a few extra if the carton is generous. Blueberries vary so much, don’t they? Some are sweet as can be, some taste like little purple marbles. If yours are particularly tart, the cream cheese and crumb topping balance them nicely.

The sour cream keeps the cake moist and gives it a little tang. Please use actual sour cream, not one of those things labeled “sour cream style.” I’m not trying to be difficult.

And the topping butter needs to be cold. Cold butter makes those little pea-sized crumbs that bake up crisp and lovely. I used softened butter once because I was distracted, and the topping turned into more of a paste. Still edible. Not ideal.

Ingredients

• 2 (8-ounce) blocks regular cream cheese, softened a little if you remember
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, for the filling
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, for the filling
• 1 large egg, for the filling
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar, for the cake batter
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, for the cake
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 pint fresh blueberries, or a little more if you’re feeling generous
• 3 tablespoons cold butter, for the crumb topping
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, for the crumb topping
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar, for the crumb topping

Instructions

Heat your oven to 350°F and grease a 9-by-13-inch pan well. I mean it—get into the corners. There is nothing more irritating than a beautiful cake that decides to leave half its bottom behind in the pan. Well, there are more irritating things, obviously, but you know what I mean.

Make the filling first. Beat the two blocks of cream cheese with the 1/2 cup sugar until creamy and smooth. Add the teaspoon of vanilla and the one egg, then beat again until it’s all combined. Set that bowl aside. Try not to “taste-test” too much of it with a spoon; raw egg and all that.

In another bowl, stir together the 3 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Nothing glamorous here. Just get it mixed so you don’t wind up with one salty bite later. That happened to me once with a biscuit recipe. Nobody mentioned it, which was kind, but I knew.

In a separate large bowl, cream the softened 1/2 cup butter with the 1 cup sugar. Add the 4 eggs and the remaining teaspoon vanilla, beating until the mixture is well combined. It may look a little less fluffy than a layer-cake batter. That’s fine. This is a sturdier cake, not a delicate little thing.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the sour cream, mixing until well blended. Start and end with the flour mixture if you can keep track—I sometimes don’t, and it has still turned out—but don’t beat the daylights out of it. Once the batter is smooth and combined, stop.

Spread half the cake batter into your greased pan. It’s Thick, so don’t expect it to pour itself neatly into the corners. Use an offset spatula, the back of a spoon, whatever you’ve got. I have a small rubber spatula; the handle is stained beyond redemption, but it still does the job.

Spoon the cream cheese filling over the batter and spread it gently into an even layer. You don’t have to get it perfectly to the edge. In fact, leaving the very edges a little clear helps keep the layers from doing anything too wild in the oven.

Scatter the fresh blueberries over the cream cheese layer. Use the whole pint. I usually use a few extra because blueberries shrink down some as they bake, and I like finding them in every slice. Then carefully cover everything with the remaining cake batter. This part can test your patience a little. Drop spoonfuls across the top, then connect them gently rather than dragging one huge gob from side to side and pulling up the filling beneath. Ask me how I know. Actually, don’t.

For the crumb topping, use a pastry blender to cut the 3 tablespoons cold butter into the 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar. Keep going until you have little crumbs about the size of small peas. Sprinkle them evenly over the cake. They don’t need to be identical. Homemade food is allowed to look homemade, despite what the internet would have us believe.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Start checking around 55 minutes with a toothpick in the center. You want it to come out without wet batter clinging to it. A little cream cheese or blueberry moisture is understandable, but no raw cake batter. And please—do not let the top get brown. It should stay fairly light. A browned top means it has likely baked too long, and this cake deserves better than being turned into a dry doorstop.

Let the cake cool before cutting. I know. This is the hardest part. Warm cake smells like a blue-ribbon county-fair kitchen. Give it time so the cream cheese layer can settle. Then cut yourself a square, preferably the corner piece with the extra crumbs.

Variations

A version with raspberries instead of blueberries is pretty, though raspberries are softer and more inclined to break apart, so the filling ends up a little pink. Pretty, but messier. More crumb topping also works well if you like enough crumbs to notice without covering the whole cake in gravel.

I tried using frozen blueberries once because I had a bag in the freezer and didn’t want to run to the store. The flavor was fine, but the berries released more moisture and the center took longer to set. Not a disaster, just not the same. For this particular cake, fresh blueberries are the way to go.

You could serve it plain, and usually I do. A little whipped cream alongside a dessert-size slice wouldn’t hurt anybody, though. Ice cream might be overdoing it. Then again, vanilla ice cream on a piece is annoyingly good.

Storage & Reheating

Because of the cream cheese filling, cover the cooled cake and keep it in the refrigerator. It will hold nicely for several days, though in my house “several days” is mostly theoretical. The slices are good cold, especially with Coffee in the morning, but I prefer taking a piece out and letting it sit on the counter for 15 or 20 minutes so the cake softens up a bit.

You can warm an individual slice very briefly in the microwave—just enough to take the chill off, maybe 10 to 15 seconds depending on your microwave. Don’t turn it into hot pudding. I did that to a leftover piece once while trying to answer an email at the same time, and the blueberries erupted like tiny lava pockets. Delicious lava, but still.

If you need to make it ahead, bake it, cool it completely, cover it, and refrigerate. It’s actually quite nice after chilling, when the filling has settled and the flavors have had time to mingle. The topping won’t be quite as crisp after refrigeration, but that is the price we pay for not eating an entire 9-by-13 cake standing at the counter.

Final Notes

Make it when blueberries look good, or because you happen to have cream cheese in the refrigerator and no interest in being sensible about it.

And if the first slice comes out a little messy—cream cheese smearing, berries rolling away, crumbs everywhere—well. That’s usually the best one anyway.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Crumb Cake

This Blueberry Cream Cheese Crumb Cake layers tender sour-cream cake with tangy cream cheese, fresh blueberries, and a buttery crumb topping. It’s special enough for dessert but cozy enough for breakfast or coffee.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 18 servings

Calories 370 kcal

Ingredients

  

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• 2 8-ounce blocks regular cream cheese softened a little
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar for the filling
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract for the filling
• 1 large egg for the filling
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar for the cake batter
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract for the cake
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 pint fresh blueberries or a little more if you’re feeling generous
• 3 tablespoons cold butter for the crumb topping
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour for the crumb topping
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar for the crumb topping

Instructions

 

• Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9-by-13-inch pan well, making sure to get into the corners.
• Beat the cream cheese with the 1/2 cup sugar until creamy and smooth, then add the vanilla and egg and beat until combined; set aside.
• In another bowl, stir together the 3 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly mixed.
• In a separate large bowl, cream the softened butter with the 1 cup sugar, then add the 4 eggs and remaining vanilla and beat until well combined.
• Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the sour cream, mixing just until smooth and well blended; do not overbeat.
• Spread half of the thick cake batter into the greased pan, using a spatula or the back of a spoon to move it into an even layer.
• Spoon the cream cheese filling over the batter and gently spread it into an even layer, leaving the very edges a little clear if desired.
• Scatter the fresh blueberries over the cream cheese layer, then carefully cover with the remaining cake batter by dropping spoonfuls across the top and gently connecting them.
• Use a pastry blender to cut the cold butter into the 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar until little crumbs about the size of small peas form, then sprinkle them evenly over the cake.
• Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, checking around 55 minutes with a toothpick in the center; it should come out without wet cake batter clinging to it, and the top should stay fairly light rather than browned.
• Let the cake cool before cutting so the cream cheese layer can settle, then slice into squares and serve.

Notes

Because of the cream cheese filling, cover the cooled cake and keep it in the refrigerator. It will hold nicely for several days; serve slices cold, let them sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes, or warm an individual slice briefly in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds just to take the chill off.

Nutrition

Calories: 370kcal

Keyword Blueberry Cream Cheese Crumb Cake, blueberry crumb cake, breakfast cake, cream cheese crumb cake, fresh blueberry cake, sour cream cake

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