This fabulous tasting Blueberry Swirl Coffee Cake recipe combines a warm and fluffy coffee cake with a homemade blueberry pie filling that baked to a nice golden brown. Serve it warm with a simple glaze drizzled over the top and you got yourself the perfect breakfast, brunch, or after dinner treat!
Table of Contents
- 5 Reasons Why You Need This Coffee Cake in your life
- How to Make Blueberry Swirl Coffee Cake
- Let's Make Homemade Blueberry Pie Filling
- Why Do You Blanch Blueberries Before Adding Them to the Pie Filling?
- How Long Will This Homemade Blueberry Pie Filling Keep?
- What Baking Tools Are Needed?
- Blueberry Coffee Cake FAQs
- More Breakfast Treats to Try!
5 Reasons Why You Need This Coffee Cake in your life
- It's easy to make!
- The coffee cake is light and fluffy with flavors of vanilla and almond in each bite. So good!
- The homemade blueberry pie filling's fresh taste and texture is wonderful thanks to the beautifully plump blueberries! And nothing beats the smell of blueberries in the oven!
- Adding the drizzled simple glaze to the top brings all the flavors together nicely!
- It's really, REALLY good served warm!
Coffee cakes in general to me are just a great treat to make for when company is coming over or if you have family in town for the weekend!
Coffee cakes in general to me are just a great treat to make for when company is coming over or if you have family in town for the weekend!
How to Make Blueberry Swirl Coffee Cake
Let's do a quick run through on how to make this super easy blueberry swirl coffee cake recipe.
Whisk the dry ingredients. This includes the all-purpose flour and baking powder.
Beat the wet ingredients next. Start with the unsalted butter and vegetable shortening. Then add the granulated sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and finally the eggs.
Combine the dry and wet together. The final step is to gradually add in the whisked dry ingredients with the wet, mixing together until just combined. Do not over mix the cake batter.
Alternate between the batter and filling. Using a spoon, add ⅔ of the coffee cake batter into the bottom of the prepared 13 inch x 9 inch pan. Then add all of the homemade blueberry pie filling. The final step is adding the remaining coffee cake batter by the spoonful over the top.
Bake the blueberry swirl coffee cake. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350ºF or until the top of the coffee cake spoonfuls are a nice light golden brown.
Make the glaze. While the coffee cake begins to cool, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk. You can use any dairy type of milk. I used 1%. Immediately drizzle it over the top of the coffee cake and serve!
Like I said, it's super easy!
Let's Make Homemade Blueberry Pie Filling
I absolutely love making pie fillings! Ever since I made my Homemade Cherry Pie, I've been hooked! This pie filling recipe requires only 5 ingredients, isn't overly sweet, and takes roughly 15 minutes to make. The only hard part is waiting for it to cool down!
Blanch the blueberries. An important step that should not be skipped. After this is done, drain the blueberries and keep them warm in a bowl covered with a towel.
Make the filling. It takes roughly 7-8 minutes to see the sugar fully dissolve and the clear jel to thicken into the filling.
Add in the blanched blueberries. Once done, remove the pan from the heat, and add in the blanched blueberries. Stir it all together, then spoon it into a large bowl (preferably glass) to cool completely. It takes anywhere from 2-3 hours to cool the pie filling down.
Why Do You Blanch Blueberries Before Adding Them to the Pie Filling?
I just need to mention first that blanching the blueberries does not mean you are cooking them. Blanching is boiling the fruit at a high temperature to stop the enzymes from causing the flavors to break down.
How Long Will This Homemade Blueberry Pie Filling Keep?
If kept in a tightly sealed container, this homemade blueberry pie filling will last up to a week in the refrigerator. If you're into canning, you can can this pie filling as well!
What Baking Tools Are Needed?
For the homemade blueberry pie filling, you'll need:
- Large saute pan or sauce pan
- Slotted spoon or colander
- Medium-size bowl
- Clean, kitchen towel
For the coffee cake, you'll need:
- 13 inch x 9 inch baking pan. I love using my Nordic Ware pan because it also comes with a lid.
- Flour-based baking spray. I will forever swear by Baker's Joy!
- Hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment
- Whisk, spatula, and spoon
For the simple glaze, you'll need:
- Medium-size bowl
- Whisk
Blueberry Coffee Cake FAQs
You will need a 13 inch x 9 inch baking pan.
Mix 1 cup (or 120 grams) of powdered sugar with 2-3 tablespoons of milk, then whisk together. Pour over the top of the warm coffee cake.
27 ounces
Yes, absolutely! You can even try a cherry, peach, or raspberry pie filling in instead too. Store-bought pie fillings are typically in 21 ounce cans. You can choose to use just 1, 21 ounce can for this recipe, or—for a little extra filling—you can buy two cans and use ¼ cup of the second can.
The best way is to keep it stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. The blueberry pie filling will last up to one week. If you're into canning, you can can this pie filling instead.
This coffee cake recipe yields approximately 12 slices or squares. You can cut them smaller, if you prefer.
To cool completely, which is best for this recipe, will take 2-3 hours.
Yes. It's important to do this step because it will stop the enzymes from causing the flavors to break down.
No they are not the same thing and should not be used as a substitute for this recipe. Clear Jel has little to no after taste compared to other corn starches, and does a great job of thickening the pie filling and keeping the juices clear. If you plan to use this recipe for canning, the USDA recommends using this over other thickeners.
No. I actually get this question quite a bit whenever I post my Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Coffee Cake to Instagram. With today's recipes, most people just enjoy eating coffee cake along with a good cup of coffee.
More Breakfast Treats to Try!
- 5 Ingredient Butterscotch Bundt Rolls
- Lemon Blueberry Streusel Muffins
- Homemade Sticky Buns from Scratch
- S'more Rolls
- Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Blueberry Swirl Coffee Cake
Author:Ingredients
homemade blueberry pie filling
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- ¼ cup Clear Jel
- 1 ¼ cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 5 cups Fresh Blueberries (rinsed and blanched)
coffee cake
- 3 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
- ½ cup Vegetable Shortening
- 1 ½ cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
- 4 Large Eggs (room temperature)
simple glaze
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 2-3 tablespoon Milk (any dairy type, I used 1%)
Instructions
homemade blueberry pie filling
- Wash the blueberries in a large colander then place them in a large pot of boiling water. Once the water returns to a boil, immediately turn off the heat.5 cups Fresh Blueberries
- Remove the blueberries with a slotted spoon, placing them in a bowl covered with a clean kitchen towel to stay warm. Alternatively, you can run the blanched blueberries through the same colander to drain the juices, then place in a bowl and cover to keep warm.
- In a large saute or sauce pan, combine the granulated sugar, Clear Jel, water, and lemon juice, stirring constantly over medium heat until the granulated sugar and Clear Jel dissolves.1 cup Granulated Sugar, ¼ cup Clear Jel, 1 ¼ cup Water, 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- Continue to stir until the mixture thickens and turns into the clear-like gel filling, about 7-8 minutes.
- Remove from heat, then add in the blanched blueberries, stirring until fully mixed.
- Place the blueberry filling in a medium-size bowl (preferably glass) to cool completely before using in the coffee cake. If not using right away, still cool completely, then place in a tightly sealed container, and refrigerate it for up to a week.
coffee cake
- Adjust your oven to the 2nd level position (just above center) and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Generously spray a 13 inch x 9 inch baking pan with a flour-based baking spray. You may wish to also add a parchment paper sleeve to the pan as well. If adding, lightly respray the top before adding the batter.
- In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and baking powder. Set to the side.3 cups All-Purpose Flour, 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- Using your hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the unsalted butter and vegetable shortening on medium-high speed until well smooth and creamy.½ cup Unsalted Butter, ½ cup Vegetable Shortening
- Add in the granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Then add in the eggs.1 ½ cups Granulated Sugar, 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 1 teaspoon Almond Extract, 4 Large Eggs
- Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually adding in the whisked dry ingredients until just combined. Be careful not to over mix the batter.
- Spread ⅔ of the batter into the bottom of the prepared 13 inch x 9 inch baking pan, reserving the rest for the topping.
- Top with the homemade blueberry pie filling, then drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter over the top.
- Place in the oven and bake for 43-45 minutes at 350ºF or until the top is a light golden brown.
- While the coffee cake is still warm, drizzle with the simple glaze.
simple glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk.1 cup Powdered Sugar, 2-3 tablespoon Milk
- Drizzle over the warm blueberry swirl coffee cake, cut into squares, and enjoy!
Kathy says
This is a great coffee cake recipe because it’s a thick batter as it should be!
As I was spreading the batter for the bottom portion I thought somethings wrong? Its very thin, but I went on with the recipe and I only used 2 cups of the blueberry jam, just enough to coat the bottom then added the remaining batter on top. Of course I want to use this jam in other recipes or on toast.
Also, the clear jel is just tapioca starch or flour sometimes called and it worked out great. No need to buy another ingredient.
As it bakes the baking powder makes it really puffy and doubles/triples in size so don’t worry about the bottom layer.
Turned out terrific! Great job Jennifer!
Jennifer says
Thank you for making it and for the feedback!❤️