This sourdough blueberry crumb cake, made with sourdough discard, is the perfect breakfast treat. With an easy make-ahead topping, browned butter, and a rich sour cream base there’s no way you’ll pass on a second slice!
Cake for breakfast?! Yes please! Inspired by the classic coffee crumb cake recipe, this moist and tender sourdough version will enhance any breakfast, brunch or snacking situation. The blueberries add a delicious touch. If you love sourdough, cake (or both!) you’re gonna love this easy, sourdough discard recipe.
Sourdough Blueberry Crumb Cake: A Few Upgrades
At first, I wasn’t sure what direction to take this cake. Butter? Oil? Sour cream? Most crumb cake recipes are very similar and they all look SO good. But after several recipe tests, including one major flop I wish to eradicate from my memory, I’ve settled on the following 3 recipe upgrades.
- Salted Butter. If you’re not baking with salted butter, you’re really missing out. I’ve been using salted butter almost exclusively these days, and it makes all the difference in the world especially for cakes, frostings, and chocolate chip cookies. Also, for a nice touch, I like to lightly brown the butter before adding it to the batter. I did this by accident when first testing this recipe, and it was so yummy, I decided to keep it.
- Leftover Sourdough Starter (Discard). Baking with leftover sourdough discard (the stuff you remove and discard when when feeding it), is one of the best ways to get creative with something you’d otherwise throw away. As long as it’s been recently fed, smells yeasty (not like gym socks) and doesn’t have any dark liquid on top, it will add a wonderful depth of flavor to this crumb cake. Paired with tangy sour cream, the texture becomes rich and decadent too.
- Make-Ahead Crumble Topping. This is THE BEST time-saving tip: make and freeze your crumble topping ahead of time. Just take any crumble topping recipe (it doesn’t even have to be mine) and store the rubbly bits in a ziplock bag. Use directly from the freezer when ready to assemble desserts like apple crumbles, peach crisps, pies, cakes, etc. It will last in the freezer for several months and there’s no need to let the crumbles come to room temperature before using.
Tip: For best results, use leftover 100% hydration starter. This type of starter is fed with equal parts flour and water by weight, and has a consistency similar to thick pancake batter. If you need a sourdough starter, you can create one here (it takes about 7 days and up to two weeks).
My Thoughts On This Cake…
This sourdough blueberry crumb cake is sweet, fluffy, tangy, juicy…. and I’m telling you, that lightly browned salted butter is just to-die-for.
Also, fyi: the blueberries are mixed into the crumble topping, instead of folded throughout the batter. This way, they won’t sink to the bottom and you’ll get a burst of warm, blueberry goodness in every bite!
Finally, your best bet is to make this cake fresh and serve it on the same day. The prep takes about 15 minutes from start to finish, and the frozen make-ahead crumbles shaves off even more time.
Enjoy it for brunch, overnight guests, holiday gatherings, weekend treats- the list goes on!
More Sourdough Discard Recipes To Try!
- Best Sourdough Pancakes
- Ultimate Sourdough Banana Bread
- Homemade Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
- Secret Ingredient Sourdough Cornbread
- Best Sourdough Pasta {1 Hr. or Overnight}
- Crinkle-Top Sourdough Brownies
- Easy, No-Roll Sourdough Scones
- How To Make Sourdough Popovers
Sourdough Blueberry Crumb Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 55-65 minutes
- Total Time: 70-80 minutes
- Yield: One 8×8-inch cake
- Category: Sourdough Discard Recipes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This sourdough blueberry crumb cake is the perfect treat to make for brunch and weekend breakfasts. With an easy make-ahead topping, browned butter, and a rich sour cream base there’s no way you’ll pass on a second slice! Don’t forget to check out my notes below for best results. Enjoy!
Notes & Tips:
- For best results, use leftover 100% hydration starter. Its batter-like texture is the perfect match for this crumb cake. If you’re using a thicker, low hydration starter you will have to add more liquid to the cake batter, such as milk. Otherwise the cake might become too dry.
- Weigh your ingredients for best results! Alternatively, be sure to spoon and level the flour into measuring cups to avoid over packing, and thus a denser cake.
- When adding the crumble topping and blueberries, make sure to evenly cover the surface of the batter, especially the corners. Otherwise, the batter will puff up in certain spots, which could lead to uneven baking.
Ingredients
For the Blueberries
- 1 heaping cup of fresh blueberries
- Powdered sugar, plus more to serve
Crumble Topping
- 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- Rounded 1/2 tsp cinnamon (use 1 tsp for more flavor)
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 8 tbsp or 1 stick (113 g) salted butter, cut into small cubes, cold
Wet Ingredients
- 8 tbsp or 1 stick (113 g) salted butter
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup (120g) leftover sourdough starter discard (see note below)
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F/176 C. Lightly oil an 8×8-inch pan and line with parchment paper. Smooth the bottom and sides of the pan so the paper is flat.
- Add the blueberries to a small bowl. Sift a a tablespoon of powdered sugar over the top and gently toss to combine. This will prevent the berries from sinking into the cake. Set aside.
- To make the crumble topping, add all of the ingredients to a medium-sized bowl. Mix into crumbles using your hands. The butter should be well blended into to the flour; some larger pieces are OK. If using frozen crumble topping, remove it from the freezer now.
- In a small skillet, melt the butter until light golden brown around the edges (you are not fully browning the butter). This will only take a few minutes, but do not walk away from the pan- it will burn quickly! Set aside to cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, using a stand mixer, beat the sugar, egg, and sourdough starter on medium-low speed, about 1 minute. With the machine running, gradually pour in the warm melted butter.
- In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Add to the wet ingredients, and mix on low speed until just combined. You should still see specks of flour in the bowl; do not over mix. Add the sour cream and mix until smooth. This technique will give the cake a soft, velvety texture. The batter will be thick.
- Spoon the batter into the pan. In an even layer: scatter 1/2 of the crumbles over the top first, then layer 1/2 of the blueberries on top. Repeat to finish all of the crumbles and blueberries.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted (I use a dried piece of spaghetti). For me, 60 minutes is the sweet in a shiny metal pan. Please check at the 55 minute mark to see how things are going.
- Cool completely before serving.
- Dust with powdered sugar if you like, and cut into squares.
Comments
Sandra says
I bought your Artisan Sourdough Made Simple book. It is a great book, I am learning a lot, and your recipes are great. I started reading your posts today. I was pleased to see all of your goodies, with instructions and recipes. Do you have another book that includes these recipes?
Sarah says
How can I convert this to a fermented recipe (with active starter)? Thank you!
Jenn says
This was GORGEOUS and delicious! I browned the butter in a large saucier pan, then let it cool and mixed everything in the one pan. Also used 1.5 cups of frozen berries, rinsed, drained & tossed w a tablespoon of flour (was out of powdered sugar). Baked it in a metal pan for 55 minutes. People told me it was the best coffee cake they’ve ever had! Thank you for this recipe – adding it to my permanent collection. :)