Looking for an easy way to bake up some fabulous summer berries? It’s raspberry coffee cake with streusel topping for the win!
I’ll take a great breakfast cake over dessert any day, and this raspberry cake is a perfect illustration of why that is. Breakfast cakes are indulgent without feeling decadent, and I can enjoy my treats so much more when I don’t have to deal with the guilt. This recipe is based on a 50 year old Betty Crocker blueberry buckle recipe, so I guess you could call it a raspberry buckle…but whatever you call it, it’s the perfect simple summer cake for breakfast, bunch, snack, or tea time. It follows the age old tradition of combining fresh summer fruit with a simple cake batter.
You can’t go wrong with a buttery breakfast cake loaded with fresh (or frozen) raspberries.
Why I love this raspberry coffee cake recipe
- it’s an easy 2 bowl recipe (one for the cake, one for the streusel)
- it bakes up with a nice crackly crunchy top
- the inside is moist with a tender, loose crumb
- I love the background vanilla flavor with the tart raspberries
- there are just enough berries for great flavor without overpowering the cake
- the base cake is fabulous and could be varied a million ways
- it keeps beautifully for a few days on the counter
Fresh or frozen raspberries work in this breakfast cake
We picked our own raspberries this year, but because they’re so delicate, I flash freeze them so I can use them at my leisure without them spoiling on me. I just lay them on a baking sheet, put that directly in the freezer for about an hour or so until the berries are frozen, and then a slide them all into a heavy duty zip lock freezer bag. They stay perfect for months, although they never last that long. Note: if you use fresh raspberries they will break up a bit as you fold them into the batter, turning it pink. That’s fine, it will taste just as good!
Raspberry recipes to try:
- Easy Raspberry Galette
- Raspberry Apricot Rugelach Bars
- Perfect Black Raspberry Muffins
- Vanilla Cake with Raspberry Buttercream
The light streusel topping is one of my favorite things about this cake!
The topping really makes this cake extra special, it’s not a thick crumble, but just enough butter and sugar mixed with a little flour to give the top a sweet crunch.
Suggestions for variations
- If you happen to have other berries or summer fruit on hand, try those, too. I think chopped nectarines and blueberries would be a nice combo. Use cranberries or pears in fall. Use rhubarb in spring.
- Throw a handful of finely chopped nuts or rolled oats into the streusel mixture.
- Spice the batter or streusel (or both!) with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, or all three.
- Substitute almond extract for the vanilla; use 1 tsp. Add sliced almonds to the streusel.
- Make this a raspberry lemon coffee cake by adding the zest of one lemon to the batter.
- Bake in a 9 inch square baking pan.
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Raspberry Coffee Cake
Equipment
- 9 inch spring form pan (or other 9 inch round or square baking pan)
Ingredients
crumb topping
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 4 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
coffee cake
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 3/4 cup buttermilk,
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups frozen raspberries (don't thaw)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F Grease a 9 inch spring form pan. I like to wrap the bottom half of the pan tightly in foil to prevent any leaks. Place the pan on a baking sheet.
- Mix the streusel together in a small bowl, using your fingertips to work the butter in to the flour and sugar until the butter is evenly dispersed and the mixture is crumbly. You can also do this in your food processor, using the pulse button. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together for a couple of minutes until light and fluffy either in a stand mixer or by hand in a large bowl. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Beat in the egg until completely incorporated, scraping down the bowl again. Then beat in the buttermilk and extract. The mixture may look curdled, that's fine.
- Blend in the baking powder and salt, then fold in the flour. Finally fold in the frozen raspberries, stirring just enough to get them evenly distributed. Turn the batter into your prepared pan and smooth out evenly. Sprinkle the streusel over the top.
- Bake for about 55-60 minutes or until just beginning to turn golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without wet batter clinging to it (moist crumbs are fine.) Cover loosely with foil if it seems to be browning too quickly.
- Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then gently loosen and remove the sides. The cake can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
*This recipe is adapted from Betty Crocker
This is delish and I will make it again and again! I didn’t have buttermilk this time so used yogurt and made no other adjustments and it turned out great, maybe could have lessened bake time by a few minutes. Thanks for sharing, I’m so happy to have this recipe in my life!
I really love it when readers ‘adopt’ my recipes into their lives 🙂
I made the cake today & it turned out great. I made a mistake and used a 3/4 measuring cup instead of a 1 cup and it still was great – even with 1/2 C less flour. I also added the zest of one lemon for a bit of lemon flavor and that added to a great taste. To cut down on calories I didn’t add the crumb topping and instead sprinkled about 2 tbs of Turbinado sugar on the top of the cake before it went in the oven – this adds a bit of a nice crisp topping to the dessert. Great recipe – thank you!
Wondering if I can freeze this coffee cake and will it turn soggy?
Thank you!
It should freeze well Brooks.
You say, “Place the pan on a baking sheet” and so I assume you bake it on one too? Please confirm/explain…have my first one in the oven right now!
I put it on a baking sheet as insurance against leaks, I always do it with my springform pan.
You say this keeps for a few days on the counter but how do you store it? Testing this out for myself first before baking it for our dear friends celebrating their 40th Ruby Wedding Anniversary…thought the raspberries would taste better than rubies !!!
Can I replace the buttermilk with sour cream, or would that make it too thick? I love sour cream in my cakes. Would I need to add a little buttermilk for added moisture. Thanks very much. Want to make ASAP, yummy!!!
Yes, you can use sour cream, and I would tend to thin it down just a bit, with milk, or whatever you have. Buttermilk would work too.
Hi Sue I made this cake yesterday and although it tastes quite good it isn’t as light as yours looks. The batter was very thick and raspberries therefore hard to fold in gently. I had terrible trouble trying to convert the buttermilk into grams- every web page was different. I ended up using 175 g in the end, maybe that wasn’t enough. Same problem with the raspberries but just used about 225 g in the end.
I’d be very interested to know what quantities you used.
Thanks for the lovely recipes
UK Jan
I’m trying to add weights to my recipes these days Jan, but for an older one I’d have to rely on conversion charts. Remember this cake is a coffee cake, so not meant to be super fluffy. The batter is definitely somewhat thick, but I used frozen raspberries so they held up. If your raspberries are fresh I would recommend freezing them so they hold up better.