Blueberry Tea Cake
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This blueberry tea cake is soft, fluffy, and bursting with blueberry flavor, thanks to a simple homemade blueberry swirl. Unlike cakes made with whole blueberries that sink to the bottom, this recipe ensures even distribution of full-bodied blueberry flavor for a perfect bite every time.
This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Bushel and Berry®.
Cakes have always been my specialty. I started my scratch-baking journey with towering layer cakes, learning everything I could about soft crumbs, balanced flavors, and that perfect, tender bite. Over my years of teaching people how to bake on the internet, I’ve taken that knowledge beyond traditional layer cakes, and this blueberry tea cake is a perfect example of applying that knowledge.
This recipe took a few rounds of testing, starting with whole blueberries baked right into the batter, much like my blueberry coffee cake and lemon blueberry cupcakes. But through trial (and plenty of taste testing), I found the best way to achieve a light, fluffy crumb while maximizing blueberry flavor: a simple and uncomplicated blueberry swirl. By macerating the berries with sugar and cooking the mixture down just a bit, we remove excess water, allowing the swirl to suspend beautifully in the batter instead of sinking to the bottom.
Just take care to follow the instructions closely for the best results! No one wants a layer of blueberry goo at the base of their cake. Instead, you’ll get a delicate, moist, and perfectly infused blueberry tea cake that’s just as lovely with your morning coffee as it is for an afternoon treat.
KEY INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED
In the recipe card below, you’ll find a complete list of the ingredients you’ll need to make this cake. Here are some highlights and ingredients to pay careful attention to.
BLUEBERRIES: you can use fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe. If using frozen, do not thaw before using. Thanks to Bushel and Berry®, I had fresh blueberries available to me. I particularly like this blueberry plant “Perpetua,” because it stays small enough to grow in a patio container and it will give you two crops of sweet and delicious blueberries! The first fruit will appear in mid-summer and again in the fall.
ROOM TEMPERATURE BUTTER & EGGS: room temperature is extremely important here for both ingredients as this will ensure your batter comes together smoothly. Overbeating or overmixing this batter will lead to a tough crumb. Cold/cool eggs will be harder to incorporate and may cause your batter to clump.
MILK: I prefer to use whole cow milk when I’m baking, but you can use any milk here that you prefer. Whole cow will give you the best full-bodied texture as it has a significant amount of fat in it.
HOW TO MAKE THIS EASY BLUEBERRY TEA CAKE
I found the best results in a 9″ round baking pan despite an 8″ round pan being my typical go-to for cakes. This blueberry cake will also work in a square pan (8″ or 9″), but you will want to pay careful attention to what’s happening in the oven so as not to overbake and dry out your cake.
MAKE THE BLUEBERRY SWIRL
This is really simple, and while I took notes from my strawberry compote, I didn’t want a super thick blueberry swirl, so the blueberry mixture you’re making here will be quite thin. This is on purpose!
Combine the ingredients: blueberries, sugar, and water. That’s it! Use a small saucepan and be prepared to stay with it for the next 10 or so minutes.
Cook the mixture: over medium heat, cook the mixture nice and slowly. Use a spoon, fork, or spatula to break the blueberries as they cook, ensuring that all of them are broken.
Since blueberries vary so much in size, taking care to mash each one is vital in the success of your final cake. This batter is light, so it won’t suspend larger blueberry chunks very well and those will sink to the bottom. Even in my own testing, I left some larger chunks in the cooked blueberry mixture just to know what the outcome would be, and they all wound up at the bottom of the cake.
Simmer the mixture: when all of the blueberries are broken and the mixture is starting to bubble, reduce the heat and allow it to simmer while stirring frequently.
Cool the mixture: you only need about 15 minutes for it to cool, just so it doesn’t cook the tea cake batter when you’re putting everything together.
MAKE THE TEA CAKE BATTER
Dry ingredients: always whisk together your dry ingredients before adding them to the wet ones to prevent pockets of leavener or salt.
Wet ingredients: cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs and vanilla.
Alternate dry ingredients + milk: alternating these ingredients ensures we don’t overload the batter with too much moisture or encourage it to clump up by adding too much dry mixture. This will lead to a silky smooth final batter.
Assemble the batter in the pan: half of the batter, two-thirds of the blueberry mixture, the rest of the batter, then the remaining third of the blueberries. Super simple! And don’t overthink it. This is meant to be creative and haphazard-looking.
Swirl + bake: give your batter a swirl with a butter knife to distribute that blueberry goodness all around, then bake! You’re looking for a mostly clean toothpick or cake tester to signify doneness. Don’t wait for it to be completely clean– your cake will be dry!
HOW TO SERVE BLUEBERRY TEA CAKE
While we enjoyed this cake as is, we also dusted some test cakes with powdered sugar which was a nice simple touch. You might also consider making some homemade whipped cream for an equally light complement. If you’re feeling saucy (no pun intended), you can make the blueberry sauce from this blueberry lemon cheesecake to serve on top.
Blueberry Tea Cake Recipe
Ingredients
BLUEBERRY SWIRL
- 1 cup fresh blueberries1 about 6 ounces
- 3 Tablespoons (38g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30mL) water
TEA CAKE
- 1 and ¾ cups (210g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120mL) milk2 room temperature
Instructions
BLUEBERRY SWIRL
- In a small saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, and water. Stir to combine, then heat over medium heat while stirring until juices start to seep out of the blueberries.1 cup fresh blueberries1, 3 Tablespoons (38g) granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons (30mL) water
- Use a spoon, fork, or spatula to break the blueberries as they cook, taking care that all of them are broken.
- Reduce the temperature to medium-low and continue cooking and stirring until the mixture is at a simmer. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes while stirring frequently as the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and allow mixture to cool for 15 minutes while you work on the cake batter.
TEA CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Grease and flour (or use homemade cake release) a 9" springform pan or my very favorite Fat Daddio's platform pan. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.1 and ¾ cups (210g) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy in texture (about 2-3 minutes).½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- Add the eggs one at a time, continuing to beat until combined. Add the vanilla, then beat again until fully incorporated. Turn off the mixer, then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a large spatula.2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Turn the mixer to low speed, then add the dry ingredients in 3 additions alternating with half of the milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.½ cup (120mL) milk2
- Stop the mixer when the last bit of flour has just been incorporated, then use a large spatula to gently fold the batter together until no flour pockets remain.
- Pour about half of the batter into the prepared pan, then drop dollops of about two-thirds of the cooled blueberry mixture onto the batter. Add the remaining half of the tea cake batter followed by the remaining third of the blueberry mixture, then use a butter knife to swirl the batter around in the pan.
- Bake the cake for 38-40 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Allow to cool completely before serving. Store leftovers covered tightly at room temperature up to 3 days or in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Cake freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
Notes
- Blueberries: you can also use frozen blueberries. No need to thaw.
- Milk: I prefer whole cow milk when baking, but you can use any milk here that you prefer.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.