Blueberry Kuchen – Lemony cake topped with blueberries, crumbs, a sugary glaze and crunchy almonds. With all that going on the blueberries are the star of the show making the cake moist and tender with their sweet juiciness.
Kuchen is German for cake – coffee cake traditionally made with yeast, fruit and nuts. This one takes an easier route using baking powder to rise instead.
The batter is made with flour, sugar, an egg, milk, melted butter and is flavored with lemon zest, cinnamon and vanilla extract. It may seem like there’s not enough batter but it rises high – the original recipe calls for a 9×13-inch pan – I used a 9×9-inch instead to make the cake a bit thicker.
The batter is spread in the pan and the blueberries are scattered on top followed by the crumbs made by combining sugar, flour and more melted butter.
It bakes up tall and smells like heaven when it comes out of the oven. Once cooled the cake is drizzled with a confectioners’ sugar glaze and a smattering of almonds.
It’s perfect with a cup of coffee or tea and for serving to company. One of those unforgettable cakes you will want to make over and over again both for it’s ease and deliciousness.
Blueberry Kuchen
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 1 + ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 + ½ teaspoons lemon zest just the yellow part not the white pith
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅔ cup milk
- ¼ cup butter melted and cooled
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries unthawed
- Topping:
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup butter melted
- Glaze:
- 1 cup Confectioners' sugar
- 2 - 3 teaspoons milk
- a dash of salt
- a handful of sliced almonds
Instructions
-
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x9-inch baking pan or line with parchment paper if you want to serve it on a platter.
Make the Cake:
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, salt and cinnamon.Add the milk, butter, egg and vanilla.Beat on low speed 2 - 3 minutes until smooth and well combined.Scrape it into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the blueberries over the batter.
Make the Topping:
- In a small bowl mix the sugar and flour together.Add the butter and combine with a fork until crumbly.Cover the blueberries with it.Bake 38 - 42 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean of batter - with blueberries on it is OK.Cool on a wire rack.
Make the Glaze:
- In a small bowl whisk the confectioners' sugar and enough milk together to form a thin glaze.Drizzle it over top of the cake and sprinkle with almonds.Cut into 12 squares. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.