This recipe contest winner is a lighter version of coffee cake with a surprising twist of flavors. Give this Healthy Blueberry Coffee Cake a try when you need a home run recipe for brunch.
When I first began Make Healthy Easy in 2015, I entered a lot of recipe contests. I was looking for both inspiration and quite frankly, money, to get this website off the ground. It was a fun time of chasing inspiration and unique ingredients and I happen to have won, not one, but four contests along the way.
One of the contests I stumbled upon was a challenge to pair blueberries with an uncommon flavor pairing. I chose bananas and mascarpone cheese and dreamed of a healthy blueberry coffee cake that brought all of these flavors together. I came up with this Healthy Blueberry Coffee Cake and it was a grand prize winner in the Blueberries Meet their Match recipe contest. It's definitely one of my all-time favorite recipes I've created.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need for this blueberry buttermilk coffee cake recipe:
- unsalted butter
- sugar
- honey
- bananas
- vanilla extract
- large eggs
- all purpose flour
- whole wheat pastry flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- buttermilk
- frozen or fresh blueberries
- mascarpone cheese (the secret weapon)
- powdered sugar
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Key Ingredients
When creating baked goods for MHE, I often use whole wheat flour to make it a little bit healthier by increasing nutrients like fiber. There's also some honey in this recipe to enable using a little less sugar.
The end result is a healthy blueberry coffee cake that tastes like what would happen if banana bread, cheese danish, and blueberry pancakes all got together (but healthed-up a little). It's the perfect combination of flavors, moistness, and just the right amount of sweetness. For another brunch recipe made with fresh berries, try my Cabernet Berry Compot
This easy coffee cake bakes for about an hour which gives it slightly crispy edges and a super moist center. Oh, and of course, being filled with juicy blueberries and bananas adds great nutritional value and fiber. It's a winner in every way.
One of my favorite parts is the mascarpone cheese that is swirled into the cake batter, ensuring each piece is marbled with cheesy goodness.
Equipment
A hand mixer or stand mixer is the only special equipment you'll need for this recipe.
Storage
Once cooled to room temperature, store this blueberry buttermilk breakfast cake in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
Here's how you make it:
PrintRecipe
Healthy Blueberry Coffee Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Description
This recipe contest winner is a lighter version of coffee cake with a surprising twist of flavors. Give this Healthy Blueberry Coffee Cake a try when you need a homerun recipe for brunch.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick, softened)
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 cup mashed bananas (from 2 bananas)
- 1 teaspoon plus ½ teaspoons vanilla (divided)
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup low fat buttermilk
- 2 heaping cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese (softened)
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together for about 4 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the honey and mashed bananas and mix until combined. Next, add eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and mix thoroughly.
- In a separate bowl, mix together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk to the wet ingredients in 3 increments.
- Fold in blueberries to batter. Pour batter into prepared pan and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whip mascarpone, powdered sugar and vanilla together until well combined. Drop mascarpone mixture in spoonfuls over batter. Drag a knife through the batter to spread out the mascarpone.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Remove and cover with aluminum foil. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 30 more minutes or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool and cut in to squares to serve.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Brunch
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Breakfast
More Blueberry Recipes
Remember this homemade buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake recipe the next time you need a perfect way to start a Saturday morning. For more blueberry recipes try these Boozy Blueberry Bacon Bites or Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins.
If you're curious about the other recipe contest winners, I only have one other currently posted on this site because the photos are so bad and I need to retake them. Check out my Savory Mediterranean Yogurt Parfait for a fun and savory spin on a yogurt parfait. It was a winner in a recipe contest for olives.
Enjoy!
