Blueberry Poppy Seed Brunch Cake

By Marian Burros

Updated October 10, 2023

  • Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
1 hour 20 minutes
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(964)
Comments
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This recipe was brought to The Times in a 1990 article by Marian Burros about the 34th Pillsbury Bake-Off, the Super Bowl of baking contests, and its winners. Linda Rahman of Petaluma, Calif., who won the grand prize, was certain her cake was ''too ordinary to win anything," but it was the judges' unanimous choice because, they said, it was "light, refreshing and satisfying." We still agree.

Featured in: At Super Bowl of Bake-Offs, A Dream Is Worth $40,000

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

FOR THE CAKE

  • ⅔ cup sugar

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened

  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

  • 1 egg

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (195 grams)

  • 2 tablespoons poppy seed

  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • ½ cup sour cream

FOR THE FILLING

  • 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed, drained on paper towels

  • ⅓ cup sugar

  • 2 teaspoons flour

  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

FOR THE GLAZE

  • ⅓ cup powdered sugar

  • 1 to 2 teaspoons whole milk

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

56 grams carbs; 59 milligrams cholesterol; 379 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 16 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 167 milligrams sodium; 4 grams protein; 34 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. In large bowl, beat ⅔ cup sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add lemon peel and egg; beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In medium bowl, combine 1 ½ cups flour, poppy seed, baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream. Spread batter over bottom and 1 inch up sides of greased and floured pan, making sure batter on sides is ¼ inch thick.

  2. Step 2

    In medium bowl, combine all filling ingredients; spoon over batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool slightly. Remove sides of pan.

  3. Step 3

    In small bowl, combine powdered sugar and enough milk until glaze is of desired drizzling consistency; blend until smooth. Drizzle over top of warm cake. Top with a handful of fresh blueberries, if desired. Serve warm or cool.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
964 user ratings
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Comments

Sheila

This cake is excellent and as a previous cook noted, it is beautiful out of the oven. I used cranberries instead of blueberries and did not increase the sugar - it was not necessary (I actually tossed the cranberries with 1/4 c, not 1/3 c). I also increased the poppy seeds to 1/4 cup. It is sufficiently sweet and I don't think the glaze is necessary. (Also reduced butter to 6 T with no apparent negative repercussions.) I will make this again and serve it for dessert, not just brunch.

Valerie A.

This is delicious. I used 1/2 c. sugar in the cake and 1/4 c. for the fruit, and it was perfect with the sweetness of the glaze. I added lemon zest to batter, fruit, and glaze, which made for a more summery version of the cake. I recommend checking after 40 minutes - 45 seemed a bit long and the edges will dry out. Note for thawing: I popped my frozen blueberries in the oven on a baking sheet while the oven was preheating. They dried out nicely.

Ellen

Very attractive and tasty. Be sure not to overbake. I wish I had taken mine out 5 min earlier, it was a tad dry around the edges. I am going to try it again with just buttering the pan and skipping the flouring. It added an unpleasant-tasting coating on the bottom of the cake, probably because the batter is very thick and can't incorporate the additional flour.

Jing G

Made this for the first time, after reading the comments I reduced sugar to 1/2c for the cake and 1/4c for the blueberries and we did do the glaze as written. Increased poppy seeds to 1/4c. I think the sugar could be reduced even further, it was still a very sweet cake for me but a really good, moist and easy one to put together and have look great. Served it as a brunch cake with coffee and my guests thought we’d purchased it at erewhon or some other similar type market around here!

eleni

Really nice recipe - very glad I tried it!! Was a bit worried by how thick the batter was and had some difficulty with spreading it (might have been the fact that the sour cream I used was similar in consistency to clotted cream). But it worked out perfectly and deliciously! Was happy with the reduction of sugar recommended by others in the comments.

Candace

I used frozen wild blueberries, so they’re very small and I guess must retain less water than the bigger varieties. I didn’t read the thawing instruction before assembling, but in the end it was fine. I baked for 40 min. I do think that if you want a nice layer of cake below the blueberry center, 300 grams of blueberries is overkill, too heavy and pushes the cake batter into a ring form.

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