Blueberry Streusel Cake | One Pot One Portion
The baking collab for all your single serve dessert needs! If you ask us, this could be the perfect pudding! Warm cake, fresh blueberries, crunchy streusel and lashings of custard- THE DREAM! If you're looking for the perfect, simple, single-serve dessert then you need to try this. It has everything you could possibly want from a pudding and a little bit more. We’ve made one of Remi’s most popular cakes into the perfect pud for solo cooks. It also couldn't be any easier to make, simply combine the wet ingredients and add the try, top with the crumbly streusel topping and bake! The full recipe is below or you can check out Remi’s website for the full cake recipe.
Hello readers! I'm Eleanor..
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This recipe was developed in collaboration with my lovely friend Remi Idowu! We took her original blueberry streusel cake recipe and made it mini- just for you!
Are you longing for the comforting aroma of a freshly baked cake, complete with a delightful crumbly topping, but sized just for you? Look no further than my Single Serve Blueberry Streusel Cake! This recipe transforms a few simple ingredients into a wonderfully moist, fruit-filled cake, crowned with a crisp, buttery streusel. It's the ultimate hassle-free, utterly scrumptious single serve dessert, designed entirely for cooking for one, proving that recipes for one person can be utterly delightful.
It’s incredibly easy to make, producing a beautifully moist cake with bursts of juicy blueberries and that irresistible, buttery streusel topping. Whether you’re enjoying it with a morning coffee, as an afternoon pick-me-up, or a cosy dessert for one, it hits all the right notes. This recipe is a testament to how joyful and satisfying solo cooking can be, offering a perfect moment of indulgence.
About This Dish
My Single Serve Blueberry Streusel Cake takes the beloved German streusel cake and perfectly miniaturises it into a single portion. A streusel cake is characterised by its rich, often fruit-filled base and a generous crumbly topping made from butter, flour, and sugar. My version embraces all these comforting elements, ensuring every bite delivers that delightful contrast of soft cake, bursting berries, and crispy streusel.
This is my go-to one portion recipe when I crave a homemade cake without the fuss or waste of a large batch. The cake itself is incredibly tender, thanks to the combination of butter, oil, and an egg yolk, while the blueberries add a fresh, juicy counterpoint. The streusel, crumbled by hand until it resembles wet sand, bakes into a perfectly golden, buttery crunch. It’s a truly satisfying single serve cake that feels both impressive and remarkably easy to achieve.
Why You'll Want to Make My Recipe
My Single Serve Blueberry Streusel Cake is an absolute game-changer for anyone seeking a quick, satisfying, and utterly delicious treat designed specifically for a single serving. Whether you're a busy solo cooking enthusiast, a student looking for a comforting baked good, or simply someone who appreciates the efficiency of one portion recipes, this cake is crafted for you. It’s a one pot recipe that delivers maximum comfort and minimal effort.
Single Serve
This recipe is inherently a single serve meal. Every ingredient is precisely portioned to create one perfect, delightful cake, eliminating waste and ensuring you have just the right amount for a satisfying treat. It's truly a one portion recipe marvel, designed for effortless enjoyment when you're cooking for one. This makes it an ideal single serve cake for any occasion.
Quick & Easy
From melting the butter to pulling your beautifully baked cake from the oven, this dish genuinely comes together quickly. With a baking time of just 25-30 minutes, the active prep time is minimal, making it a fantastic choice for a speedy breakfast, a comforting afternoon snack, or a fuss-free dinner for one dessert. No long waits, just deliciousness in a flash, making it one of my favourite single serve recipes and recipes for one person.
One Pot
This is the true beauty of this recipe! My Single Serve Blueberry Streusel Cake is a genuine one pot recipe. All the wet and dry ingredients for the cake are mixed directly in a small baking dish that goes straight into the oven. This significantly minimises washing up, ensuring you spend less time scrubbing and more time enjoying. It’s the ultimate convenience for cooking for one, keeping your kitchen tidy while delivering maximum flavour, making it a standout among one pot cooking and one pan recipes.
Top Tips for Perfect Single Serve Blueberry Streusel Cake
Creating a perfectly moist and flavourful streusel cake is simple with these key tips.
- Melt Butter in the Dish: Begin by melting the butter for the cake directly in your small baking dish in the microwave. This saves on washing up and ensures the butter is perfectly ready to be combined with the other ingredients.
- Mix Cake Batter Well: After adding all the cake ingredients to the dish with the melted butter, mix everything thoroughly until well combined and smooth. A well-mixed batter is crucial for a consistent texture.
- Toss Blueberries in Flour: Tossing the fresh blueberries in a tiny bit of flour before adding them to the batter is a trick to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake during baking.
- Blueberries on Top, Not Mixed In: Place the floured blueberries directly on top of the cake batter in the dish. There’s no need to mix them in; they’ll naturally disperse as the cake bakes, giving you bursts of fruit throughout.
- Perfect Streusel Texture: When making the streusel topping, melt the butter first, then add the flour and sugar. Use your fingertips or a knife to mix and crumble it together until it resembles wet sand. This creates the ideal texture for a crisp, golden topping.
- Bake Until Golden Brown: Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes. Look for a beautiful golden-brown colour on the streusel topping and ensure a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean, indicating it's cooked through.
- Serve with Warm Custard: This cake is heavenly when served with lots of warm custard, which complements the sweet blueberries and rich cake perfectly.
Ingredients and Tools You'll Need
Having the right ingredients and a few basic tools makes whipping up my delicious single serve dessert a breeze.
Essential Ingredients (for the Cake):
- Butter: Adds richness and tenderises the cake.
- Vegetable Oil: Contributes to the cake's moistness and tender crumb.
- Vanilla: Adds a comforting, aromatic flavour that complements the blueberries beautifully.
- Milk: Adds liquid to the batter, contributing to its smooth consistency and helping the cake to be moist.
- Egg Yolk: Adds richness, binds the ingredients, and contributes to the tender texture of the cake.
- Self-Raising Flour / Self-Rising Flour: This flour, which already contains a leavening agent, ensures your cake rises nicely and has a light, tender crumb.
- Sugar: Sweetens the cake to perfection, balancing the natural sweetness of the blueberries.
- Baking Powder: An additional leavening agent that ensures a good rise and a fluffy texture.
- Salt: A pinch balances the sweetness and enhances the overall flavour of the cake.
- Fresh Blueberries: The star fruit, providing sweet, juicy bursts of flavour and lovely colour throughout the cake.
- Flour (for tossing blueberries): A tiny amount of extra flour used to coat the blueberries, preventing them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
Essential Ingredients (for the Streusel):
- Butter: Melts and combines with the flour and sugar to create a wonderfully crisp and buttery streusel topping.
- Sugar: Sweetens the streusel and helps it to caramelise into a golden-brown crust.
- Flour: Forms the base of the streusel, creating the delightful crumbly texture.
To Serve:
- Custard: Warm custard is my top recommendation, adding a silky, sweet warmth that perfectly complements the cake and berries. Cream or ice cream are also delicious alternatives.
Essential Tools:
- Small Baking Dish: Your designated one pot for this recipe. A mini casserole dish, like the Le Creuset mini casserole dish, is absolutely perfect for this single serve cake, as it goes straight from microwave to oven.
- Microwave: For quickly melting the butter in your baking dish.
- Mixing Spoon/Fork: For combining the cake batter ingredients directly in the baking dish.
- Small Bowl/Plate: For tossing the blueberries in flour.
- Oven: For baking your cake to golden perfection.
- Fingers or Knife: For crumbling the streusel ingredients together.
Delicious Variations
My Single Serve Blueberry Streusel Cake is incredibly versatile! Feel free to adapt it to your taste or dietary needs. It's a fantastic example of how to cook for one.
- Making it Gluten-Free: Substitute the self-raising flour (and the dusting flour) with a gluten-free self-raising flour blend. Ensure it's a blend designed for baking for the best texture and rise.
- Making it Dairy-Free: This requires substituting the butter, milk, and potentially serving options.
- Butter: Use a plant-based butter alternative for both the cake and the streusel.
- Milk: Swap for a dairy-free milk alternative (e.g., oat, almond, or soy milk).
- Serving: Serve with a dairy-free cream or dairy-free ice cream.
- Making it Vegan: This recipe contains egg yolk, butter, and milk, so it needs more significant substitutions.
- Egg Yolk: You would need a vegan egg substitute suitable for baking (e.g., a flax egg made from ground flaxseed and water, or a commercial egg replacer). Results might vary slightly in texture.
- Butter: Use a plant-based butter alternative.
- Milk: Use a dairy-free milk alternative.
- Serving: Serve with vegan cream, vegan ice cream, or vegan custard.
- Different Fruits: While fresh blueberries are fantastic, you could experiment with other berries like raspberries, sliced strawberries, or even finely diced apples or pears.
- Spice it Up: Add a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, or mixed spice to the cake batter for a warmer, spiced flavour profile.
- Adding Nuts: Incorporate chopped nuts, such as walnuts or pecans, into the streusel topping or the cake batter for added crunch and flavour.
- Zest: A little lemon or orange zest added to the cake batter can brighten the flavour beautifully.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What is a streusel cake?
A: A streusel cake is a type of cake that features a crumbly topping made from a mixture of butter, flour, and sugar. It's popular in German baking (where "Streusel" means "sprinkled things"). The streusel provides a delightful crispy, buttery contrast to the soft cake base, and this single serve cake perfectly captures that.
Q: Can I use frozen blueberries?
A: Yes, you can use frozen blueberries! There's no need to thaw them first. However, they might release a bit more moisture as they bake, which could slightly affect the cake's texture or require an extra minute or two of baking time. Toss them in the flour just as you would fresh ones.
Q: How do I know when the cake is cooked?
A: Your cake is cooked when the streusel topping is golden brown and a knife or skewer inserted into the centre of the cake (avoiding the blueberries) comes out clean, without wet batter.
Q: Can I bake this in an air fryer?
A: Yes, absolutely! This recipe works wonderfully as an air fryer cake. The cooking time will likely be a bit shorter, closer to 18-22 minutes, so keep a close eye on it after about 15 minutes. The air fryer often yields an extra crispy streusel.
Q: What kind of baking dish should I use?
A: A small oven-safe baking dish is perfect. As mentioned, a mini casserole dish (like the Le Creuset mini casserole dish) or a small ramekin (around 4-6 inches in diameter or square) would work well for this one portion recipe. The key is a dish that's small enough for a single serving but allows the cake to rise a bit.
Enjoy my incredibly easy, comforting, and perfectly portioned Single Serve Blueberry Streusel Cake! It's the ultimate example of how simple ingredients can create something truly delicious when you're cooking for one.
Ingredients
Cake:
- 10g (2 tsp) butter
- 1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 15g (1 tbsp) milk
- 1 egg yolk
- 25g (5 tsp) self-raising flour
- 25g (5 tsp) sugar
- Pinch of baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 35g fresh blueberries
- 1/4 tsp flour
Streusel
- 5g (1 tsp) butter
- 10g (2 tsp) sugar
- 15g (3 tsp) flour
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 170ºC/150ºC fan.
- Grab a small baking dish (the Le Creuset mini casserole dish is perfect!) and add your butter.
- Melt in the microwave for 10-20 seconds then add in your oil, vanilla, milk, and egg yolk along with the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix everything together until well combined.
- Toss the blueberries in the 1/4 tsp flour then place on top of the cake batter. No need to mix them in; they’ll disperse as it cooks.
- Make the streusel topping by melting the butter then adding the flour and sugar and use your fingers or a knife to crumble it all together until it resembled wet sand.
- Sprinkle over the blueberries then bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve with lots of warm custard!
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I buy a lot of cook books and this is genuinely one of the best l've ever bought. I've tried 6 or 7 recipes so far and they're all winners. I'm well used to scaling recipes down to one portion, but not having to calculate measurements as l go along feels like a little luxury. One of the best things about the book is that all the recipes are actually cooked in one pot - in a lot of other so-called books you still have to make your side dish in a separate pot. With these recipes, even if they include rice or pasta, it's all cooked together. No mountains of washing up! Highly recommended.
I have been following Eleanor on IG for a while and have made several of her dishes before the cookbook came out. I was thrilled to see so many new things to try and have already made about 6 of them. Her recipes are approachable, the dishes are delicious, and they make me feel like I can cook! Highly recommend.
If you love eating good home cooked food but can't be bothered to cook just for yourself, then this is the book for you. Using ingredients that are easy to find, then mixing, cooking and eating from the same pan or dish means a minimum of washing up. Every recipe I have tried so far has been delicious and have all turned out well which isn't always the case with many cookery books. Definitely recommend!
Following Eleanor on Instagram and seeing her recipes come to life is one thing but then having them in my own kitchen is quite another. Not only are the recipes easy to follow and delicious she also help you not to waste food. This book is like having all your favourite foods in one place with the added bonus of an old friend showing you the ropes. Congratulations Eleanor when can I pre-order the next one?
Bought this for my sister who cooks for one. She absolutely loved it finding it inspiring! So many great recipes to motivate and keep you cooking when it's just you eating!
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This is perfect, as far as influencer chefs go, I find this book refreshing in what has become a cohort of lauded influencers who really aren't doing much more than the bog standard meals most people make anyway, or making googled recipes and adding their own "flair". This book is different as it's your normal fare you'd likely make yourself, given a little bit of a twist to speed up the process / use less utensils / ingredients / food waste, in really creative and tasty ways, all perfectly portioned for one.
Great present! Bought this for my sister who cooks for one. She absolutely loved it finding it inspiring! So many great recipes to motivate and keep you cooking when it's just you eating!
Great present! Bought this for my sister who cooks for one. She absolutely loved it finding it inspiring! So many great recipes to motivate and keep you cooking when it's just you
Follow Eleanor on socials and knew I NEEDED this book immediately! SO glad I paid extra and had it shipped from the UK (to US). Eleanor's voice is loud and clear in every recipe. The pictures are beautiful, the instructions are perfectly clear, and I want to make EVERYTHING. I cannot recommend this book enough!
This recipe book is stunning and fulfils its role brilliantly in catering for individuals who want to eat delicious meals, but don't want to prepare family sized portions or devote their entire evening to cooking. Who'd believe you could make an entire roast for one person and only use one pan in the process! She is a genius and I couldn't recommend this book any more highly.
One of the best things about the book is that all the recipes are actually cooked in one pot - in a lot of other so-called books you still have to make your side dish in a separate pot. With these recipes, even if they include rice or pasta, it's all cooked together. No mountains of washing up!
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