Blueberry Boy Bait
60 comments » 
A recipe guaranteed to help you snag that dreamy boy you’ve had your eye on.
It doesn’t seem you can go wrong with a promise like that, right? This is a storied recipe that dates back to one of the earliest Pillsbury Bake-Offs in 1954; this recipe was entered in the junior division by a 15-year-old girl who named it after the affect that it had on the teenage boys she shared it with. Turns out after they had one bite they were hooked. It seems she knew what she was talking about – the recipe won second place! I love the back story of this recipe, and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and nostalgic…
Middle school and high school dances. Whispering and giggling with your girlfriends. Listening to an unhealthy amount of cheesy pop ballads.
Ahh, those were certainly the days. They rushed by so quickly, didn’t they?
This is a rich, moist, buttery cake full of blueberries that straddles the line between coffee cake and dessert cake, although I think I would lean more towards coffee cake. Plus, labeling it a coffee cake makes it okay to eat for breakfast as well as dessert! The cinnamon-sugar crunch on top really takes the cake to an oh-my-goodness, stratospheric level. When I first took a bite the flavor almost reminded me of a donut – not quite fried, but with that same reminiscent flavor of something buttery and sinful that you just can’t help but enjoy.
The recipe technically serves 12, which is great for dessert or breakfast, but if you want to have a bit with your afternoon tea, I would recommend cutting a piece in half. Bonus, it will last twice as long! Speaking of, you could also wrap this and freeze it if you want to take your time eating it.
What are some of your favorite “days gone by” memories?
At the end of each summer my best friend and I would make mix tapes of all the songs that reminded us of some part of those carefree months of fun. We labeled the tapes “The Best of Us” and even gave them volume numbers! Some of the songs were about boys we had crushes on or crazy nights we had being goofy girls. We made them by laying next to the radio, waiting for the song to come on so we could hurry up and press record. Totally old school. I don’t have a cassette player anymore, but I still have all of the tapes in a box. And 15 years later I can still remember what each and every song meant to us. Great memories…
One year ago: Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies
Two years ago: New York-Style Crumb Cake
More recipes using blueberries:
Blueberry-Buttermilk Scones
Blueberry Crumb Cake
Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Fresh Blueberry Pie
Orange Berry Muffins
Blueberry Boy Bait
Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 to 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Ingredients:
For the Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 teaspoon
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 cup whole milk
½ cup blueberriesFor the Topping:
½ cup blueberries
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamonDirections:
1. For the Cake: Adjust the oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13x9-inch baking pan.
2. Whisk 2 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars together on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated. Reduce speed to medium and beat in one-third of the flour mixture until incorporated; beat in half of the milk. Beat in half of the remaining flour mixture, then remaining milk, and finally remaining flour mixture. Toss the blueberries with remaining 1 teaspoon flour. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in blueberries. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
4. For the Topping: Scatter the blueberries over top of the batter. Stir the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the batter. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan 20 minutes, then turn out and place on serving platter (topping side up). Serve warm or at room temperature. (Cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)
* Note: If using frozen blueberries, do not let them thaw, as they will turn the batter a blue-green color.
(Recipe adapted from Cook's Country)
print
save
email
wow! it is such a pleasant looking cake, I definitely will enjoy it!
Reply
This is such a cute recipe, and the story that goes along with it is adorable. How about a “win over your future in-law cake”. That’s my name for it!! lol
Reply
Great looking recipe and the story is really cute!
Reply
This looks delicious! My husband loves blueberries, so I am always looking for new ways to bake with them.
I am going to have to make this when we have company after the baby is born! It sounds like it could easily feed our families who will be visiting.
Oh, and my middle school/high school “snag a boy” treat? Peanut butter cookies.
Reply
These look so awesome Michelle!! Great recipe
Reply
Such a cute story and cute name. Looks delicious!! I have extra blueberries that are just calling out to me…
Reply
This cake looks delicious!! And I sooo used to do the record thing..it really sucked when you missed the very beginning of the song and had to wait for it to come on again so you could have a perfect tape!!
Reply
The cake looks awesome, can’t wait to try it. However, I love that you shared you and your BFF’s traditions of summer mixes…I just last week pulled out one from our Freshman year of college and took a stroll down memory lane! Great friends and great memories are just irreplacable
Reply
boy bait is amazing! we made a raspberry boy bait with fresh-picked raspberries and haven’t been able to stop talking about it since – the smell, the taste, everything:
http://thekosherfoodies.com/2009/07/21/raspberry-boy-bait/
Reply
I have had my eye on this recipe for quite a while! I really need to just give it a shot!
Reply
No question that would snag me!
I was a pretty easy boy to catch though I think…. never put up much of a fight.
Reply
yum, dessert for breakfast, YES PLEASE!
this looks delicious. I’ve already baited J, but this may KEEP him…
Reply
I made blueberry boy bait for the first (and last) time about a year ago. Won me the heart of a boy, but only for about 3 weeks haha. Guess it wasn’t potent enough…maybe it’s time to try, try again?
Reply
what a great story, when i’m ready to date again, i just might have to make this.
and i am totally with you about the mixed tapes. i would take it a step further and call into the radio stations, harassing them to play the songs i needed for my mix.
Reply
Oh, yes! I will have to try this one for the little cafe I bake for this week. Love, love, love blueberries and if it gets the boys, bring it on.
Reply
Love the crunchy brown sugar topping!
Reply
not only did i also try to record my favorite songs onto cassette tapes, but my friends and i would always call in to the radio stations and request certain songs and dedicate them to our crush-of-the-moment. good times.
Reply
Yum! I bet my hubby would love this.
Reply
i love finding old mix tapes! i download all the songs and put them onto my ipod for old school playlists
Reply
What great memories – these work in any decade.
Reply
I wonder what happened to all my mixed tapes… literally living in 2 continents has it’s downsides! I miss being silly and all the drama of high school… sigh! Life seemed so simple and fun…
Reply
What a fun story behind this tasty dessert. I know it would snag me – hook, line, and sinker.
Reply
What a delicious-looking treat, and I enjoyed your reminiscing! I still have cassette mix tapes from way back too, and yes, I gave them volume numbers as well.
Reply
Amazing pictures, great post, delicious cake, thanks
Reply
Oh how I love coffee cake. Add blueberries and it’s a truly delicious treat. This look great. Thanks for sharing!
Reply
I am totally guilty of making mixed tapes via the radio! Sometimes I was a little too eager and got more commercial than actual song. Thank god for iTunes! Thanks for sharing your stories!
Reply
I love your blog! All your dishes are fabulous and they make me drool in from of the computer. I stopped by I think last week for a brownie recipe and the site was under maintenance. I see now with a new look when it’s back up. Look really nice!
Reply
I love foods with funny names
This looks delicious!
Reply
Blueberries are on sale-I will be trying this recipe soon!
Reply
Just delicious:)
Reply
I adore everything about this post. Totally made me smile
Mix tapes from the radio were the best! The cake looks amazing too. YUM!
Reply
I will have to teach my girls to make it…..lol….
thanks for sharing
Reply
That looks wonderful! Blueberries with that crumble topping – YUM!
Reply
This looks perfectly moist and wonderful.
Reply
What an interesting name and story. Love how it looks too. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Reply
Butter and blueberries, two of my favorite things. Those cheesy pop ballads, not so much. It makes me cringe when I remember my friend and I listening to REO Speedwagon’s “Time for Me to Fly” way too much during summer vacation. Thanks for a great post.
Reply
I LOVE the story behind this recipe! How fun! It looks really good, especially that top crust. WOW!
Reply
What a cute story! My husband loves blueberries so I know he would be a huge fan of this treat!
Reply
I just made this recipe this morning and my goodness, the crispy, cinnamon topping was wonderful but the burst of blueberries was like a symphony in my mouth. This will be a favorite recipe for summertime. So happy this one got shared.
Reply
Michelle on June 18th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Ali, I agree, the blueberries are awesome! So glad you liked this!
Reply
These look great.
I keep threatening to make blueberry muffins, but might just do this instead.
Great post
Reply
I’ve already snagged my boy, but I’m sure this would keep him hooked! Looks delicious!
Reply
This cake is actually a days gone by memory and I cant believe my eyes when I see someone else has this recipe. It is a family classic shared by my mom and her sister and as soon as blueberry season hits, its a start of summer must have for me. So happy this recipe keeps getting passed on because there is nothing like it
Reply
This may help me re-snag my husband!
Reply
I made this on Sunday and it was a huge hit! My family remarked that it was their favorite thing I’ve ever baked, and I bake a LOT.
Note for anyone who wants to know: I swapped out for egg whites, white whole wheat flour, skim milk and margarine and it turned out fabulous.
Reply
“Blueberry Boy Bait”….who can resist a recipe with a name like that?!? Don’t they say cinnamon is one of the most appealing scents to men?
Reply
Boy bait.. What could be better?
Reply
this is a fabulous cake! mine looked way different than yours though, and i’m trying to figure out why! all of the blueberries sunk to the bottom (granted, i got them from the farmers market yesterday morning and they were huge – but, oh, so good!). my cake also seems much taller than yours. i didn’t have whole milk but used 2% – maybe that’s it? thanks for sharing this!
Reply
Erica on April 27th, 2012 at 10:35 pm
I just had the same experience; mine was much fluffier and taller. I used whole milk, so I don’t think that’s the issue…
Is it possible we over beat the eggs?
Regardless, this is AMAZING. I love baking and have very high standards in what I consider amazing. THIS IS IT!
Thank you for sharing!
Love your blog; I’m a very regular stalker of it
Reply
That certainly does look good. I love those old Pillsbury booklets. I just bought one the other day for the 9th National Bake-Off. The only problem trying to make some of the recipes is that some of the Pillsbury items don’t exist anymore.
This looks really good though. I may have to try it.
Reply
All I can say is, delicious! I purposely bought blueberries at the grocery just so I could make this.
Reply
Michelle on November 14th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
So happy you loved it and the special blueberry purchase was worth it
Reply
Im making this right now. Well Im done now. Im just waiting for it to get out of the oven. I will let you know if I like it.
Reply
can i use frozen berries, or does it have to be fresh.
Reply
Michelle on June 23rd, 2012 at 8:44 pm
Yes, you could use frozen blueberries.
Reply
I love the way the innocent li’l blueberries sit on top of the pillowy batter!
Reply
I am in love with this dessert (even more so after getting a piece out of the freezer) and just posted it on my blog. I would absolutely love if you’d come take a look. Here’s the link: http://piesandplots.net/blueberry-boy-bait/ Thanks for such a great recipe!
Reply
Hi Michelle,
I have a strange question…can I use water instead of whole milk? I’m sorta lactose intolerance and try to avoid milk when possible…
Reply
Diana on January 29th, 2013 at 1:14 am
Actually I might try using almond milk instead
Reply
Michelle on January 29th, 2013 at 1:07 pm
Hi Diana, I was actually going to suggest something like almond or rice milk. Good luck and enjoy!
Reply