Looking for a blueberry cake that’s not your typical American Bundt or muffin? This French blueberry bundt cake, known as Tourte aux Myrtilles in the Pyrenees region of southern France, is a rustic mountain dessert bursting with juicy berries, vanilla, and a generous splash of dark rum.
Unlike classic blueberry cakes, this one has a light, moist crumb (thanks to whipped egg whites), a crackly sugar crust, and the charm of an old-world recipe passed down through generations.
A slice of the Pyrenees in your kitchen
If you’ve been around this blog for a while, you already know how much I love rustic, regional French desserts. These lesser-known recipes are often simple, cozy, and full of character—made with everyday ingredients and rooted in local tradition.
Today’s recipe is just that: a comforting blueberry cake from the Pyrenees mountains, where wild blueberries grow in abundance each summer, and food is all about warmth and simplicity. This one is called Tourte aux Myrtilles, and it’s as charming as it sounds.
Whether you’re curious about the name or just here for a new take on blueberry cake, this rustic French dessert brings a taste of the French mountains to your table. It’s light, moist, and deeply satisfying—perfect with coffee or tea, and even better the next day.
If you love old-world baking with a European soul, this one’s for you. Enjoy!
What Is Tourte aux Myrtilles?
Tourte aux Myrtilles is a lesser-known French cake from the Pyrenees mountains, in the southwest of France. This cake is a summer staple—served at inns, mountain cabins and family tables during blueberry season. Tourte aux Myrtilles literally means “blueberry cake,” but it’s much more than that.
It’s:
- Light but rich (thanks to whipped egg whites and a bit of rum)
- Not overly sweet, allowing the blueberries to shine
- Topped with pearl sugar, for that classic French crunchy top
A Traditional Tourte Aux Myrtilles is usually baked in a scalloped brioche pan in France. These pans are hard to find in the US/Canada so I adapted the recipe to be made in a classic Bundt Pan. The result is just as authentic: light, airy and with a delicious sugar crust on top.
This is the kind of cake that feels rustic and refined at the same time—the perfect summer dessert.
Ingredients for a French-Style Blueberry Bundt Cake
This cake is easy to make, and most ingredients are pantry staples. Here’s what you need to make it:
- Sugar: we’re using ¾ cup (150g) for this cake recipe. I lowered the amount of sugar found in most Tourte Aux Myrtilles recipes I saw online and in books, and I think this is definitely sweet enough.
- Eggs: you’ll need three large eggs for this recipe. The three egg yolks bring moisture while the three eggs whites, whipped separately, create an airy, sponge-like texture.
- Vanilla extract: a hint of vanilla extract brings depth of flavor.
- Butter: the butter creates a rich, flavorful cake crumb. It is to be soft when added to the batter, so take the butter out of your fridge at least 2 hours before starting.
- Milk: the milk helps creates a moist, bouncy cake texture. Choose whole milk or 2% mf – avoid skim or lactose free milk.
- Flour: all-purpose flour is the way to go for this cake. I don’t recommend any other flours and have only tested this recipe as is.
- Baking staples: you’ll need salt, baking soda and baking powder.
- Rum : we’re using ¼ cup (60ml) of dark rum here. This provides the cake such a distinctive flavor.
- Fresh blueberries: this cake recipe includes 200g of fresh blueberries, which burst in every bite.
- Sugar: just before baking, the cake gets topped with both white sugar and pearl sugar. This is what creates its signature crunchy, sugary top.
How to Make Rustic French Blueberry Cake
This cake comes together in a few easy steps. Here is an overview. You can then head to the recipe card at the bottom of the article for the full ingredient list and instructions.
- Whisk the wet ingredients first. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla. You then mix in the softened butter, followed by the milk.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. You then add the dry mix to the wet ingredients, stirring just until combined. You finally fold in the rum and blueberries.
- Whip egg whites. In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites to firm peaks and gently fold them into the batter.
- Pour and bake. Pour the batter into a greased bundt pan. Scatter the remaining blueberries on top and sprinkle with white sugar and pearl sugar. Bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
FAQs about this French Blueberry Cake
Can I use frozen blueberries?
Yes! Just make sure they are well thawed and drained. When using thawed blueberries, I also like to toss them in a little flour beforehand to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
What’s the difference between this and a regular blueberry cake?
This one is lighter, less sweet, and uniquely French—with whipped egg whites, a touch of rum, and pearl sugar on top.
What if I don’t have rum?
You can substitute with cognac. As an alcohol-free option, you substitute with milk – so you’ll use just a little more than 1/2 cup (140ml) of milk total. The flavor will be different (and less robust) but still delicious.
Can I bake this in a loaf or round pan?
Yes. A bundt pan is best for visual appeal, but a 9-inch round cake pan works just as well. Adjust baking time slightly – you may need about 10 more minutes.
Love rustic French Desserts? Try these next:
- Alsatian Blueberry Tart
- French Plum Tart
- Classic Cherry Clafoutis
- Walnut Coffee Cake from Grenoble
- French-style Cherry Cake
- Apricot Frangipane Tart
- Gâteau Basque (Basque Cake with pastry cream)
- Apple Breton Pound Cake (Quatre-Quarts aux Pommes)
- Plum Moelleux Cake
22 comments
Excited to try the new recipe (as always!). One concern of mine is that your bundt pan does not look like a standard gigantic American version which typically holds 10-12 cups. The smaller french versions typically hold 8 cups or equal to a 9×2″ round pan. Some readers might feel like the volume in the recipe does only fill their larger Bundts. They can trouble shoot by using a round pan, use a smaller bundt or convert the recipe to 10-12 cups (I use chatgpt for recipe volume conversions).
Great point, Marcie! Hopefully this comment will help other readers trying out this recipe. I hope you’ll enjoy it!
This looks delicious! I can’t wait to make it. However, I have one question: do you use Belgian or Swedish pearl sugar?
Either would absolutely work, Peggy, but mine is the “Belgian” variety. Hope you enjoy the cake, would love to know what you think.
Is this really made in a bundt pan or in a tube pan. In a bundt, you turn the cake out upside down, so the flutes and domes are on top. Here, it looks like you sugar the top and keep the top side up, just turning the cake out of the pan.
Is is more like a ring pan, rather than a deep bundt pan?
Hello Susan. This is a European bundt pan, which are often are a little “smaller”/less deep than a traditional American bundt pan, but can still be used. I like to keep the sugary part on top (especially for photos) but if using an American style bundt pan, you can flip it the other way so the “wider” part rests on the bottom.
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. Would it adapt well with gluten free flour?
I haven’t tried it with GF flour, but I’ve always had good results (and other readers always compliment) King Arthur brand GF flour, it’s apparently the best 1:1 substitute. But not available outside the USA as far as I know.
If you have a brand you use and trust for baking, I think it’d be safe to give it a go.
We just made this very pretty cake and love it! My wife took a photo to send to our loved ones. We used cognac as we don’t care for rum. Next time we will cut the cognac back a bit as we thought the flavor it added was a bit strong and masked the flavor of the blueberries. It’s a great recipe!
Many thanks, Mike and Suzie! So glad you enjoyed the cake and are already looking at making it again. Rum and cognac do offer slightly different notes to the cake, but both are delicious. Scaling it back a touch to your preference is no problem at all. Merci for your comment 🙂
Looks like a good recipe. What can l use to substitute the rum?
Hello Barbara! Rum really lends a distinctive taste to this cake that is lost without it, but do understand for various reasons alcohol is not an option. You can replace the rum with an equal amount of milk, but just note that essence of the cake will change with its omission – but should still be delicious 🙂 Enjoy!
Thank You!
You’re very welcome.
Can I use peaches instead of blueberries
I think if you cut them into small pieces it could work out, Cathy – but I’d absolutely avoid using canned peaches, the wetness and texture would not work in my opinion. If you try it, I’d love to know how it worked out with the peaches!
Hi! Thank you so much for making all these wonderful recipes for us! Do you use American or European flour for your recipes? I know European flour is much healthier but I have heard it works differently in recipes. Thoughts? Thank you!
Well, the easy answer to this is “it depends on when I posted the recipe”. The majority of recipes that involve flour, I’ve done in both countries. But when I post the recipe and photos to the blog, I use the flour of the country I’m in.
In general, I find the flours act mostly the same, but I know that in general Canadian flours are “harder” and have more protein in them, American flours a little less so. I typically use a t55 or t65 flour in France, which acts very similar to a North American all purpose. The biggest difference I find, is French flours handle hydration a little less poorly and are stickier with the same amount of water.
I see! Thank you so much. I was able to find some good french butter at my local Fresh Market and I plan to make your Sable Bretons this weekend.
Please enjoy! They’re the taste of childhood (and adulthood) for me, Sarah!
Would you share which pan you used for this? It looks different than any Bundt pan I’ve seen. Thanks!
I’ve come to realize that bundt pans are less tall here in France. I think this is the only difference, Jennifer. Perhaps a serach for “French bundt pan” would help, but it’s basically just less volume, due to a lower “lip”.