| Tasty | Houghton Mifflin, 2007 | Makes one 8-inch cake
“Buckle” is a good word, isn’t it? And what this is, is a giant and tender muffin, bursting with blueberries and topped with gently spiced crumbs. If you can find tiny wild blueberries, by all means use them.—Roy Finamore
Active time: 25 minutes | Total time: 1 hour, 35 minutes .
Blueberry Buckle Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- Pinch of salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pint blueberries, picked over, washed, and dried on paper towels
Directions
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1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter an 8-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment.
2. Stir the flour, sugar, spices, and salt together in a bowl. Add the butter and work it with your fingers, pinching and rubbing, until it is completely incorporated and the crumbs hold together when you pick up a handful and squeeze it.
3. Cut the butter into pieces and drop them into a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for a minute or two, until light. With the mixer running, pour in the sugar and continue to beat until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well.
4. Combine the 2 cups flour, baking powder and soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well to distribute the leavenings. With the mixer on low, mix in a third of the flour, then half of the sour cream, then another third of the flour and the rest of the sour cream. Mix in the remaining flour and the vanilla, turn the mixer to medium-high, and beat for about 30 seconds.
5. Toss the blueberries with the remaining 2 tablespoons flour and fold into the batter. Scrape into the springform pan and smooth out the top.
6. Pick up a handful of the crumbs and squeeze, then break them into larger and smaller bits over the cake. Continue until you’ve used up all the crumbs and covered the cake.
7. Slip the cake into the oven and bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. The tips of the crumbs and any exposed crust should be golden brown, and a cake tester should come out clean, though a crumb or two is fine.
8. Let cool on a rack. When the buckle is cool enough to handle, release the sides of the springform. Lift the buckle up off the base and peel off the parchment. You need to balance the cake in your hand and juggle it a bit, but that should not be a problem. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake from Alexandra Cooks
- Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake from My Baking Addiction
- Blueberry Crumble Pie from Leite’s Culinaria
- Blueberry Tea Cake from Leite’s Culinaria
Blueberry buckle recipe © 2007 by Roy Finamore. Photo © 2007 Tina Rupp. All rights reserved.
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[Jean M.] Blueberries and spring are a perfect combination, and if you enjoy blueberry muffins, you will love this recipe. This Blueberry Buckle is delicious. It makes one 8-inch cake that is fit for a weekend brunch. It’s easy to make and tastes great both warm and at room temperature. The recipe suggests tossing the blueberries in 2 tablespoons of flour, which helps to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the batter. If you have kids helping in the kitchen, they will love making the crumb topping. The next time I make this recipe, I will use a 9-inch spring-form pan instead of the 8-inch one. I think the results will be just as wonderful.
[Karen Taylor] The author, Roy Finamore, was right in saying that this is like a giant blueberry muffin. The recipe was straightforward, only taking about 20 minutes to throw together, and it yields a tender, aromatic cake that looks impressively scrumptious. I worried that it was going to be too sweet for my modest sweet tooth, but it was just right.
I didn’t have an 8-inch springform pan, so I used an 8-by-2-inch round cake pan. I greased the bottom and sides, then placed a round of parchment on the bottom. Once the cake was cool, I slipped a knife around the edge, placed a plate on top, and flipped the cake upside down. The pan released easily. Then I peeled the parchment off the bottom before flipping the cake back right-side up with another plate. It came out perfectly. The cake rose a lot while baking, and some of the crumb and cake rose over the edge of my pan and created some spots that were firmly stuck. If I had a springform pan with higher sides, this wouldn’t have been a problem.
[Abigail C.] This really is a giant blueberry muffin! It looks complicated, but it’s easy to prepare if you follow all steps. The cake is tasty and moist, and the crumb topping is a crunchy contrast. After 50 minutes, the cake was ready and the crumbs were golden-brown.
We don’t have blueberries year-round where I live—their season is very short and we can get them fresh only in July—but we always have some in the freezer. I used them frozen, dried them on paper towels and mixed them gently with the extra flour. If you prepare this cake in warm weather, I suggest chilling the topping in the fridge while preparing the cake.