Cooking Lesson #327: Fresh Wild Blueberry Buckle

…from the California Kitchen

​How you doin’? Buckle… what a strange name for a dessert. No, it has nothing to do opening your belt a notch to make room for more Blueberry Buckle. A Blueberry Buckle is called “buckle” because while it bakes the batter rises, but the berries and crumb topping weigh it down causing the surface of the cake to buckle while baking as it rises—make sense? Having said that, it looks very much like a coffee cake.  And that works, too…but a “real” buckle has berries and streusel on top.
 
This recipe comes from a friend who lives in Nova Scotia, Canada where blueberries grow wild and abundantly each summer. It really gets cold up there and this is the kind of fresh-baked coffee cake that makes a chilly morning a great morning. There are lots of recipes for fresh fruit buckles, but this one is my favorite... just cake, berries and crumble topping!
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Bake time:  35 minutes
Cooling time:  20 to 30 minutes
Yield:  9 servings
 
Ingredients 
For the cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening (I prefer Crisco)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk
2 cups fresh wild blueberries (see ChefSecret)
 
For the topping
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
 
Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350⁰F.

To make the cake

1. Butter and flour a 9-inch square baking dish.
2. Whisk 1 cup flour, baking powder and salt together in a mixing bowl.
3. Beat the shortening and 1/2 cup sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in the egg.
5. Pour in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing until just incorporated. Pour the batter into prepared pan, then sprinkle evenly with blueberries.

To make the topping

1. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, cinnamon, and butter in a bowl with a fork until crumbly and evenly mixed.
2. Sprinkle evenly over the blueberries.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the buckle comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Allow to cool before serving warm.

ChefSecret:  I prefer to use wild blueberries if they are available. Wild blueberries are smaller and irregular in size. Farmed blueberries are large and pretty much the same size. If you can’t find either you can try to use frozen blueberries providing that they are thawed and well drained to remove as much of the moisture as possible or your crumble will be wet and soggy.

Quip of the Day:  "Never in my life would I imagine that my hands would consume more alcohol than my mouth."
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