Whole Grain Blueberry Buckle August 20

Crisps and cobblers are fairly common fruit desserts and, when you hear either one mentioned you probably have a clear idea of what to expect. Buckles fall into the same general category, but get a lot more questioning looks when mentioned than some other fruity desserts. A “buckle” is a fruit-laden cake that gets its name from the fact that the added moisture from all the fruit can actually cause the cake to “buckle” a bit in the center. While cake batter is what gives the cake substance and structure, the dessert should have a very high fruit content. Buckles also often have a slightly crispy topping of sugar or a thin layer of streusel.
Sill loaded with fresh blueberries after making my bluberry tart, juicy blueberries were my fruit of choice for this buckle. Fresh or frozen will work equally well here. The only thing to look out for with frozen berries is that you might need an extra minute or two of baking time since there are quite a lot included in the batter and, as a result, it will go into the oven quite cold.
I also opted to give this a healthier twist by using some whole wheat flour in the batter. The slightly nutty flavor of the whole grain goes quite well with the blueberries, and the tender/grainy texture that can sometimes be associated with whole grain flour works well in a dessert that should be tender and fruit-filled anyway. Still, I did use part all purpose flour in my batter to balance everything out. If you have white whole wheat flour, you can use that in place of the whole wheat-all purpose combination that I used. I also used all purpose in the streusel topping. Whole where will work there, as well.
Everything came together well, a good balance of fruit and enough batter to hold it together and make it slice-able. It had a good whole grain flavor, but still had a light texture. The buckle isn’t too sweet, thanks to the very slight natural tartness of the blueberries - and I have to admit that I love how many berries are in this dessert. This is a good dessert when it is served warm with ice cream, but makes a great coffee cake, as well.






