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.
Whole Grain Blueberry Buckle
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup milk (low fat is fine)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Topping
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg
2 tbsp butter, very soft
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square (or 9-inch square) baking pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in melted butter, milk, egg and vanilla extract. Stir well, mixing until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in blueberries and pour into prepared pan.
In a small bowl, make the topping. Whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in butter until mixture is crumbly and sand-like. Sprinkle evenly over batter.
Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack for at least 20-30 minutes before serving. Can be served warm or at room temperature.
Serves 8
mamaloo
August 20, 2008After havig picked a buck of blueberries last week, I’ll give this recipe a try very soon. Looks great.
Curious about the ww flour thing, though. I actually only ever use ww flour now. And I use one that is whole grain, so it’s got lots of wheat germ fluff in it. I use Baking Bites cookie recipes almost exclusively and so my ww flour goes in those whether it’s called for or not. I don’t notice much of a change.
I have tried a couple of very simple scratch cakes made wit my ww flour for upside down cakes (I made a lot of those during rhubarb season!) and the cake was very dense, but had a nice savouriness from the wheat germ. When I make this, I’ll use all ww flour.
I think this kind of cake would benefit from the denser quality.
Hannah
August 20, 2008Looks good! I love using whole wheat flour!
Valerie
August 21, 2008I made this last night and it was so, so easy. It is also my new blueberry breakfast bread because this is WAY better than a muffin. My fiance just had a piece for breakfast and said it was “delicious” which is a word he doesn’t just throw around!
Natalie
August 21, 2008Mm I love blueberries so I bet that these were so good, making my mouth water just looking at them hehe!
Alejandra
August 21, 2008I love the addition of whole wheat flour in this recipe. I’m always looking for ways to use it in a way that won’t be too overwhelming or “health food-y.” This looks delicious.
PAWriter
August 22, 2008I made this last night. I used blueberries we’d picked a few weeks ago that I’d frozen (I thought they’d last into the winter, but I couldn’t resist!) and swapped out half of the whole wheat flour for King Arthur’s white whole wheat, because I had about a half a cup’s worth of it left and wanted to use it up. The fact that this can be either dessert or breakfast is a huge bonus. Easy and really delicious. Sometimes buckles are too heavy and overly sweet, but this one gets the texture–and taste–just right.
Alex
August 22, 2008This looks nice. I will going to make it for my wife 🙂 She’ll love it for sure.
Steff
August 27, 2008A good friend linked me up to you with the Cookie Martini and I finally had a minute to come back and read thoroughly last week and here i am again today. Coconut Banana bread did not last long so I’m making this Blueberry Buckle tonight. THANK YOU!!
Prosolution
July 1, 2009I’m so glad that I found this recipe. I tried it last weekend for my daughters birthday party and it went down a treat.