Blueberry Buckle – The Blue Banner of Summer
The banner fruit of summer at least in the Hudson Valley Region is the blueberry, they make their appearance usually by July to pair happily with red raspberries that we love to see over cream or even simple vanilla ice-cream for the edible red, white and blue colors. And they work wonders in a blueberry laden cake called Blueberry Buckle. The concept and name implying a cake that buckles under the weight of blueberries.
I love the vibrance that the blueberries offer, and you will find me using them as an accent like this blueberry compote or even solo like this blueberry granita.
Blueberry Buckle and I go way back. My first encounter with a so-called American cake. Blueberries to me are a very American thing. No recipe though, just my memories. Introduced to me by someone called Georgie, or Georgiana Beach. My host mom! A term for someone who voluntarily signed up to help assimilate a foreign student into this country. A different time, free from the trappings of today’s digital documentation and i-phones.
God, however, gifts us a memory and a personal in-built camera that keeps tracks of life’s notes for us. So, while these notes are fuzzy and shaped a little by nostalgia, they remain clear enough for everyday reference.
Away from family Georgie offered me a sense of belong. Simple gestures, like an occasional trip to the mall. Sometimes lunch and movie. She often dropped off care packages. One such package consisted of a blueberry buckle. Equipped with a memory of taste but no recipe I searched the internet. I needed a recipe without any streusel topping. For some reason, my memory does not include one.
About the Blueberry buckle
A version I have settled on to call my own is adapted from this blueberry buckle recipe. This one-bowl buckle soft, tender with crisp edges. The ice cream really is not optional. I have made a few small tweaks to the recipe. I add a little more butter to the mixture. The recipe works well with frozen blueberries as well. This version is moist and a little like a pudding cake.
Tips if using frozen blueberries
- Thaw the blueberries to avoid extra moisture.
- Increase the number of blueberries by 1/4 cup.
- Reduce the amount of milk to 3/4 cup
An old-fashioned recipe for Blueberry buckle, adopted from Elsie's blog, Simply Recipes.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons butter (softened)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
- 1 cup blueberries (note for using frozen berries, please look at the text for changes
- Ice Cream for Serving
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Take a 9-inch square pan and place the 1/2 cup butter, this is about 1 stick of butter and allow the butter to melt. Remove the pan and swirl the butter around to coat.
- In a mixing bowl add the 4 tablespoons of butter and the eggs and sugar and mix well until well mixed and fluffy.
- Stir in the milk and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and the cinnamon and mix well.
- Stir in the blueberries. Give the pan with butter one more good swirl and pour in the cake batter.
- Place in the oven and bake until the cake is set, and the edges are nice and crisp.
- Let the cake rest for 10 minutes before removing it from the oven.
- All the cake to cool a little and then serve this warm with ice cream
Gaby's Cafe
[…] I was thrilled that the cake/or carry on goody turned out well, this helped me run get to the party well equipped. We were all excited and getting […]