Blueberry Buckle
This Blueberry Buckle is loaded with tons of blueberries and baked with a cinnamon streusel crumb topping. It’s a wonderful coffee cake for brunch!
If you’re not familiar with a buckle, it’s a coffee cake with a streusel crumb topping that gets it name from how it “buckles” and cracks as it bakes.
It has a tender cakey texture to it and is loaded with blueberries.
I originally adapted this recipe from Alton Brown, but over time have changed things a bit.
His version calls for cake flour, but truthfully I don’t really keep cake flour in my pantry. So my updated version uses all-purpose (and a little bit less, to keep it lighter), among other changes.
It’s still plenty moist and light, but more accessible.
What’s nice too is you can use either fresh OR frozen blueberries.
If it’s the summer and fresh blueberries are pretty cheap, I’ll use those, but frozen works for the rest of the year!
How to Make a Blueberry Buckle:
To get started, mix together the dry ingredients, which are all-purpose flour, baking powder, ground ginger, and salt:
In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar, then add an egg:
Mix the egg in, then add half the dry ingredients:
Mix until incorporated, then add some buttermilk or milk:
Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients, and another batch of milk, until the cake batter is almost combined:
Add a 12-ounce bag or 3 cups of frozen blueberries to the bowl:
Fresh blueberries work too, but make sure they’re firm. I like using frozen blueberries because they don’t run the risk of getting mashed during the mixing process.
Well, and then I can make this cake in the middle of February, whenever the mood strikes me.
(Who else has bags of frozen berries in their freezer at all times?)
When the blueberries are mixed in, spread the batter evenly into a greased 8×8 pan:
Before popping it into the oven, we need to make the topping!
Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter:
Stir with a fork until it gets clumpy:
Scatter the clumps evenly on top of the cake batter:
Bake the buckle for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake doesn’t come out with any raw batter (blueberry juice is fine).
Let the cake cool completely, then flip the cake out of the pan:
Turn it rightside up, and cut into squares:
The top is wonderfully crunchy and sweet, the cake is soft and moist, and the blueberries burst with sweet jamminess in every bite.
If you want to make this in muffin form, I recommend these Blueberry Streusel Muffins.
Some of my other favorite breakfast recipes are Whole Wheat Pancakes and Potato Cheddar Frittata.
I also love these Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes and Blueberry Clementine Sauce. Enjoy!
Blueberry Buckle
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- butter or oil for greasing the pan
- 7.5 oz all-purpose flour, by weight (1.5 cups, measured)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup buttermilk or milk
- 12 oz frozen blueberries (3 cups*)
For the Topping:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease an 8×8 pan with butter or oil.
- In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and ground ginger. Set aside.
- In a bowl with a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add the egg and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Turn the mixer down to low, and alternate adding 1/2 of the flour mixture and 1/2 of the buttermilk. Repeat until the flour and buttermilk have almost been completely incorporated, then stir in the blueberries. Pour this mixture into your 8×8 pan.
- To make the topping, use a fork to combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and melted butter. Stir until clumps form, then scatter the clumps on top of the cake. Bake the buckle for about 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out without any raw batter (blueberry juice is fine). Let the cake cool completely, then enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
[Post updated January 2017 with new photos, writing, and recipe. Originally posted May 2012]
I made this the other day, and it was fantastic!! I did sub all purpose flour for the cake flour, and there seemed to be no ill effects, it wasn’t tough at all. I made sure not to overmix and all was well. 😉 Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Myrtle, awesome!!! And thanks for sharing your experiences with using the all purpose flour. AND a big bravo for not over mixing. That takes some serious restraint!
Joanne,
the texture of the cake looks AMAZING!
Do you think the texture will be the same if I omit the blueberries and just make it as a yellow cake? Is it more of a dense or light cake?
I know it may have been awhile since you made this!
Hi Sam, it’s on the denser side. I haven’t omitted the blueberries but I imagine it would work just fine.
This looks loaded with blueberries, just how I like it.
When using frozen blueberries, do they need to be drained after they’re thawed?
Hi Michelle, if there’s excess liquid, I would drain it away, yes.