Learn how to make a homemade blueberry buckle this summer, using Alton Brown's recipe as a guide.
My Introduction to the Buckle
Back in 2010, I was looking for a job. My wife had lost hers and this blog had not taken off yet. So I picked up whatever work I could, which included a stint as a temp at Zingerman's Bakehouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
One of the many delicious treats they made was a Blueberry Buckle, a coffeecake that I had also seen Alton Brown make. It was considered a "special bake", which means they only made it for specific weekends of the year.
With my love of fresh seasonal fruit, especially blueberries, and anything that has a streusel topping, I just had to take Alton Brown's recipe for a test spin.
Over the years I have made it more than once and I am happy to share with all my experiences with it, so that you too can become a buckle lover!
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What is a Buckle?
As Alton Brown points out on Good Eats, why would you want to make a dessert named after a structural failure. That's what it means to buckle, something that is twisting or warping, ready to collapse. A strange name for a dessert, but one that you can't miss trying out.
In the baking world a buckle is an early version of a coffee cake. It's a yellow cake with fruit baked in (15 ounces of fruit in this recipe!) and topped off with a streusel topping.
Tips
Here are some tips I learned from trying this recipe a few times.
- I used fresh blueberries that I picked myself. You can't get any better than that. If you are going to go the frozen route, try wild blueberries. The wild ones pack more flavor.
- Alton weighs the flour in this recipe. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale
. Not only do you get a more accurate and consistent measurement, I would much rather scoop flour into a bowl until I have the right amount then try to find all the right sized measuring cups I need. Cake flour is the flour of choice here. It makes the cake fill light, not chewy. I use cake flour when I make my fried fish batter, so it's something I always have on hand. - Alton's recipe uses ground ginger right in the cake batter. You can use ground cinnamon if you want or mix the two. I always use a heaping ½ teaspoon
- Alton used a 9 x 9 inch baking pan. I went with a 9x9 glass baking pan.
- The recipe said it will be done in 30-35 minutes. I have found that it has taken longer, up to 40 minutes. However, the best way to know for sure is to use an instant read thermometer. I use my ThermoWorks Thermapen One every day. You are looking for 200 degrees in the very center of the cake.
. Not only do you get a more accurate and consistent measurement, I would much rather scoop flour into a bowl until I have the right amount then try to find all the right sized measuring cups I need. Cake flour is the flour of choice here. It makes the cake fill light, not chewy. I use cake flour when I make my fried fish batter, so it's something I always have on hand.
. Final Thoughts - A wonderful recipe. The amount of blueberries inside was perfect. I have had buckles in which you had to search for the flavor of blueberries. That was far from the case in this dessert. The only thing I might do differently is to increase the cake to the streusel topping ratio, so there is more streusel to get my teeth into.
Alton Brown's Blueberry Buckle
Ingredients
For the batter
- 9 ounces cake flour about 2 cups
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 ounces butter room temperature
- 5 ¼ ounces sugar about ¾ cup
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup whole milk
- 15 ounces fresh blueberries about 3 cups
For the topping:
- 3 ½ ounces sugar about ½ cup
- 1 ½ ounces cake flour about ⅓ cup
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 2 ounces cold butter cut into cubes
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and ginger. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.
- Then add in the egg and mix until fully incorporated.
- Take turns adding the milk and flour mixture with the mixer set to low speed. Do about ⅓ of each at a time. Let them fully incorporate and then do the other.
- Stop the mixer and gently stir in the blueberries. Don't mix it in with the mixer.
To make the topping
- Combine the flour, sugar, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl.
- Using your hands, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
To bake the buckle
- Spray an 9x9 inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray
- Pour the batter into the baking dish.
- Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter.
- Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown on top.
- Allow the buckle to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
- The buckle will be good for a couple days after baking.
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