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Blueberry Buckle is a blueberry-studded cake topped with a sweet cinnamon-streusel topping that “buckles” as it cools.
Early in my career in the Boston area, I worked with a lovely woman named Jane. One day, Jane announced that she would be bringing in some of her Blueberry Buckle the following morning.
The Blueberry Buckle was originally Jane’s grandmother’s recipe, and I soon learned from my co-workers that this was considered a Very Special Event in the office! And the next morning, the air in the office was literally buzzing with anticipation as we waited for Jane to arrive with The Buckle.
We all watched as Jane finally walked off the elevator – carrying her blueberry buckle – with a big, knowing smile on her face. We followed Jane to the office kitchen and collectively said “ooh!” as she revealed the blueberry buckle in the baking pan, which she had thoughtfully wrapped in a dish towel so it would stay warm during her commute to the office. Carefully she served each of us a piece – and then we dove in!
What is a buckle?
A buckle is an old-fashioned single layered cake interspersed with berries and with a streusel-type topping that “buckles” as it cools.
There is one word for that blueberry buckle: sublime. Not too sweet, perfectly moist, warm and bursting with berries. OK – that was more than one word, but this is a must-try recipe!
Jane was nice enough to share her recipe with us that day, and we’re now sharing it with you. Scroll down to see this Blueberry Buckle recipe, as well as video showing how we make it!
To Jane and her grandmother, wherever you are…thank you for sharing your recipe, and I hope we have done your family recipe proud!
This recipe was originally published on A Family Feast in January 2013. The photos and recipe have been updated.
You may like these other blueberry recipes:
- Lemon Blueberry Cream Pie
- 25 Best Blueberry Recipes
- Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins
- Blueberry Pudding Cake
- The Real Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins Recipe
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Blueberry Buckle
Blueberry Buckle is a blueberry-studded cake topped with a sweet cinnamon-streusel topping that “buckles” as it cools.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- Additional shortening and flour to prepare the baking pan
For the topping
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and shortening until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until blended. Then add the milk and mix again until blended.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt. Fold the dry mixture into the wet mixture slowly until blended. Fold in the blueberries.
- Grease and flour a 9×9 or 8×10 pan. Spread the blueberry batter evenly into the prepared pan.
- To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the cake mixture in the pan.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes for an 8×10 pan or 45-50 minutes for an 9×9 pan (until cake tester comes out clean). Other size baking pans may be used – just adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- Serve warm or cold, plain or with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
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I can totally see why everyone in the office went crazy for this! Pinned
Ahhhh, one of my favorites! So delicious!
This blueberry buckle looks like breakfast to me!
Thank you so much for this recipe! Our neighbor returned from a trip to Maine, and guess what she brought us? Beautiful blueberries! I have been hoarding some of them in the freezer for a special recipe like this!! I can hardly wait to get in the kitchen to make this visually tempting blueberry buckle! And just like every recipe I have tried from A Family Feast, I have no doubt, it will be delicious! Have a great week!
Sherry Myers
Thank you Sherry! So glad you are enjoying our recipes and this recipe in particular will help you enjoy those Maine blueberries! Thanks so much for writing to us today! Martha
I just love your office story abut Jane! I really love when precious family recipes get passed down and you’re lucky enough they were willing to share!
Thanks Brenda! I can’t make this recipe without thinking of her and am extremely appreciative that she was willing to share the recipe!
Martha, I so look forward to your posts, this one may be my favorite. We love fresh blueberries, having just vacuumed packed several two cup containers for our freezer, this will be baked this week.
Can’t wait to see the pictures of the new granite counter tops.
Your love of family,home and food is heart warming!!
Linda
Thank you so much Linda! You’ve made our day and Jack and I both so appreciate you taking the time to comment! 🙂 I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! We just had the new countertops installed this past week and have a few little bit of trim work to add around the island. Once that is complete, we’ll share the finished kitchen photos! Thanks again for writing to us today!
I just made this last night and my husband fed most of it to some very talented and hard working guys rebuilding our deck while I was at work today. They loved it!
I am glad I packed a piece for supper at work tonight-otherwise, I would be out of luck.
I like to use cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg into the cake batter – and a teaspoon of vanilla. I sub brown sugar for half of the the called-for white sugar in the cake portion of the recipe (1/2 white/1/2 brown) I don’t touch the topping ingredients; I don’t think you can improve on that!
Sounds like a great variation Jan! Thanks for sharing!
Can I use butter instead of shortening? Looks so good.found this on Pinterest…thank you
Yes! The taste may be a little different but it will be delicious!
could you substitute other types of fruit? like chopped peaches in this recipe? I’m thinking it peach buckle would be delicious and don’t see a reason it wouldn’t work, but I am not an expert baker. I mean, I can follow a recipe but making changes to baking recipes is not my forte.
I think fresh peaches that aren’t too wet would work great! It’s a pretty basic batter so the flavor will be fine for other fruits! Let us know how it comes out for you!
Can this recipe be doubled ok?
Hi Chris – I’ve never doubled it myself but I’m sure it would work if you can find the right size pan! A 9×13 might be a little too small since the cake rises a bit as it bakes. Let us know how it comes out! Thanks!