Blueberry Buckle with Cinnamon Streusel

After testing a parade of healthier recipes for cakes, cookies, and muffins within the last week, it felt so good to be naughty again with this recipe for blueberry buckle!

I don’t mind eating healthy – I actually love it! With Foodal’s recipes for healthy snacks, vegan desserts, and creamy smoothies, I don’t struggle at all to limit my consumption of the not-so-good-for-you ingredients.

It’s a nice convenience to have a stash of whole wheat banana coconut cocoa muffins in the freezer that I can grab on my way out the door to work (running late, as always).

And I really do love stealing a spoonful of a barely set vegan cashew cream chocolate cheesecake for a sweet dairy-free pick-me-up. Especially if no one notices the small chunk missing from the surface.

But maaaaaaaan… I was really starting to miss the mischief of a butter-laden, stick-to-your-guts, extra sugary desserts!

I’m sure many of you know the feeling.

That’s why it was a major relief to work on this recipe for homemade blueberry buckle, in ALL its buttery, sugary glory!

Don’t know what a buckle is? It’s a single layer of a super soft and fluffy cake mixed with fresh fruit. As the batter bakes, the heavy fruit pieces cause the batter to “buckle” around the fruit, creating delicious divots and crevices on the surface.

While a streusel topping is optional, I believe a chunky, cinnamon-y crumble is the perfect accompaniment to the cake, since it gives your buckle a comforting coffee cake vibe.

The crunchy, crystalline chunks of brown sugar mixed with butter and spice blanket the entire surface of the cake, and slightly sink into the batter as the cake bakes.

The combination of the soft, juicy berries, the melt-in-your-mouth vanilla base, and the crisp streusel on top creates a moment of pure, blissful harmony with every mouthful.

The only thing missing is the perfect final touch – a dollop of freshly whipped cream or a sprinkling of powdered sugar on top, or a scoopful of vanilla bean ice cream served on the side.

Look, I won’t argue that healthy recipes don’t deserve their rightful place in our daily diet…

But so do the naughty recipes! Join me in my small act of buttery anarchy, and make the recipe soon!

Blueberry Buckle with Cinnamon Streusel

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• Author: Nikki Cervone
• Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
• Yield: 12 small squares 1x

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Description

Looking for an easy cake recipe that showcases the ripest, sweetest summer fruit? Learn how to make this blueberry buckle topped with streusel.

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Ingredients

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For the Topping:

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup gently packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

For the Cake:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup buttermilk 
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

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Instructions

To Make the Streusel:

1. Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. 
2. Mix in the butter with a sturdy spatula or spoon until completely combined and a soft, thick crumble forms. Set aside. 

To Make the Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-by-8-inch pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about five to seven minutes.
3. As the butter and sugar are creaming, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate medium-sized bowl. 
4. Whisk together the whole milk and buttermilk in a separate small bowl. 
5. Whip the egg whites with a whisk in a separate medium-sized bowl until very soft peaks form.
6. Add the flour mixture and milk alternately to the butter-sugar mixture at low speed until combined, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until a smooth and thick batter forms, about one minute. Don’t overbeat. 
7. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and fold in the beaten egg whites with a spatula. Continue folding until no streaks of beaten egg whites remain. 
8. Fold in the blueberries until evenly distributed in the batter. 
9. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Evenly crumble the reserved streusel on top of the batter.
10. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the cake is an even golden-brown color on the surface and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 
11. Allow to cool slightly to serve warm, or allow to cool completely in the pan to serve at room temperature.

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 55 minutes
• Category: Cake
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: Dessert

Keywords: blueberry, buckle, cake, streusel, crumble, cinnamon

Cooking by the Numbers…

Step 1 – Prep

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-by-8-inch pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Soften the unsalted butter needed for the base and the topping. Measure out all of the remaining ingredients.

Separate the two egg whites from the yolks. No need to throw away the yolks! I’ll be using mine to make a creamy hollandaise sauce for eggs Benedict.

Step 2 – Make Cinnamon Streusel

Make the streusel topping by whisking together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.

Mix in the butter with a sturdy spatula or spoon until completely combined and a soft, thick crumble forms. Set aside.

Do you think the butter melted too much before you added it to the other ingredients? If the streusel feels too soft and gloopy after it has been mixed, you can refrigerate the streusel as you are preparing the remaining steps of the recipe.

You can get as complex with the spices as you would like for the streusel! If you want big, bolder spice flavors, I would recommend using 2 teaspoons of our homemade pumpkin pie spice.

Step 3 – Prep Batter

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about five to seven minutes.

While the sugar and butter are creaming together, you can prep the remaining ingredients needed for the batter in separate bowls:

• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt
• Whisk together the whole milk and buttermilk
• Whip the egg whites until very soft peaks form

Be sure you don’t over-whip the egg whites! The stiffer they are, the more difficult it will be to easily incorporate them into the thick batter. Err on the side of softer, rather than stiffer, peaks.

Step 4 – Finish Batter

Once the butter-sugar mixture is soft and fluffy, add the flour mixture and milk alternately at low speed until combined, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until a smooth and thick batter forms, about one minute. Don’t overbeat.

Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. Fold in the beaten egg whites with a sturdy rubber spatula. Continue folding until no streaks of beaten egg whites remain. The batter will be slightly lighter in color and smoother in texture.

Fold in the blueberries until evenly distributed in the batter.

Step 5 – Assemble

Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Evenly crumble the reserved streusel on top of the batter.

I like a fun medley of larger and smaller crumbles when I spread the streusel, but you can choose to spread them however you like.

Step 6 – Bake and Cool

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the cake is an even golden-brown color on the surface and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

You can serve slices of buckle while they’re still warm, or allow the dessert to cool completely and serve at room temperature. Either option will be perfect and delicious!

About Nikki Cervone

Nikki Cervone is an ACS Certified Cheese Professional and cheesemonger living in Pittsburgh. Nikki holds an AAS in baking/pastry from Westmoreland County Community College, a BA in Communications from Duquesne University, and an MLA in Gastronomy from Boston University. When she's not nibbling on her favorite cheeses or testing a batch of cupcakes, Nikki enjoys a healthy dose of yoga, wine, hiking, singing in the shower, and chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

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