Recipes Ingredients Fruit Blueberry Recipes Blueberry Buckle 4.0 (1) Moist and fluffy, this simple cake is a must for berry season. Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 1 hr Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins Servings: 8 to 10 Jump to recipe Don’t let summer slip by without making Martha’s blueberry buckle recipe. Loaded with juicy fruit and crowned with a buttery streusel topping, it’s just as delicious for dessert as it is breakfast the next day. Better yet, it comes together with minimal effort and is made with basic fridge and pantry ingredients like flour, white and brown sugars, baking powder, and milk. Since this just-sweet-enough cake calls for a whopping five cups of fruit, it’s worth seeking out fresh local berries from the farmers market or, even better, picking them yourself. You’ll need an electric mixer to make the batter and a springform pan to bake it in. Serve it warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream and savor the deliciousness of berry season. Credit: Jason Donnelly How to Wash Blueberries the Right Way How a Buckle Is Different From a Coffee Cake At first glance, this crumb-topped cake closely resembles coffee cake, but there's one big difference that sets them apart: the fruit. While coffee cake recipes may sometimes call for fruit (see our Meyer-lemon version, for example), a buckle always contains a fruity component. In fact, the generous amount of it that's folded into the batter is what makes the cake "buckle," hence its quirky name. The Best Blueberries for a Buckle Fresh vs. Frozen: We prefer the taste and texture of a buckle made with fresh blueberries. In-season fruit, ideally from a local source, will make this recipe really sing, so seek it out if you can. Should you only be able to locate frozen berries, though, you can still make this recipe; just thaw them under cold running water and drain them well before adding them to your batter. Wild vs. Cultivated: Because this recipe was developed at Martha's home in Maine, it uses wild blueberries, which are smaller and have a more concentrated flavor than more widely available cultivated varieties. You can certainly use larger, juicier cultivated berries if that’s what’s available where you live. Growing blueberries at home is easier than you may think—and will supply you with plenty of berries for future buckles, pancakes, and pies. Our easy tips will guide you through the process, from planting to pruning to harvesting. Directions Credit: Jason Donnelly Make the streusel: In a medium bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or fork until mixture forms fine crumbs. Using your hands, squeeze together most of mixture to form large clumps. Set aside until ready to use. Credit: Jason Donnelly Preheat oven and prep pan; mix dry ingredients: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 10-inch springform pan; dust with flour, tapping out excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Credit: Jason Donnelly Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and vanilla: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add egg and vanilla. Credit: Jason Donnelly Add flour and milk: Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until just combined. Gently fold in berries. Credit: Jason Donnelly Use a rubber spatula to fold in the berries by hand instead of relying on your mixer; otherwise, they may burst and bleed throughout the batter. Transfer batter to pan; add topping and bake: Transfer batter to prepared pan; sprinkle topping over batter. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Credit: Jason Donnelly Cool: Transfer to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Remove side of pan. Let cool 15 minutes before serving. Credit: Jason Donnelly How to Store Martha's Blueberry Buckle Let the buckle cool to room temperature before wrapping it well in plastic or transferring it to an airtight container. It'll keep on the counter for 3 to 4 days stored this way. For longer storage, wrap the buckle in a double layer of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil, and freeze it for up to 3 months. Let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight, still covered, before enjoying. How to Serve This Buckle Like most juicy, berry-studded desserts, this one is made even more delicious by a scoop of vanilla ice cream or some freshly whipped cream. If you're serving it for breakfast or brunch, try serving it with a dollop of Greek yogurt or crème fraîche, which will take it in a rich but less dessert-leaning direction. 5 More Blueberry Recipes to Make Blueberry Pie Classic Blueberry Crumb Cake Blueberry Tart Our Favorite Blueberry Muffins Blueberry-Cheesecake Icebox Cake Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.