My Nana's Blueberry Buckle

blueberry buckle 2

We all have recipes that remind us of childhood. This one reminds me of both childhood and summer. Weeks spent at my grandparents' house in Connecticut, playing in the pool, cuddling the dog, chasing the cousins around the yard. Actually, in my case, I remember a fair amount of corralling the cousins, all of them younger than I. Two weeks of having five little siblings to boss around.

blueberry buckle 3

And my Nana had blueberry bushes growing out by the pool. We used to pick them for her, and only the promise of cakes like this one could get us to actually bring any of them inside before eating them all ourselves. Back in Colorado we'd read Blueberries for Sal, about a little girl's blueberry-picking adventures in Maine, and remember the satisfaction of eating fruit plucked straight off the bush.

blueberry buckle

Nana often had a sheet of blueberry buckle waiting for us by the time we rolled out of bed and made it out onto the covered porch for breakfast. The recipe comes from a small spiral-bound cookbook, shaped like a basket of strawberries. Just the kind of down-home collection such a recipe should be from. As far as old-fashioned American desserts, the buckle is pretty straight forward. It's just a single layer of cake with fruit, usually blueberries, tossed over it and topped with crumbs of butter, flour and sugar. And it makes for wonderful childhood memories.

Nana's Blueberry Buckle
Adapted from A Very Berry Cookbook by Judith Bosley
2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
Topping:
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Combine the first three ingredients. Cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg. Next, add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk. Spread the batter in a greased 13x9 inch pan. Sprinkle with the berries, and set aside. In another bowl, combine the remaining topping ingredients. Kneed them with your fingers until the mixture is a crumbly texture, and sprinkle over the berries. Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes.

Comments

Unknown said…
One of the prettiest buckles I have seen!
Zubaidatariq said…
Hi!

nice blog to read! great post.....
One of the prettiest buckles I have seen! thanks for sharing this beautiful recipe.



John Williams
Zubaida Tariq
I love blueberries! These look so delicious!
Larissa said…
Gorgeous! Can't wait to try this one...and what an adorable cookbook.
Linda said…
Thanks for this! I'm getting tons of blueberries this week, and my mother in law is coming for a visit. Perfect thing for a cup of coffee and visit on a late-summer morning!
ah blueberries, love them. So any recipe with them in it has got to be delicious!
Spencer said…
I love when food can bring up such good memories. This buckle looks great and I can't wait to try it.
ruairi said…
just had a look and it seems i have all the ingredients in the cupboard and enough time on my hands, cant resit this recipe....it looks SO GOOD!!!!

Love the blog, really personal and inspiring :-)

R.x
ruairilikes.blogspot.com
What a beautiful buckle and great story. Ah, to pick your own blueberries. Sweet!
Eliana said…
What a great recipe and awesome story. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.
Jessica said…
Thanks for sharing your childhood memories! It's amazing how certain recipes can almost take us back to our childhood.

jessyburke88@gmail.com
Anne's Kitchen said…
Ah this looks a bit like a German cake - with the crumble and fruit topping. I made a rhubarb cherry crumble the other day, it was amazing. Never heard of the term buckles - is that supposed to mean streusel cake? Very intrigued!
Laura said…
These look like slices of heaven! Could you tell me how many grams = your 1 cup?

I would love to try this myself for a family picnic in a few weeks.
Andrea said…
Hi Laura,

The recipe didn't give weight measurements, and it's really not at all a finicky recipe. Wiki says that 120 grams of white flour should be about 1 cup, and I think you'll be fine with that since it really is forgiving.

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