Blueberry Buckle

By Mark Sanne

You may have noticed that I LOVE these simple and kind of old-fashioned cakes. You know, the kind your grandmother might make (if she knew how to bake) as a treat for her grandkids. There is something so satisfying about being able to whip together a delicious cake in under an hour. The hardest part is having to wait for it to cool before cutting into it. These types of cakes all basically have a similar simple and quick recipe with variations in their ingredients such as sour cream or buttermilk or yogurt and some have seasonal fruit or nuts. Having a good, dependable coffee cake recipe in your repertoire is essential and you’ll always be a welcome guest if you show up with one of these at someone’s house for a short stay. Here I’ve used blueberries but you could just as easily use raspberries or blackberries, whatever is in season. 

Blueberries are for me a paradox. I can’t stand them raw but absolutely love them cooked in a cake, pie or pancakes. Go figure. When I was a kid, every summer my family would go camping up in Maine or Canada and my siblings and I would go wild blueberry picking. The reward would be fresh wild blueberry pancakes for breakfast the next morning. Lucky us for sure!

Enjoy this delicious cake for breakfast, afternoon coffee or dessert. 

Streusel
1/3	cup (67g) sugar
1/2	cup (57g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1	teaspoon cinnamon
1/8	teaspoon salt
4	tablespoons (57g) room temperature unsalted butter
Cake
2	cups (241g) unbleached all-purpose flour
2	teaspoons baking powder
1/2	teaspoon baking soda
1/2	teaspoon salt
3/4	cup (149g) sugar
4	tablespoons (57g) soft unsalted butter
1	large egg, at room temperature
1	teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8	teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2/3	cup (160g) buttermilk, at room temperature
2	cups (183g) fresh or frozen blueberries

	Preheat the oven to 375°F/ 200°C. Lightly grease an 8"/24cm square pan and line the bottom with parchment paper
To make the streusel topping
1.	Mix the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Using your fingertips, mix in the butter to the sugar-flour mixture and rub until it resembles wet sand then set aside.
To make the cake
1.	Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt together in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
2.	In a separate bowl, beat together with a hand mixer or a stand mixer the butter and gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg, and vanilla and beat well.
3.	Alternately add the flour and buttermilk mixture to the sugar/butter mixture, starting and ending with flour. Gently fold in the blueberries. Stir only enough to blend.
4.	Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the batter.
5.	Bake the cake for 44-50 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
6.	Remove the cake from the oven, and set it on a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife or spatula around then edges of the pan, place a cutting board on top of the pan and flip it over so the cake is upside down. Peel off the parchment paper then place the cooling rack on the bottom of the cake and flip back over so the cake is right side up. Let cook for at least 30 minute if you can wait that long.