Sunday, June 30, 2013

Blueberry Buckle

Blueberry Buckle

Garnish with ice cream and berries for a red, white & blue July 4th dessert

This coming Thursday is July 4th.  It’s Independence Day in the US — and a big cookout opportunity for many of us.  What’s more, July 1 is Canada Day.  So there are lots of reasons to celebrate here in North America!

The arrival of July also means that blueberries are at their best.  Although blueberry bushes produce fruit from May to September in this part of the world, the peak crop always arrives toward the middle of the season.  So starting about now, the year’s most flavorful blueberries are showing up in markets.  And since the blueberry is a North American original, what could be more fitting for July 4th, that most American of holidays? 

If you’re making a blueberry dessert for a cookout, you’d probably welcome an easy-to-make dish that can be whipped up ahead of time — and transported easily.

Blueberry Buckle, at your service. 

This traditional dish is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.  It’s great served neat, or you can fancy it up to create an appropriately patriotic plate:  Just add a bit of vanilla ice cream and some raspberries or strawberries for garnish.  Voilà!  A glorious red, white, and blue dessert.


Blueberry Buckle

Recipe:  Blueberry Buckle

A “buckle” is a dessert that features fruit (blueberries are the most popular) baked in cake batter, and topped with streusel.  (See Notes for more information on buckles and other baked fruit desserts).

Blueberry Buckle is delicious served all by itself.  But it’s fun to dress up the plate with ice cream and colorful raspberries or strawberries (maybe some fresh blueberries, too).  A sprig of green mint adds nice contrast.  Or you could serve Blueberry Buckle in a bowl, with some heavy cream poured over it (when I was a kid, my mom sometimes served it that way).

Mrs. Kitchen Riffs is the baker in our household, and this recipe is hers.  She adapted it from a recipe found in The Cook’s Bible by Christopher Kimball. (BTW, according to Mrs K R, this recipe includes more butter and eggs, and less flour, than most recipes for Blueberry Buckle.)

This recipe takes about 30 minutes to mix up, plus another 45 to 55 minutes of baking time.

This recipe serves 8.  Leftovers keep well for a day or two at room temperature (covered with cling wrap).  Or store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

For the batter:
  • ~3 cups blueberries
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1¼ sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (see Notes)
  • 3 large eggs, preferably pasteurized (see Notes)
  • ¾ teaspoon lemon zest 
For the streusel topping:
  • ½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup brown sugar (packed)
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ~ ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional; see Notes)
For garnish (optional):
  • vanilla ice cream
  • raspberries or strawberries
  • mint leaf (very optional, but colorful)
Procedure
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (350 for glass baking dish).  Butter an 8 by 8 inch baking dish, and line with parchment paper.  Set aside.
  2. Wash blueberries and remove any stems.  Drain berries (I generally use a colander or a large strainer placed over the kitchen sink).
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup of flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.
  4. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl, using a hand mixer), cream the softened butter.  Add granulated sugar and vanilla, and beat until fluffy.  Add eggs and beat until well combined.  Add lemon zest and beat until well mixed.  With mixer at low speed, beat in the flour mixture, and mix until well combined.  Add the drained blueberries and mix until just combined.  Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
  5. Now make the streusel topping:  Cut the chilled butter into small pieces.  (I cut the butter in half lengthwise, then in half again, forming quarters.  Then I cut across the width a few times to create smallish dice.)
  6. Add the diced butter to the bowl of a food processor, along with ¼ cup of flour, the brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped walnuts (if using) and pulse for a minute or so.  Alternatively, add the diced butter and other ingredients to a medium bowl and mix with a fork, pastry blender, or your hands until you form a coarse meal.  Spread the streusel mixture evenly over the batter in the baking dish. 
  7. Place baking dish in the oven and bake until the buckle is set and a knife inserted into the middle comes out barely moist (45 to 55 minutes).
  8. Serve slices of buckle by themselves, or add optional garnish.
Blueberry Buckle

Notes
  • How did Blueberry Buckle get its name?  Nobody really knows for sure.  The best guess is that it refers to the “buckled” look the streusel topping gets when it’s baked.
  • Fruit buckles seem to have been around since the early colonial era in America.  But according to food guru Alton Brown, nobody bothered to publish a recipe for one until the late 1950s, when Elsie Masterton included Blueberry Buckle in her Blueberry Hill Cookbook.  (That’s a terrific book, BTW — but now out of print, alas).
  • The best blueberries are smooth, with a deep blue (indigo) color.  Size has no bearing on quality. 
  • Fresh blueberries are covered with a silvery coating — it’s actually a protective epicuticular wax, called fruit bloom.  (You see the same thing on some other fruits, such as plums.)
  • You can store blueberries in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  They’ll keep for a few days — maybe up to a week (though that’s pushing it).  Don’t wash blueberries before storing; wash them only when you’re ready to use.
  • You can substitute frozen blueberries for fresh in this recipe.  Frozen blueberries are often quite high quality, and generally are a safer bet during the winter months than “fresh” blueberries picked half a world away and flown in. 
  • I’ve said it before, but will repeat myself:  You should use high quality (pure) vanilla extract in this recipe.  Its flavor is so much better than the imitation kind.
  • Pure vanilla extract is made by soaking vanilla beans in a mixture of water and alcohol for several months.  BTW, the FDA requires that pure vanilla extract contain at least 35% alcohol.  If the label doesn’t say “pure,” that means it’s made from synthetic vanilla.  The artificial kind is usually derived from the sapwood of several species of conifers — or from coal extracts!  How appetizing (not).
  • The flavor of some imitation vanillas can be nasty.  You don’t have to spend a fortune on pure vanilla extract, but getting decent quality does mean spending a bit more for something that’s not loaded with sugar or imitation flavoring.  Do yourself a favor and get the real stuff.
  • Eggs carry a slight (but real) risk of salmonella.  So I suggest using pasteurized eggs.  Although it’s unlikely that the eggs you buy will be infected, why take the risk?  I don’t know about you, but I find it’s impossible to make a dish like this without tasting as I’m preparing it! 
  • You can easily identify pasteurized eggs because they usually have a red “P” stamped on them.
  • A traditional streusel topping contains nothing more than flour, butter, and sugar — plus maybe a bit of spice.  It’s tasty, but it tends to “melt” into the underlying batter.  So some recipes add oats to streusel in a bid for texture.  Unfortunately, oats are flavor-challenged — not to mention tough.  So I don’t recommend them. Chopped nuts make a much better streusel extender. 
  • If you’re serving ice cream with Blueberry Buckle, you may want to top it with a berry-based sauce instead of whole berries. Homemade Strawberry Sauce is nice (or substitute raspberries for strawberries in that recipe). 
  • A buckle is similar to a crisp, but a crisp has no cake batter (it’s just flavored fruit covered with streusel). For an example of a crisp, see last year’s post on Walnut Apple Crisp.) 
  • In addition to buckles and crisps, there are many other types of baked fruit desserts. Including, of course, the ever popular pie! For more baked fruit desserts, read on. (Keep in mind that these definitions are not set in stone — there are endless variations on variations.) 
  • A crumble is basically another name for a crisp (the term “crumble” tends to be preferred in Britain, where “crisps” are what Americans call potato chips). 
  • A betty is a crisp in which the streusel is replaced by buttered bread crumbs (you usually toss some of them with the dessert). 
  • A cobbler features fruit baked in a deep dish, topped by biscuit dough. (For an example, see our post on Easy Peach Cobbler.) 
  • A short cake typically is made with biscuit-like dough and served with fruit on top (strawberries being the favorite). 
  • A fool is generally made with pureed fruit and whipped cream. 
  • A grunt features fruit that is stewed on top of the stove (often in a cast-iron skillet). You drop biscuit dough on top of the fruit, and then steam or bake until the dough is cooked. (Some say the dish got its name from the sound it makes while cooking.) 
  • A slump is the same as a grunt. 
  • A pandowdy (or pan dowdy) is baked fruit covered with a top crust that has been “dowdied” (i.e., broken into pieces). 
  • A clafoutis features cherries baked into a flan-like mixture (this dessert probably originated in the Limousin region of France). 
  • A flaugnarde is the same as a clafoutis, but it’s made with fruit other than cherries. (For an example, see our post on Grape Flaugnarde.)
Blueberry Buckle

Blueberry Bolters

“Such a great dessert!” I enthused.  “Blueberry Buckle is one of my summer favorites — my mom always made this several times every summer when I was a kid.”

“It really is good,” said Mrs. Kitchen Riffs.  “And I love the names of these dishes:  Buckle . . . cobbler . . . fool.  Who thinks those up?”

“Don’t know,” I said between bites.  “But maybe we should make more of them, with all these blueberries we have around.”

“We could,” said Mrs K R.  “Maybe I should do a flaugnarde.”

“Or, hey — how about a grunt?” I said.  “I don’t think I’ve ever had one, and I love the name.”

“That certainly would be appropriate,” said Mrs K R as she watched me oink down my last bit of buckle.  “Although a fool might be even more appropriate.”

Wonder what she meant by that.

You may also enjoy reading about:
Grape Flaugnarde
Easy Peach Cobbler
Walnut Apple Crisp
Homemade Strawberry Sauce
Black Walnut Sandies
Walnut Roll Cake
Microwave Peanut Butter Fudge
Chocolate Fudge with Nutella
Peanut Butter Cookies
Ultimate Chocolate Brownie
Homemade Meringues

112 comments:

Barb | Creative Culinary said...

I've made this very recipe and love it...and did a post once on all the many varieties of dishes like this and their silly names so yes, you made me chuckle! I love a fool...especially ones that are fruity. :)

Hannah Cordes said...

Bring on the slumps and fools! I love summer fruit desserts, especially when blueberries are involved. This blueberry buckle sounds divine and perfect for July 4th! Your photos are always so tempting. Happy summer to you!

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Barb, I'll have to check out your post on silly food names - knowing you, it's a great post! Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Hannah, happy summer to you, too! ;-) Blueberries always scream summer to me - such great flavor. I have a feeling Mrs K R and I are going to be eating a ton of blueberry desserts this month. ;-)

Carolyn Jung said...

A classic summer dessert. Mmmm, I just want to indulge in a big slab while laying in a hammock. ;)

Abbe@This is How I Cook said...

What's a fool again? Just kidding! But I loved all those definitions! And I love this buckle because I love the crumble. Very confusing!But I'll take a fool, too because those are fools I can handle!

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Carolyn, it really is a classic, isn't it? And you've reminded me that I need a hammock! Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Abbe, ;-) Aren't all these names great? I totally love them! Not as much as I love eating the desserts, though. Thanks for the comment.

Debra Eliotseats said...

Love the notes. It was only last summer that I realized all my clafoutis I was making were really flaugnardes. Whether its the Fourth or Canada Day, this dessert looks perfect.

~ Nee ~ said...

All I can say is yummmy .Love blueberries and the buckle is a must have . Following you home after the picnic :)

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Debra, I always used to call everything a clafoutis too - and I also learned the distinction between it and a flaugnarde about a year or so ago. And this is indeed a perfect dessert! One of my faves. Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Nee, is buckle such a great dessert? I can't live without it! Thanks for the comment.

~ Nee ~ said...

Hi John , must be nibbling on to many picnic goodies I forgot to tell you... the Bacardi Cocktails went over great with my guests this weekend . .. see you at the picnic :)

Choc Chip Uru @ Go Bake Yourself said...

One of my favourite recipes my friend :D
Delicious job!

Cheers
CCU

Maureen | Orgasmic Chef said...

I don't think I could eat anything called a grunt. It just makes my eyes roll. Blueberry buckle is something I grew up with and I love it.

It will be cold here but I'll have a picnic!

Daniela Grimburg said...

Only looking at the presentation and the gorgeous colors makes me grave for this dessert :)
Thanks for sharing!

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

I made Martha Stewart's recipe eons ago...and I don't know why I haven't repeated it. It's a perfect dessert for this time of year...and Mrs. KR's recipe sounds wonderful!

Amy said...

I know....I love the ripe and sweet blueberries in July. Come to think of it, I've never made a Blueberry Buckle before. I just got a huge box of blueberry though. So, I think it's time to try this out. And I love your idea of adding berries and ice cream to make it festive and perfect for the 4th!

Daniela Grimburg said...

Uups, I meant of course CRAVE :))

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Nee, terrific! And I'll definitely be stopping by the picnic. ;-)

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Uru, isn't this a great dessert? Or breakfast. ;-) thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Maureen, the grunt name is pretty amusing! I figured buckle was something you knew well - all those blueberries in Maine! Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Daniela, this is such a terrific dessert - craving it is not optional! Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Liz, I don't know if Mrs K R has made Martha Stewart's recipe or not, but she's tried a bunch, and this is what she came up with. Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Amy, you owe it to yourself to devote some of the blueberries to a buckle! You'll enjoy it. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

FamilySpice said...

I adore all of these fruit desserts! Just had an apricot cobbler over the weekend and a berry crisp. Bring on the buckles, crumbles and anything else that is baked with fruit!

Kitchen Riffs said...

;-) I knew - but it's so easy to make typos, isn't it? I do it all the time!

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Laura, I'm with you on loving all these fruit desserts! We love these so much we'll be doing at least a couple more. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Unknown said...

What a delicious looking dessert! I love berries and crumble, this is the perfect dish for the weather we have been having here, I could curl up in bed and and have a huge bowl with hot custard.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Gourmet Getaways, hot custard would be wonderful with this! I haven't had it that way, but it's a terrific idea. Thanks for the comment.

Hotly Spiced said...

That looks like a wonderful dessert. I love blueberries and they are available all year round here but the price certainly fluctuates. Right now they're just too expensive to buy fresh so if I need them for recipes I'm buying the ones from the freezer section. But there's nothing better than fresh blueberries right at the peak of their season! xx

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Charlie, it really is a wonderful dish - loads of flavor. Frozen blueberries really make a lot of sense during much of the year, IMO. They're usually picked at the peak of the season, so the quality is quite good. Thanks for the commet.

Unknown said...

Compliments to Mrs. Kitchen Riffs. This looks fabulous. I've never heard of the word "buckle" used to describe dessert. I learn something new everyday! I must try and make this gluten-free. My husband is drooling over the photos. Great recipe John!

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Gomo, buckles are a pretty old dessert and not all that common these days, alas. They're great! And well worth making. I suspect making this gluten-free shouldn't be too difficult, although my expertise in that area is minimal. Glad you (and your husband!) enjoyed this, and thanks for commenting.

ChgoJohn said...

This looks like a wonderful dessert, John. Blueberries made their first appearance at the farmers market yesterday. I'm still enjoying the fresh strawberries, though, so I'll wait another week. WHen I'm ready, this will be one of recipes I bake, along with a pie, muffins, and a quick bread. I'm no baker but these recipes are fool proof and the latter two can be frozen for enjoyment in the non-berry months. Thanks for de-mystifying the various berry desserts and thanks to Mrs. Kitchen RIffs for sharing a great dessert. I've already pinned it so I'll know where to find it.

Milktea Eats said...

im so jealous that berries are so plump and CHEAP in the US. i love my blueberries but they are too expensive here for me to have outside of its season!

Beth said...

Oh, blueberry buckle, how I love thee! I make them in the summer with fresh fruit, I make them in the winter with frozen. I know you've used strawberries and whipped cream for a red, white and blue effect, but my favorite way to serve a blueberry buckle is with lemon sauce. It is so divine that Mrs. KR may actually begin grunting herself.

Helene Dsouza said...

Oh your blueberry buckles look glorious. Like gomo I didn't know buckles. You get blueberries in the wild for so long in north america? In europe, we only get to pick them now and only for 2 weeks in the year. For that we used to go into the forest were they grow under pine trees. Not sure if it's the same everywhere in the northern hemisphere.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi John, it's a tough call at this time of the year between blueberries and strawberries! So we eat strawberries for breakfast, and blueberries for desserts. ;-) This is a wonderful recipe and I think you'll enjoy it. Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi milkteaxx, blueberries are a bit pricey most of the year, but they're very affordable during the height of the season. And frozen blueberries in the US usually are a good value. Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Beth, we should try lemon sauce - sounds wonderful! Lemons and blueberries work so well together. I suspect we'd both be grunting! Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Helene, the season is long mainly because there are always a few berries that are ready to pick, but more because there are so many different areas in which the berries grow, and they mature at different times. But July is when we start to see the best and most abundant supply of the season. And there certainly are a lot of wild berries, but virtually everything we find in stores are cultivated berries. Thanks for the comment.

Asmita said...

Wow,
Blueberries are cheap and in abundance right now. We love blueberries and I would love to try this wonderful dish out. Looks delicious!

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Asmita, this is totally wonderful! Really worth making - if you like blueberries, you'll really enjoy this. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

FLAVZCORNER said...

Yes, the blueberries are in abundance in the market. The blueberry buckle looks terrific!!! Loved the 3rd picture.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Shibi, it's really a great dish! One of my favorite blueberry preparations (although I don't think I've ever had a blueberry dish I didn't like!). Thanks for the comment.

Anonymous said...

That is screaming summer and July 4th - what a perfect dessert to bring to a BBQ!

Laura Dembowski said...

I absolutely love blueberry buckle. I have been thinking about making it soon. My favorite recipe has 5 cups of blueberries, so it's almost all berries - so yummy!

Anne ~ Uni Homemaker said...

I just LOVE Blueberry Buckle! And anything with a streusel topping like that always gets my attention. Looks delicious! I'm so ready to sink my teeth into that. :) Great post John!

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Alyssa, it's a great dessert for any sort of outdoor meal! And it's so totally July 4th. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Laura, 5 cups of blueberries? That must taste tremendous! Sounds wonderful. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Anne, aren't streusel toppings so good? And it's perfect in this dish! Thanks for the kind words, and comment.

Christine @ Cooking Crusade said...

Oh wow, this is such a gorgeous looking dessert. We are having such wintery weather in Sydney at the moment so I would absolutely love to tuck into this at home on these cold nights!

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Christine, this is a real comforting dessert! Although I always think of it as a summer dessert, with frozen blueberries it'd be great for winter weather too. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Dawn @ Words Of Deliciousness said...

I love blueberries. This looks like one yummy dessert.

Anne@FromMySweetHeart said...

LOL...John...I so love your conversations with Mrs. KR's over your recipes. She has a great one with this blueberry buckle. That streusel topping browned so nicely. You've got me wanting to freeze a bag of plump fresh blueberries so that I can enjoy this in the winter. Beautiful dessert and I'm anxious to try this one! : )

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Dawn, it's totally delish! One of my favorites. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Anne, Mrs K R is a card. ;-) This is a wonderful dessert - and streusel has has such nice flavor. We really need to try this in the winter too (with frozen berries)! Thanks for the comment.

Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes said...

I like that this can be made ahead of time! Nothing worse than trying to make a dish to bring to a picnic at the last minute. I like to plan ahead and enjoy my holidays :)

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Ashley, I'm with you on wanting to make dishes ahead! And this one is perfect for that. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Kristi @ My San Francisco Kitchen said...

I love that blue color, so festive :D I love these types of desserts with streusel topping. Thanks for the tips - I agree, imitation vanilla tastes horrible! Happy 4th!!

Unknown said...

I loved your list of all fruit dessert terms!! I made a flaugnarde with pears on Saturday, it was very good. The blueberry buckle looks fabulous and I would definitely like mine with ice cream. I like the whole hot and cold thing. I absolutely love fruit desserts from pies to cobblers to flaugnardes! Great recipe John!

Nazneen

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Kristi, isn't the color of this wonderful? And anything with streusel is wonderful! Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Nazneen, there are a lot of fruit desserts, aren't there? And many we have yet to make - like the fool. ;-) I suspect we'll be doing them all! Thanks for the comment.

mjskit said...

Only you would describe a dessert as being best when served "neat". :) This is new. I've never heard of a "buckle". I've probably had one or two in my lifetime but any memory of it is long gone. I certainly have never made one. Cobbler is the standard baked fruit dessert for us southern girls. I do love the fruit in the cake batter. It's like a huge blueberry pancake topped with streusel, something I would definitely enjoy biting into. And yes - the vanilla ice cream is a must! What a great dessert for the fourth! Thanks John! Happy Fourth of July weekend!

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi MJ, ;-) Cobbler is terrific - my default way to prepare a baked fruit dessert (well, pie too). But buckle, blueberry in particular, is wonderful. Definitely worth making. Thanks for the July 4th wishes (and comment, too!), and I hope you and Bobby have a great 4th as well.

motherrimmy said...

The cake looks so light and fluffy. A beautiful contrast with berries underneath. This is my kind of dessert! :)

wok with ray said...

That is one great looking and if I may add. . . patriotic dessert. Great treat in time for our 4th of July Independence Day. Have a happy 4th of July to you and your loved ones, John!

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Kristi, it's a super flavorful dish - and who can resist berries? ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Ray, it is a tad patriotic, isn't it? ;-) And so good! Happy 4th to you, and thanks for the comment.

Julia | JuliasAlbum.com said...

I love berry desserts! Ice cream on the side, with berries ... yum, yum! This is perfect for the 4th of July!

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Julia, aren't berry desserts so great? We totally love them, too. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Amelia said...

Hi John, this look so tempting and delectable. Nice plating and beautiful click. Who can resist blueberries? I would love mine with double scoop ice cream! :)

Happy 4th July celebration. Have a nice week ahead,regards.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Amelia, this is such a great dessert all by itself, but with two scoops of ice cream? Awesome! Thanks for the comment.

Anonymous said...

Definitely a vanilla ice cream would be a perfect pair with those lovely buckles

Fran @ G'day Souffle' said...

Happy July 4th holiday! Thanks for the definition of what a 'betty' is. Apple Betty used to be my favorite dessert. In high school, I used to buy a hot lunch for 35 cents, but for 50 cents I could buy an extra large Apple Betty. What memories we have by reading food stories and blogs!

Kiran @ KiranTarun.com said...

I chuckled at the list! Thanks for sharing and now, I need this buckle for breakfast. Everyday :D

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Raymund, vanilla ice cream is such a great combo with this - decadent, but delish! Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Fran, aren't food memories so fascinating? And I find all of these baked fruit desserts fascinating too - they're all rather similar, but at the same time quite distinct. Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Kiran, isn't that a great list? And buckle for dessert actually works - think of it as a blueberry pancake substitute. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Nancy/SpicieFoodie said...

You weren't kidding, we really both posted blueberry buckle. I love the crumble on top of yours, mine didn't look this good. I'll have to try your recipe next time. Have a great holiday:)

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Nancy, as I said on your blueberry buckle post, "great minds!" Mrs K R is good with toppings like this. Thanks for the comment.

Arlene Jordan said...

Dear Mr. KR I do love so many of the things you tell us about and some of the "history " behind them (such as the cocktails) I make quite a few of them (no I don't mean the cocktails , I mean the recipes) My only complaint is that I can not print them out to bring into the kitchen unless I print out the whole blog comments and all....I am elderly and using that much paper for the recipe is not a sound move on my part . Do you have a suggestion on how I can get just the recipe and your notes with out all the other material...? I have tried highlighting what I want but it doesn't work.

Yudith @ Blissfully Delicious said...

John, this looks fantastic - how can you go wrong with a beautiful cake like this? We would actually enjoy this for breakfast as well :) Beautiful picture.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Arlene, I'm glad you enjoy the recipes! And I wouldn't want to print out an entire post, either! I'm surprised highlighting doesn't work for you. I just tried highlighting the list of ingredients and procedure only, then copying (control-c), then pasting into Notepad (control-v) and it worked. (If you don't want to use Notepad, you can use any word processor.) Alternatively, you could just copy the whole post, paste into Notepad or whatever, and then delete the part you didn't want before printing - although that would be more work. Hope this was somewhat helpful, and thanks for reading.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Yudith, this really is a delish dessert. Or breakfast. ;-) It really works for either. Thanks for the comment.

Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things said...

What?! How did I miss this one... blueberries are at the top of my list of favourites, John... and your recipe is superb. Do you home deliver... to Australia!?! ; D

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Lizzy, aren't blueberries super? Such great flavor. I'd love to be able to home deliver to Australia! I've never been there, and would love to go someday. Thanks for the comment.

Amanda@ChewTown said...

That looks truly spectacular! I'm loving Mrs KR's recipe. Unfortunately I'll have to admire from a distance as my partner hates eating anything with berries (sad face)

Bill said...

Wow! Any fruit baked with flour, sugar, and butter gets my vote. Grew up eating cobblers in the south and this variation looks fantastic. Great photos as well!! Thanks for sharing and happy 4th of July!

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Amanda, oh too bad that you can't enjoy this! It's really a nice dessert, but of course there are tons and tons of other great desserts out there that the two of you can enjoy together. Thanks for the comment.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Bill, cobblers rule in the south, and they're one of my favorite fruit preparations. But when it comes to blueberries, I think the buckle works a bit better. Happy 4th to you, and thanks for the comment.

Nusrat Azim said...

That Buckle asked me to bite hard on my screen ! If I make this dish, I'm afraid it wont make it to the table. And you know who's gonna eat it all :(

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Suborna, save a piece for breakfast! It's all too easy to eat an entire batch of this at a sitting, alas. Although thank goodness I no longer have that capacity. Desire, yes; capacity, no. Thanks for the comment.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Exquisite! Buckles make fantastic desserts and yours looks amazing.

Cheers,

Rosa

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Rosa, aren't buckles such a great dessert? Love the texture of them! Thanks for the comment.

Suzanne Perazzini said...

What a great looking dish! I love blueberries and buy them frozen in the off-season. Gosh, there were a lot of baking terms there I had never heard of.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Suzanne, I've been pretty happy with the quality of frozen blueberries. Not as good as fresh, but for a dessert like this, perfectly fine. Aren't some of those baking terms a hoot?! Thanks for the comment.

Irina @ wandercrush said...

Too true—I'd be hard-pressed to think of a better use for summer blueberries or a more guaranteed crowd-pleaser! This makes me miss the USA even more. Can't wait until I'm back! Gotta have a blueberry buckle when the time comes.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Irina, blueberry buckle is such a terrific dessert - one of my favorite ways to use blueberries. I'm sure you'll enjoy a great buckle when you return! Thanks for the comment.

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

I've been craving for blueberries since I came to Japan two weeks ago (I'm not kidding!). I usually eat 1-2 cups of blueberries almost everyday and now none! I eat blueberries anything (Yogurt, cake, muffins), and this blueberry buckle look SO delicious. I want to eat it off screen!

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Nami, blueberry buckle is wonderful! If you like blueberries that much, you'll totally love this - it's a great dessert. Thanks for the comment.

CJ - Food Stories said...

I have never made a buckle before but this one looks sooo tasty - May have to give it a go :-)

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi C.J., buckle is really delish - I highly recommend it. Particularly with blueberries. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Kim Bee said...

Cannot stop staring at this. I just want a giant spoon and a glass of milk to go with it.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Kim, you should stop staring and go get some blueberries and start baking! ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Terra said...

This is one of my most favorite desserts to devour. I don't make it much, but I should change that! Your recipe sounds like a perfect summer treat....AND I have extra blueberries to use up! Yum, Take care, Terra

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Terra, this is one of those things we make maybe once a year - definitely not enough! So delish. Good thing you have extra blueberries on hand! Thanks for the comment.

Karen (Back Road Journal) said...

Besides tasting so good...I love the name of this dessert. It is not quite the same saying an apple buckle for instance. :)

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Karen, yeah, apple buckle just doesn't cut it! Although with all of your apple trees, you have plenty of ingredients for one (although I think I'd rather have an apple pan dowdy - now that name sings!). Thanks for the comment.

Happy Retiree's Kitchen said...

Just found this recipe and love the look of it. We make more fruit crumbles here in Australia but this style of dessert and cake w i th streusel is becoming more popular. Thanks for sharing. Pauline.

Kitchen Riffs said...

Hi Pauline, we probably do more crumbles or crisps than buckles, but it's nice to change things up sometimes. :-) Thanks for the comment.