Fruity Blueberry Buckle
Blueberry Buckle is like a coffee cake, overstuffed with yummy blueberries! And it’s easy to whip up for brunch, dessert or a special breakfast!
When I saw a recipe for Berry Buckle, I wondered… what on earth is a buckle? Now, I can identify crisps and cobblers, pies and tarts, but a buckle? Still it sounded so lovely, I had to look further!
Yes, I’m a huge fruit dessert lover. I figure there’s no way I’m giving up dessert, so I might as well get some healthy fruit in it!
What is a Buckle?
The Spruce Eats clued me in, saying, “Buckles are baked and are usually made in one or two ways. The first way is that bottom layer is cake-like with the berries mixed in. Then the top layer is crumb-like. The second way is where the cake layer is on the bottom of the pan, the berries are the next layer and the top is the crumble mixture.”
Another source commented that buckles characteristically have a high fruit ratio. Think of it as an over-stuffed coffee cake! A Blueberry Buckle Coffecake!
Extra fruit? Count me in! 
Why You’ll Love This!
Easy. Just mix up the batter, fold in the blueberries, top with streusel, and bake!
Festive. This Blueberry Buckle is sure to make an impression. And it’s perfect for a holiday brunch or special breakfast.
Loaded with Fruit. The real differentiator of this Buckle is the generous amount of fruit it contains. Just check out all the blueberries below–how can that not feel special!
What You’ll Need
Streusel Ingredients
- Flour. This is the base of the topping
- Brown sugar, white sugar. Adds sweetness.
- Cinnamon. Adds coffeecake flavor
- Butter. Adds richness and helps hold everything together.
Cake Batter Ingredients
- Butter. Adds richness and helps lighten the batter.
- Sugar. Adds sweetness.
- Egg. Helps hold things together, adds loft and lightness
- Vanilla. Adds flavor
- All Purpose Flour. Forms the bulk of the cake.
- Baking powder. Adds lightness and loft
- Milk. Adds richness and helps hold the ingredients together.
- Blueberries. The best part! You can use fresh or frozen.
Special Tools
- I used a 9-inch springform pan but you can use an 8-inch square pan lined with parchment.
Step by Step Directions
Combine streusel ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork or fingers. 
Coat the blueberries with flour so they don’t sink to the bottom of the cake.
Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until the batter is smooth. 
Combine the remaining flour with the baking powder. Take turns adding some of the flour mixture and some of the milk to the butter mix, then mixing.
When everything is incorporated, gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
Transfer to greased pan and top with streusel.
Bake. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from pan. Serve hot or cold.
How to Serve
Blueberry Buckle would be a wonderful contribution to a brunch buffet for a special occasion like Mother’s Day or Easter. Or serve it as a fun stand-alone breakfast with the addition of a little protein like sausage or cheese.
It would also be delicious served for a tea or coffee get together. And of course, it makes a great snack or dessert! 
Tips & FAQs
Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for 2-3 days. While a regular coffee cake would usually be kept at room temperature, the large quantity of blueberries in this makes it more prone to spoilage.
You can also freeze leftovers, tightly wrapped, for up to a few months.
When you serve leftovers, consider warming up the Buckle to restore it’s oven fresh flavor. That’s if you can handle the wait!
Why do I need to keep frozen blueberries frozen?
Fresh or frozen blueberries both work well. But don’t thaw previously frozen blueberries or they will turn your batter purple! Ask me how I know this!
Can I use whole wheat flour?
Normally I’m the first person to use part or all whole wheat flour. But when I tried using half whole wheat in this, I didn’t like it. I think that with the density of the berries, you need all the lightness possible in the batter. I haven’t tried white whole wheat.
How do I make a small batch buckle?
If you live in a smaller household and still want a treat, you can halve this recipe. In that case, it will fit into a 6-inch round pan.
Mother’s Day Brunch Ideas
- Blueberry Buckle from Art of Natural Living
- Chef Salad Kebabs from Palatable Pastime
- Chorizo and Egg Breakfast Tacos from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Dutch Baby Pancake from Jen Around the World
- Hawaij Spiced Coffee Cake from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Rainbow Salad with Tandoori Dressing from Magical Ingredients
- Sourdough Strawberry Muffins from That Recipe
- The British Bloody Mary from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
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Fruity Blueberry Buckle
Ingredients
Streusel:
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 Tablespoons butter softened
Cake batter:
- 4 Tablespoons butter softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all purpose flour divided
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3-4 cups blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl, mix the streusel ingredients with a fork or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, toss the blueberries with about 2 Tablespoons of the flour to lightly coat them. This will keep them from all sinking to the bottom of the cake when it bakes.
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until the batter is smooth.
- Combine the remaining flour with the baking powder. Alternate adding some of the flour mixture and some of the milk to the butter mixture, and mixing after each addition.
- When batter is mixed, gently fold in the blueberries and any loose flour.
- Grease a 9-inch round spring form pan and spoon or pour in the batter. It may also be baked in an 8-inch square pan.
- Sprinkle the streusel evenly on top. Bake for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean (you may need to prick more than once if you hit a blueberry). Cook time will be longer if you use frozen blueberries (see note).
- Let the cake to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes on a baking rack, then remove from the pan and let cool on the rack directly.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published July, 2013. Adapted from Cake Keeper Cakes,by way of AA Edible
Oh my goodness! That is packed with delicious blueberries. It looks so yummy!
I’m all over this buckle!! I love overstuffing my baked goods with fruits, especially blueberries. No need to half the recipe—I can polish this off pretty quickly 🙂
This is heaven! Love lots of fruits in this buckle! Yummy breakfast as well as dessert!
OMG! Blueberry is one of my all time favs! Wish I had a piece right now to go with my coffee. So good. 🙂
Wish I could send one to you!
This looks like the perfect Mother’s Day dessert. I love blueberries! I am going to make this for the weekend.
Look at all of those blueberries!! And I learned what a buckle is!
We love blueberries in this house and this buckle looks incredible with all those berries!
I love a good buckle and had to smile because a few years ago I found myself in the same position. What is a buckle? 😀 But I also came across something called a Slump that day. Go figure! I haven’t had coffee cake in a while and with the quantity of lovely blueberries in this, I’m thinking it would go so well with my morning coffee!
fruit-filled might be an understatement! this looks magnificent, inger–nice post!
Thanks Grace. My oldest, who is working a summer resort area job, had one request when I visited–a buckle of her own!
hi inger, sorry for coming by late..was back from hols and not feeling too well. Yeah, most of us have not heard of buckles over here too . I’m so glad that you made this and i can almost relate when you said that the cake is getting smaller and smaller at the background! hahaha! thx so much for participating and have a good day!
I was so happy you shared this. I will be baking another tomorrow for my oldest who missed out on the first!
Hi,
Glad that I re-visited my buckle post and found that I have missed out visiting yours!!!
I can see lots of blueberry in every slice of your buckle. I’m imagining every bite of this must be bursting with blueberries… Yum!
Zoe
I thought that the buckle was a great find–I will have to visit with you guys more often!
This Blueberry Buckle sounds like something I would really enjoy too, especially with the high fruit ratio. 🙂 hehehe..this is such a gorgeous treat, can’t blame your for sampling while taking pictures. I bet I would do just the same. Thank you so much for sharing. I can’t wait to make one soon.
I hope you get the chance to try this!
Seriously. I was going to make a blueberry cobbler for our guests on Wednesday night. Instead, I will ponder making this. Looks great!
I like cobbler too!! I was pleasantly surprised, though, with how nice looking this turned out (as in impressive for company), since pretty food is not always one of my strengths 🙂 If you try it, let me know how you like it and have fun with your guests!
Thanks, Gloria!
oh Inger I love all these blueberries this cake look awesome and delicious!!
Thanks Gloria!
That’s one mighty fine looking Buckle, Inger. I can already tell you are going to put each and every one of those blueberries to good taste! I just froze a bunch of blueberries yesterday. I LOVE that they freeze so well.
Thank you so much for sharing, Inger…
Thanks Louise. I got a second 10 lb box today so I’ll be doing a bit of freezing myself tonight! Since I have started doing more canning I’d like to find a couple good blueberry preserve recipes. Enjoy your berries!
I just made this beautiful blueberry buckle! I made it gluten free, using Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour blend. It is cooling now and smells awesome!
I just took a look at your facebook photos and your buckle looks beautiful!
Thank you Inger! It tastes AMAZING! Thank you for the recipe!!
I forgot to mention that I used low fat buttermilk, instead of the milk as well!
You know when I did the food competition at State Fair, one of the judges kept talking about how much extra loft you get using,buttermilk or yogurt or sour cream, so I may give that a try. I am making another one this week–thanks for the tip.
Wow, 10 lbs of blueberries. I’m jealous! This looks like a delicious version of coffeecake.
Offering extra organic items for sale is one of the things I really like about the CSA. There will be cranberries in the fall and perhaps peaches and apples…
That’s really cool that your CSA had a truckload of blueberries available. I’ve picked them in up north near the Apostle Islands, and that was enough of the pick-your-own experience for me. Something bigger, like apples, is more my style 🙂
I am so with you there; I even think strawberries are hard to pick if you try to do it in quantity. I am really enjoying the raspberries in my backyard though, but that volume is more like a cup a day (which often doesn’t make it in the door 😉 )
Can almost taste the blueberries. Looks delicious.
Thanks Freeda. More berries coming for the weekend ;-)!
That is a lovely buckle. Full of blueberries deliciousness at each bite! And your box of blueberries are very tempting, they are kinda pricey over here!
Thank you for sharing with Bake-Along, it would be great if you could mention Bake-Along somewhere in your post!
Hope you can join us again! Have a nice day!
Thanks, I am still trying to figure out what I am supposed to do. The plug-in looked a little difficult and I am leaving for a 3 day conference at 6 AM, but if it counts to bring over the bake-along logo, I can probably do that tonight yet. Feel free to advise!