By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- About 1½ hours including baking
- Rating
- 4(270)
- Notes
- Read community notes
A buckle is an old-fashioned cake that has a crumble topping and fruit that makes the batter buckle, or sink, as it bakes. Or at least that’s what all the recipes I’ve read say is supposed to happen. When I made the cake the blueberries didn’t really cause it to buckle at all, they just formed a layer on top of the cake. This is now a favorite dessert. It’s not traditional at all, as I use whole-wheat flour, and oats and quinoa flour in the topping.
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Ingredients
Yield:1 8-inch cake, serving 9 to 12
- 20grams rolled oats (about 3 tablespoons, approximately)
- 60grams quinoa flour (½ cup, approximately; grind quinoa in a spice mill to make the flour)
- ½teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 50grams unrefined turbinado sugar (¼ cup, approximately)
- ⅛teaspoon salt (to taste)
- 60grams cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces (4 tablespoons/2 ounces)
- 125grams whole- wheat flour (1 cup, approximately)
- 65grams unbleached all-purpose flour (½ cup, approximately)
- 5grams baking powder (1 teaspoon, approximately)
- 1gram baking soda (¼ teaspoon, approximately)
- 3grams fine sea salt (scant ½ teaspoon, approximately)
- 90grams unsalted butter, preferably French-style such as Plugrà, at room temperature (6 tablespoons/3 ounces)
- 120grams sugar, preferably organic (scant ½ cup, approximately)
- 1teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 2eggs, at room temperature
- 130grams buttermilk or kefir (½ cup)
- 350grams blueberries (2¼ cups, approximately/ 2 boxes), divided
For the Topping
For the Cake
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
257 calories; 12 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 18 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 210 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan and cover bottom with parchment. Butter parchment.
Step
2
Make the crumble topping. Place oats, quinoa flour, turbinado sugar, salt, and nutmeg in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse several times to combine. Add cold butter and pulse until butter is evenly distributed in throughoutthroughout the grain mix. The mixture should have a crumbly consistency. Place in freezer while you make the ix up cake batter.
Step
3
Sift together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a bowl with electric beaters, cream butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down bowl between each addition.
Step
4
On low speed, add flour mixture in 3 batchesadditions, adding buttermilk or kefir between each addition. Scrape down bowl between each addition. Remove beaters and gently fold in half the blueberries.
Step
5
Scrape batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Distribute remaining blueberries over the top. Sprinkle crumble topping over the blueberries.
Step
6
Bake 50 to 55 minutes, until golden and firm when pressed gently in the middle.
Ratings
4
out of 5
270
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Cooking Notes
Iris
It's very good - but it definitely tastes "healthy", you have to like that sort of baked goods. Also, I wouldn't call it a dessert - but an excellent recipe for whole grain blueberry muffins. Tasted even better the next day, somehow moister. Still, next time, I would up the amount of berrys a little, maybe a handfull. I had no quinoa, used some Bob's Red Mill 10 grain cereal and worked fine.
Lynne
Lovely. Moist, sweet, and rich enough to pass for dessert at our house! Terrific warm from the oven. The whole wheat flour adds depth to the flavour but doesn't overwhelm.
Anne
I very much enjoyed this recipe. Really surprisingly moist considering the whole wheat flour. I actually like that it's not as sweet as most recipes of this type. I did take Iris's note and added extra blueberries and it worked out nicely. Lovely with vanilla ice cream or a cup of coffee in the morning.
kelly
I wonder if I could use frozen blueberries for this?
Rose
A great blueberry cake for those of us who don't want to fill our bodies with white flour. I used almond meal in place of the quinoa (I get an upset stomach from quinoa) and used frozen Maine wild blueberries. YUM!
Baking in VT
Used King Arthur white whole wheat flour and buttermilk. Added ~1/8 tsp of mace and ~1 tsp cinnamon, and about 1/4c additional berries to the batter, and cut the sugar down to 1/3c. Added another 1/4c berries to the top before the crumble (the freezer trick works great!). Buttered and floured an 8-inch pan (you can skip the parchment) and it took about 10 minutes longer to be baked through (I think because the smaller pan meant more denseness, plus the added berries). Delicious and tender!
Robin
I make a way better buckle without whole grain that bothers my stomach. Mine is the old fashioned one from the 40's. People beg me to make it. This one is meh.
renate
has anyone tried using oil instead of butter?
Naomi
Used almond flour instead of quinoa; only 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar in crumble, which I made with melted butter to make it easier. This recipe made 11 muffins.
Naomi
Used almond flour for topping and only 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar; made 11 muffins; used buttermilk. Used whole wheat pastry flour.
Sarah
Oh yummy! I used ground flax instead of quinoa and added some chopped pecans. Homemade kefir. Frozen berries in the batter. Fresh blueberries and raspberries on top. Moist and yummy. Not overly sweet. Buttered and floured my pyrex dish: no parchment. This is a keeper!
cdb
Thanks for the tip on subbing cornmeal for the quinoa - worked great. I halved the sugar in both the topping and the cake, didn’t have any lemon zest, and used a 12 oz bag of frozen blueberries (another recipe I have states you just have to be quick when mixing frozen berries in). Came out great!
Flor
I found this cake very rich despite the whole grain flour and other grains. Needs longer time in the oven than expected. Also, I think it needs to be refrigerated because with high temperature in the summer I think it tasted a bit funky by the third day in the counter tightly wrapped in plastic. Other than that a delicious and earthy cake.
Angel R.
I didn't love the quinoa on the muffins. Otherwise I liked them. Next time I'll use almond flour.
Rose
A great blueberry cake for those of us who don't want to fill our bodies with white flour. I used almond meal in place of the quinoa (I get an upset stomach from quinoa) and used frozen Maine wild blueberries. YUM!
Adrienne
As I had no quinoa, I used almond flour in the topping, which worked fine.
DT
It was really good. I substituted monkfruit sweetener for the white sugar in the cake batter, and it came our really well. Recommend more lemon zest. And I think most of the nutmeg should be replaced with cinnamon.
DT
I didn't bother with the parchment and you neither should you. It's a complete waste of time and money.
MH
Really fantastic. The earthiness of the quinoa, which is very fragrant in the finished cake, coupled with the bite of the zest, gives it a very unusual quality. Extremely easy to prepare. I served it at brunch to rave reviews -- everyone ate three helpings.
jane
The paper on the bottom resulted in my guests having to either eat paper or peel it off their piece. Next time, I’ll just butter and flour. This recipe is definitely for those who prefer a less-sweet taste.
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