Blueberry Buckle

Well, I'm sure some of you were impacted by the storm this past Friday night, and if you weren't - you're lucky! I was so scared during the storm that I hid under the pool table until Greg got home from shooting a wedding. I seriously thought my house was going to cave in!

My house didn't get destroyed, but we did lose power. Since my parents only live about 40 minutes from us and they didn't lose power, we drove up to their place on Saturday. For the past few days, I have been hanging out in the home that I grew up in. My mother and I have gone through cookbooks, and we were supposed to make that beautiful blueberry buckle together that you see in the picture. Well, I guess my mom got tired of waiting for me yesterday, because she made the buckle on her own. And I'm sharing her recipe!

The smell of the blueberry buckle coming from my mother's oven yesterday made me feel rather nostalgic. It is something that she often made when I was a child, and it transports me to my more carefree days. I love the taste of the lemon and blueberry together in this moist cake-like treat. The blueberry buckle is great for breakfast or dessert, and it goes well with a glass of milk. Although it didn't invoke any childhood memories for Greg, he said he really liked the flavor and texture of the blueberry buckle.

I know that the blueberry buckle will definitely be something that I start making on a regular basis in my home. I can't wait to get some blueberries from my local farmers' market to make this buckle and other fun blueberry-inspired recipes. Yum!

Recipe for Blueberry Buckle

INGREDIENTS:
For the cake -
2 cups of fresh blueberries, rinsed
1/3 cup of 2% milk
1 tsp. of fresh lemon juice
Zest from 1/2 lemon
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 stick of unsalted butter (4 Tbsp), softened at room temperature
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tsp. of baking powder
1/4 tsp. table salt
For the glaze -
2 Tbsp. of unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. of fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:
For the cake -
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 baking pan and set aside. In a glass measuring cup, combine the milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, butter, vanilla, and egg. Beat with a handheld electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Continue beating while gradually adding in the milk and lemon mixture.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter and milk mixture, and mix on low speed with the mixer until it is mixed in well. Use a spoon to fold in the blueberries to the batter.
Pour and spread the batter in to the prepared baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.
For the glaze -
Make the glaze about 5 minutes before the cake is finished baking. Combine the butter, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat. Stir while the mixture is cooking, and cook until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.

When the cake is done baking, pour the glaze over the top. Return the cake to the oven and broil until the glaze bubbles, and make sure to watch to avoid over browning. Cool the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, cut in to 16 equal-sized pieces. Eat up & enjoy!

Recipe Adapted from: GE Cooking With a Food Processor, 1978

NOTE: What is a buckle? What is a cobbler? What is a crisp? I know they are all good, but did you know this?