Blueberry Buckle

I love pastry, especially dense ones like coffee cake. This time of year, I especially love berries. There is nothing better than baking with fresh berries that are in season. This recipe is not a Claudia classic, but one that I felt was worth blogging about. It is adapted from Cooks Illustrated. The dense, lemon flavored cake mixed with delicious plump blueberries is a great dessert to feature in the hot summer months. It’s also extremely simple to make.

You will need:

For the streusel topping
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp white sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces

For the cake
1.5 cups flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1.5 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups fresh blueberries

To make the streusel:

Combine the flour, both sugar, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. Mix on low to combine and break up any sugar lumps.

Add the butter and beat until it is completely incorporated into the dry ingredients, about 2-3 minutes.

Streusel should look like above.

Transfer the streusel to another bowl and set aside.

To make the cake mix:

In a separate bowl, wisk or sift together flour and baking powder.

In a large bowl beat the butter, sugar, salt and lemon zest at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes

Beat in vanilla.

Add the eggs, on at a time, beating well after each addition.

Mixture should like the image above.

Gradually add the flour mixture, beating until just about incorporated.

Use a rubber spatula to finish stirring – the batter will be very thick.

Gently fold in the blueberries.

Yum!

Transfer the batter to a 9 inch round pan that has been lined with parchment and sprayed with a  nonstick cooking spray with flour.

Spread in an even layer.

Top cake with the streusel.

Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for about 55 minutes, or until the streusel is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Transfer pan to a wire rack and cool for 15-20 minutes.

Run a thin knife around the edges of the cake then invert it onto the rack.

Remove the parchment then turn the cake streusel side up and let cool on the wire rack.

Dense and delicious!

Lemon and blueberry goodness.

Don’t forget to share with your friends.

Enjoy!