I don’t know why it is, or if you have the same feelings, but some fruit desserts seem very personal to me. A fruit crisp or buckle seems to be my very own private dessert. In the picture at the bottom, the buckle really is private because Rose Levy Beranbaum baked them off individually. In our picture at the top, Suzen and I followed Rose’s recipe in her new book The Baking Bible. The whole buckle goes into one 9‑inch round pan.
A crisp versus a buckle? The crisp is the one with a crumb topping. The buckle, the dessert featured here, has a topping of cake batter that bakes on top. These are but two of the array of American desserts that come with rather offsetting names. There are also grunts and slumps and cobblers. Here’s a link to a discussion about all these treats and what they mean. But I must tell you that if you research, you won’t find consistency. Rose has this buckle with the cake baked on top. Others put the cake batter on the bottom and let it “buckle” up and through the fruit as it bakes.
Definitions and techniques and debates aside, all the desserts in the class of fruit treats deserve your attention. And, with summer blueberry season at its peak, now is the time to surrender to your temptations. Yes, folks, just buckle and make this. You will thank Rose. And you will want your own copy of The Baking Bible.
Blueberry Buckle
Yield: serves 8 to 12, Rose claims, but she’s wrong
Ingredients:
For the blueberry filling:
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup superfine sugar
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- Pinch of sea salt
- 4 cups fresh blueberries [frozen if you must, but now, in the summer, fresh]
For the batter topping:
- 2 large eggs yolks at room temperature
- ⅓ cup sour cream, divided
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup bleached cake flour
- ½ cup superfine sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
Preparation:
PREHEAT THE OVEN: Thirty minutes or longer before baking, set oven racks at the middle and lowest levels. Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C. Place a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil on the lower rack to catch any bubbling juices.
MAKE THE BLUEBERRY FILLING: In the pie plate, stir together the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add the blueberries and toss to coat them.
MIX THE LIQUID INGREDIENTS: In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, 1 tablespoon of the sour cream, and the vanilla just until lightly combined.
MAKE THE BATTER TOPPING: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and remaining sour cream. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 1 ½ minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Starting on medium-low speed, gradually add the egg mixture in two parts, beating on medium speed for 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Using a silicone spatula, drop the batter onto the blueberries, leaving a 1 inch border between the batter and the sides of the pie plate and a 2 inch space in the middle.
BAKE THE CAKE: Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a wire cake tester inserted into the center (just into the cake) comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. After 30 minutes, if the top of the cake is browning too much, cover it loosely with aluminum foil that has been lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray.
COOL THE CAKE: Let the cake cool in the pie plate on a wire rack until barely warm or room temperature. The flavors blend best when no longer hot.
STORE: Airtight: room temperature, 2 days; refrigerated, 3 days; frozen, 3 months.
Source: The Baking Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014]
Photo Information [Top]: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/5.6 for1/30th second at ISO‑3200
