Blueberry Buckle is a deliciously tender lemon kissed cake studded with fresh blueberries and topped with a sweet buttery streusel topping. This old fashioned recipe is a favorite to serve with coffee, tea or for dessert.
What is a buckle? A traditional buckle has a cake-like batter and is topped with fruit; as it cooks the cake rises around the fruit, or “buckles” around the fruit.
This delicious Blueberry Buckle is similar in texture to a coffee cake dessert my grandmother used to make; sweet, moist and delicious with a crumbly streusel topping. It’s pretty effortless and the end results are amazing! The simple from scratch base is made like most cake recipes, sugar, butter and egg are creamed together, then the remaining dry ingredients are added, alternating with the milk.
Blueberries make the most delicious addition to summer desserts and hold up well in baked goods like muffins and quick breads. The only thing better than a blueberry dessert is one that has been kissed with a bright lemony flavor. Zesting lemon is an easy way to add brightness to almost any dish, sweet or savory and if pairs perfectly with blueberries.
When zesting a lemon you want to be sure to only get the very outer edge of the skin, the yellow part because the white part (the pith) is bitter. I use either a microplane grater or a zester to get the most zest from each lemon.
Once zested, the lemon zest is added to the batter, fresh blueberries are gently folded in and it is spread into a prepared pan.
A couple of notes about the blueberries in this recipe:
- Fresh blueberries are best. Tossing them with a spoonful of flour keeps them evenly distributed throughout the cake.
- If using frozen berries, there is no need to defrost first but your buckle make need a few extra minutes to finish baking.
- Frozen blueberries may change the color of your batter but will still taste amazing.
- Any fruit can be used in place of blueberries such as rhubarb, strawberries or even apples. (I add an extra dash of cinnamon to my topping if using apples).
This cake is perfect as written but this recipe also makes amazing blueberry buckle muffins! Just divide the batter between your muffin cups and top with the streusel. Bake about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Blueberry buckle is amazing warm out of the oven but it also freezes beautifully. Simply bake as directed, cool completely and place in a very well sealed container. This will keep for a couple of months in the freezer and and still be wonderfully moist.
I love this recipe and my family cannot get enough of it! It the perfect way to enjoy fresh summer berries and our favorite alternative to a traditional cake.
Make it a la mode for a decadent dessert or serve with a dollop of freshly whipped cream it with your afternoon coffee or tea. This Blueberry Buckle recipe perfect for any occasion so don’t be surprised if everyone asks for seconds (and the recipe)!
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
Topping
- ¼ cup butter + 1 tablespoon, cold
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8 pan.
- In a large bowl, cream sugar, butter, egg & lemon zest until fluffy.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to sugar mixture, alternating with milk mixing just until combined.
- Toss blueberries with 1 tablespoon flour. Fold into batter and spread in prepared pan.
- Combine all topping ingredients in a small bowl until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter and bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
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The best ever. Post it on IG please!
Easy and tasty! And company did ask for seconds!!!
It turned out amazing!!!!!! it’s definitely a 10 outa 10.. but I regretted doing it because its something to crave for everyday :( everyone else liked ittt especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top! thank you for this recipe for real
Great recipe as is!! Delicious, flavorful and not at all dry like many coffee cakes tend to be.
Tasty and aromatic blueberry buckle that will take you back to grandmas kitchen!
I have made this years ago from another recipe I no longer have. My son asked me to make it again and I’m so glad I stumbled upon this one! I followed the recipe to exact and Wow wow wow! Delicious! ❤️
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear. Thanks, Christine!
My crumble topping didn’t come out crumbly. It came out wet.
Hmm, did you perhaps melt the butter?
Hi: I am about to make this and the recipe doesn’t say whether to keep the 1/4C butter for the topping cold or not. Some crumble toppings ask for it cold so it can be cut up into the flour and sugar to make the crumbs. Also, wondering if that’s why the above reader’s came out wet? Thank you very much.
Hi Pat, sorry for the confusion, the recipe has been updated. The butter is added cold and we combine them with a fork to create a crumbly topping. I hope that helps!
Wonderful! Thank you. Worked out perfectly.
Delicious & easy. Used only 1/2 of the topping which was plenty for a thin layer. Yummy.
Honestly turned out great! I even accidentally halved the butter and it was still light and fluffy!
Made this with thawed blueberries from Maine. It was really yummy!!!! I made a double batch in a 13×9 pan. Everyone loved it and I have to make another fine tomorrow. I am visiting New England and reside on Oahu… when I ge time, I will make this with mango, etc.
Mango is a good substitute as I often have overripe mangos and other fruit.
Loved this recipe, however, I doubled and it still said to use an 8 x 8 pan, which I really didn’t think was right, but I did and my whole house is now full of smoke, the alarm went off and it’s a mess♀️. Oh, well♀️.
yes you would need 2 8×8 pans… you doubled the recipe… so you double the pans either 2 separate or a larger pan… 13×9
you have more volume.
FYI 8x8x2 = 128 x 2 pans = 256
13x9x2=234
so almost same volume.
I was looking for something to do with blueberries that were a little over ripe. I found this recipe and had everything I needed on hand, except an 8 x 8 pan. So I used a 9 inch pie plate, lol. I can’t say enough good things about this recipe. It was so delicious. The cake was light and tasty and the topping was perfect. I already bought more blueberries so I can make it again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe Kelly!
Glass pie plate is what I used as well. Still turned out perfect.
I have made this many times. I always look to see if I’d reviewed it before and I couldn’t find it because so many love this recipe, like me! I have several pics of the many times I have made it.
Much love from Illinois.
Thank you Lisa! So happy you are loving this blueberry buckle recipe!
This is a wonderful recipe, I would recommend this to everyone, thank you
This was wonderful! We used peaches & blueberries. It came together quickly and we are thinking about what fruit to use next time. It’s a keeper!
Will the baking time change if you double the recipe??
You will need to increase the baking time (and pan size) if the recipe is doubled. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
I baked it about 5 mins longer in a 13×9 pan with a double recipe.
Hi, I made this recipe yesterday and it is so delicious! Love the lemon in this recipe and the buttery streusel topping!! The cake is so moist, also. Super easy to make!
This Blueberry Buckle recipe was delicious! I personally prefer vanilla to lemon zest so I just substituted 2 teaspoons vanilla for the zest. Thanks for the great recipe!
Perfect!
I am far from calling myself a baker but this turned out amazing! I even double the recipe. I’m still in shock i baked something this good! Has anyone tried this with peaches? Any ideas would be great!
Glad you enjoyed it! We haven’t tried it with peaches. Let us know how it goes if you try it!