“What is a buckle? Isn’t it just a coffee cake?” asks my darling husband. My response: “I don’t know what makes them different actually!” Which of course made me curious to do a little research to bring you while also showing off my Blackberry Buckle.
A Blackberry Buckle is the perfect way to kick off spring with your favorite berries. Perfect for breakfast, brunch and dessert!
I’ve always thought of a buckle as a southern tradition made in cast iron and simple. Turns out, I’m not the only person who asked this question. Apparently folks also want to know what a crisp, cobbler, crumble and Brown Betty is! Well, Huff Post had us covered, here we go:
Crisp and Crumbles: are the same thing! Most notably because they have a crispy, crumbly streusel on top. Sometimes with nuts, other times with oats, but always something crunchy.
Cobbler: A cobbler has batter on both the bottom and top, usually resembling some sort of biscuit consistency. Apparently named after “cobblestone” streets because that is what is resembles after baking. Check out my Peach and Cherry Cobbler or Cherry Pie Cobbler Bars!
Buckle: A cake-like dish using fruit on top, as it bakes, the cake comes up the sides creating a “buckling” in the center.
Brown Betty: I had never heard of this one before, but apparently it is exactly like a crisp or a crumble, but has TWO layers of streusel, one on top and one in the middle for double crunchies.
Truth be told, I’ve never had a buckle and that actually buckled. And this one certianly didn’t either. Maybe if I just set the blackberries on top instead of folding them in, it would, but hey: my buckle, my rules.
So here it is, my blackberry buckle. I opted to make it in a shallow 1 quart casserole dish instead of my trusty cast iron skillet because the skillet was a little bigger than I needed and I want to make sure I got some height.
Buckles are typically served with spoon, as opposed to cutting a “slice”. The cake-like texture is still a little too moist for easy cutting. Batters aren’t terribly sweet and usually lack any type of extract, letting the berry of choice flavor and color the dish. You can use one berry or a mixture!
I like to coat my berries in sugar to help them caramelize while baking, but you can omit this if you are watching your sugar intake. I like to serve mine with homemade vanilla bean ice cream.
See some of my other fabulous berry recipes and scroll on down for a few from my favorite blogger friends!
- White Chocolate and Raspberry Pancakes
- Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
- Strawberry BBQ Chicken with Strawberry Salsa
- Cherry Dumpling Casserole
Blackberry Buckle
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature, plus more for baking dish
- 1/2 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons, divided
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup blackberries cut in half
- powdered sugar for dusting
- Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 1-quart oval or square baking dish.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl using an electric handheld mixer, cream together butter and 1/2 cup sugar.
- Add egg and egg yolk, combining fully. Add salt and baking powder, combining fully. Finally add flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you mix.
- In a small bowl, toss halved blackberries with 2 tablespoons sugar.
- Gently fold sugared blackberries into batter, discard any leftover sugar.
- Spread into baking dish evenly.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until your buckle passes the toothpick test. Allow to rest for 10-20 minutes. Serve with ice cream.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, please come back and let us know how it was!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Check out The Best Berry Recipes recipes below from bloggers who took part in our 30 Day Berry Recipe Challenge
- Blueberry Breakfast Pastry from Life Currents
- Yummy Strawberry Cheesecake from Manila Spoon
- No bake berry lemon tartlets from Culinary Ginger
- Best Ever Breakfast Strawberry Fruit Salad from Hot Eats and Cool Reads
- Raspberry Buckle from Savory Experiments
- Raspberry Chocolate Tart from Num’s the Word
- Fresh Strawberry Crisp from The Kitchen is My Playground
I’m going to definitely try this. I have never seen a buckle recipe that I remember.. but I remember Gerber had a baby food called blueberry buckle that my children loved!! btw.. cobblers do not have a bottom crust. Thanks for the recipe!
Cool! It looks good!!
Can you use almond flour,insTead of white flour ,
Hi Carolyn, I suppose you can, but GF flours can be dense and require additional moisture. I’ve never tried it, so I can’t guarantee how it will turn out. Remember, it would be like using almonds instead of wheat, which are two very different ingredients.
Oh, I would absolutely soooooo count this as breakfast! It looks fantastic.
This Blackberry Buckle looks like the perfect summer treat on the front porch as the sun sets! Absolutely delicious!
I see total deliciousness in this dessert! Love this topped with ice cream for sure!
We love blackberries and this looks like a perfect recipe to use them in! So easy and delicious!
Blackberries are one of my favorite fruits! This looks so yummy! And, thanks for the info on buckles, cobblers, and such. Now I have stuck in my head that there’s also a grunt… similar to a cobbler? I’m not sure. I really loved reading all this, the only thing that would make it better is if I had a piece of your buckle along with it!
I’m glad you cleared up the mystery for me with the names. I love a blackberry dessert and this is exactly how I want to to eat them. Great recipe.