Full of fresh blueberries, cinnamon and sugar, and a light and fluffy cake texture: this buckle recipe is perfect for a Father’s Day brunch or to have on hand to pair with a cup of coffee.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes plus at least 30 minutes for cooling

Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Yield: 9 square slices

Ingredients

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried

For the topping

1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Splash of pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 °F. and prep an 8x8 square baking pan by lightly coating with cooking spray and lining with parchment paper. (You can just use the cooking spray if you don’t have parchment on hand).
In a stand mixer fixed with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, cream granulated sugar and softened butter until light in color and smooth, about 3-5 minutes.
While the butter and sugar are mixing, in a medium sized bowl whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon) and set aside.
Add eggs one at a time to the butter and sugar mixture and beat until incorporated, then add vanilla extract and beat well.
Add half of the dry ingredients and half of the milk to the batter. Beat on low until just combined then add the other half of the dry ingredients and milk and beat again until combined but don’t over mix.
In a small bowl, toss blueberries with about a tablespoon of flour and mix to coat them evenly (this helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom once added to the batter. Before you add the berries to the batter, pour about a 1/4 inch layer of plain batter into the prepared pan, then gently fold the coated blueberries into the remaining batter and pour into the pan. This helps with even berry distribution so they don’t sink the to the bottom while baking.
To make the topping mix the granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and pinch of salt and vanilla in a medium sized bowl then using your hands, press the cold cubed butter into the dry ingredients until you get a crumbly texture. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter then bake at 350 °F for 45-50 minutes or until top is golden brown and the center is set.
Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving, then enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

If you like a little extra texture to your topping, feel free to add a handful of oats or chopped nuts!
Overmixing can result in tougher cake texture- make sure you’re mixing until ingredients have just fully combined but not beyond that
I recommend using fresh blueberries but if you need to use frozen in a pinch, make sure you follow the flour coating step to soak up any additional moisture and note they’ll be much heavier than fresh blueberries so the likely they may sink is higher.

Nutrition Facts (per slice serving)

Estimates. Will vary based on ingredients and serving size

Calories: ~360 kcal

Protein: ~4 g

Total Fat: 15 g

Carbohydrates: ~53 g

Blueberry Buckle

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