This delicious blueberry buckle cake is rich and moist, and topped with a crumb topping. This recipe will be a surprise hit at your summer gatherings, especially during blueberry season!
Old-Fashioned Blueberry Buckle
If you’ve got a basket of blueberries on hand, you can whip up a delicious blueberry buckle cake in no time at all! A buckle is a classic dessert recipe that has been around since colonial times. You don’t need any special equipment to make it, not even an electric mixer!
Similar to a coffee cake, the fruit is the star here! Fresh juicy blueberries and cream cheese are baked into this fluffy dessert, making it extra moist. Then it is topped with a buttery cinnamon sugar streusel for a bit of delightful crunchiness.
This soft blueberry coffee cake is perfect to enjoy with a cup of coffee (of course!) You can also top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a decadent summer treat!
Why is this Cake Called a Buckle?
The name “buckle” comes from the way the cake is made. A buckle is filled with fresh fruit (like the blueberries here) and covered with a streusel topping. When the cake bakes, the batter rises and tries to push through the heavier streusel topping, causing the surface of the cake to “buckle.”
Ingredients
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- 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3/4 cup White Sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted
- 1 Large Egg (Plus 1 Egg Yolk)
- 1/3 cup Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups Blueberries
- 1 cup Cream Cheese
Streusel Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Cold Butter
- 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Kitchen Supplies Used
- 8-Inch Square Baking Dish
- Mixing bowls
Directions
This recipe only requires 45 minutes (or less) total time. It’s a great easy cake recipe to make the same day you want to enjoy it!
To Prep:
Preheat oven to 375F and grease an 8″ x 8″ glass baking pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
To Make the Batter:
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Make a well, or large indention in the center of the flour mixture.
- In a separate medium bowl, melt the 6 Tablespoons of butter. (Make sure to use a microwave-safe bow!) Whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla extract into the melted butter.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the well you made in the middle of the bowl of dry ingredients. Stir to mix completely.
To Bake the Cake:
- Stir the blueberries into the batter gently. Scoop this batter into the prepared baking dish and spread to fill the pan evenly.
- Use the back of a spoon to make 12 indentations into the surface of the cake batter, then place a teaspoon of cream cheese into each indentation.
- In a small bowl, use a fork to mash together the cold butter, flour and cinnamon until it resembles coarse sand. Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly on top of the batter.
- Bake for 22-28 minutes until the top is a light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Here’s a look at how the cake is made. You can see how we mixed the blueberries into the batter, placed the cream cheese, and topped the whole thing with streusel, before baking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Use Frozen Blueberries?
Yes, you can use frozen blueberries in this recipe if that is what you have on hand. Because they are so cold, the berries may lower the temperature of your batter slightly and require a couple extra minutes of baking time to cook through. The toothpick test is a good way to ensure that your cake has cooked enough — when a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean, you know it’s done.
If you want to avoid any confusion with baking time, consider thawing the frozen blueberries before adding to the batter. This should allow you to stick with the original cooking time.
Does Blueberry Buckle Need to be Refrigerated?
This blueberry buckle cake does not need to be kept refrigerated (and in fact, the fridge can dry it out!)
Store in a covered, airtight container at room temperature, for up to 3 days.
Can You Bake with a Metal Pan Instead of a Glass Pan?
Yes, you can use a square metal baking pan of the same size, in place of the glass Pyrex dish shown here. The only catch is that metal pans take longer to cook, so your cake will likely need about 5 more minutes in the oven. Again, the toothpick test is a good way to make sure the cake is done.
More Blueberry Recipes To Try
Blueberry Buckle Recipe (Printable Copy)
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Classic Blueberry Buckle Recipe
Equipment
- 8-inch square pan
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 6 Tablespoons Butter melted
- 1 Whole Egg + 1 Egg Yolk
- 1/3 cup Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups Blueberries
- 1 cup Cream Cheese
Optional Topping Ingredients:
- 3 Tablespoons Cold Butter
- 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and grease an 8x8" glass baking dish.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate microwave-safe mixing bowl, melt the 6 Tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the eggs, milk and vanilla extract.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients inside. Stir to mix.
- Stir the blueberries into batter, then scoop batter into prepared baking dish. Gently even/spread with a spatula.
- Use the back of a spoon to make 12 indentations into the cake batter. Place a teaspoon of cream cheese into each indentation.
- In another bowl, mix together the cold butter, flour and cinnamon until it resembles coarse sand. A fork works well for this step.
- Sprinkle the butter/cinnamon mixture on top of the cake batter.
- Bake for 22-28 minutes, until the top is a light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.
Notes
Nutrition
Pin our Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe on Pinterest:
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