Blueberry Buckle ~ We Love delicious Food, Recipes, and Cooking Techniques

Tangy and sweet, this soft blueberry buckle is a great choice for breakfast or dessert! It’s a buttery, moist cake with juicy blueberries in every bite!

Looking for more sweet cakes to have in the morning with a cup of coffee? Clementine cake, banana coffee cake, and glazed lemon pound cake are all must-try treats! They’re great for adding a little sunshine to your day.

Taking a slice of blueberry buckle with an icing spatula.

Old-Fashioned Blueberry Buckle Recipe

If you’ve never had a buckle before, prepare to be amazed! It’s essentially a coffee cake but filled with fruit. Once it’s baked, the fruit pieces create a bumpy or “buckled” appearance, hence the name! It’s softer than coffee cake but more cake-like than a cobbler. It’s a must-try for sure! Each bite is a moist, buttery, berry-filled heaven. The crumbly streusel on top is the perfect finishing touch and makes this treat absolutely irresistible. I always find myself going back for another piece… or 5.

Not only is this blueberry buckle beyond delicious, but it’s also easy to make, too! It uses simple baking ingredients, and you can even switch in different fruits! See my tips below for more yummy variations! Honestly, though, this blueberry buckle has been the star of breakfast at my house. It seems my family can’t get enough of the fluffy texture and juicy blueberries! And if you’re looking for more ways to utilize this amazing berry, find my full list of desserts here. Let’s get baking!

Ingredients for Blueberry Buckle

You bring the fresh blueberries, and your pantry has the rest of the ingredients ready to go! This recipe is something I can throw together easily since I always have these ingredients on hand! It’s the perfect treat to make in a pinch when you’re craving something sweet. Measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card below!

Cake Base

Flour: I always use all-purpose flour here, it’s given my buckle a nice and fluffy texture each time! If you want a finer crumb, you can use cake flour instead.
Baking Powder: A must for getting that perfect airy texture!
Salt: Used to amplify overall flavor.
Granulated Sugar: White sugar will give your cake its perfect sweetness.
Butter: The fat content in butter helps to add moisture to the buckle. Butter gives your cake a rich flavor, too.
Egg: Needed to bind everything together!
Milk: Added for moisture and to make your batter smooth.
Fresh Blueberries: Always use fresh blueberries for your buckle, not frozen. Frozen blueberries have a higher liquid content and will make your buckle mushy when baked. Use frozen blueberries for these hand pies instead!

Crumb Topping

Flour: All-purpose flour works great for streusel topping.
Granulated Sugar: White sugar gives your crumb topping a sweet foundation.
Brown Sugar: On top of white sugar, I add brown sugar for a deeper, more caramelized flavor.
Salt: Add to make everything taste better!
Ground Cinnamon: Nothing brings a pastry together like a pinch of warm spice!
Unsalted Butter: For richness and flaky goodness.

How to Make a Blueberry Buckle

Making bakery-worthy coffee cakes isn’t hard at all! With just a few steps of mixing and layering, you’ll have this tasty old-fashioned dessert warm and ready to be devoured. I’m sure it will be a hit with you and yours!

Prepare Topping: Start by preparing the crumb topping so it can chill in the fridge while the batter is prepared. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Dice the cold butter into small cubes and add to the flour and sugar mixture. Use a fork or pastry cutter to cut in the butter until crumbly. Set in the fridge until needed.
Preheat Oven, Prep Pan: Next, preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray an 8×8 baking pan with pan spray and set aside.
Whisk Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Mix Wet Ingredients, Combine: In a large bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until creamy. Add the egg and mix until well combined. Add in the flour mixture and milk alternating, starting with the flour. Once the flour and milk are fully incorporated into the batter, gently fold in the blueberries until just barely evenly distributed.
Layer and Bake: Next, pour the batter into the prepared pan and top evenly with the chilled crumb topping. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Let cool before serving.

Process shots of preparing buckle batter, streusel topping, and adding to pan.

Blueberry Buckle Tips and Tricks

If you’re a blueberry lover, this is the ultimate dessert for you! Juicy, buttery, and so easy to make, don’t be surprised if this becomes one of your new favorite recipes! Here are a few tips and variations to make the best blueberry buckle around.

Mix Gently: When mixing your batter and adding blueberries, be sure to use a gentle hand. You don’t want to smash your berries!
Don’t Overmix: Overmixing your batter can cause gluten to develop. This will make your buckle dense and rubbery, the exact opposite of what we want!
Use Cold Butter: The secret to making the flakiest streusel topping? Use cold butter! Lower temperatures = flakier result.
Switching Fruits: You can easily swap out blueberries for other berries like blackberries or raspberries. It also tastes great with chopped strawberries, peaches, or cherries! You can even mix and match to create the fruity cake of your dreams.
Add Lemon: To balance the sweetness of the cake a little, sometimes I’ll add a hint of lemon zest to the batter. After all, nothing complements the rich flavor of blueberry as well as some tart lemon! Layer in dollops of lemon curd for even more bright flavor.

A slice of blueberry buckle on a white plate.

Storing Leftover Buckle

Your blueberry buckle is best served fresh for that light and fluffy texture. It can, however, be stored for 3-4 days in an airtight container at room temperature. The sooner you consume it, the better it will taste!