Lemon Blueberry Buckle
Why I Love This Recipe
Who doesn't love blueberries? And when they're in season and the price is right, how can you NOT make something lovely and yummy to treat you and your family with? This recipe was in the Los Angeles Times about a week ago and I couldn't resist. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed and it did not last in my house for more than 24 hours.
Ingredients You'll Need
Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup butter, cubed, at room temperature
Cake:
1 1/2 cups flour plus 2 tablespoons
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups blueberries (preferably fresh)
Syrup
1/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Directions
Crumb Topping:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest. Add the butter, using a fork or your fingers (I used my pastry cutter at first then finished with my fingers) to cut in the butter until its about the size of peas.
Cover the bowl loosely and place it in the freezer until ready to use.
Preheat your oven to 350'. Lightly grease a 9" square pan.
Cake:
In a medium bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy
Add the eggs one at a time
Make sure you scrape down the sides so that the eggs get fully incorporated with all of the mixture.
Now (put away the beaters and get out your spoon)...you're going to alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk into the egg mixture bowl starting with 1/3 of the flour
Then add 1/3 of the buttermilk
Mix until fully incorporated before adding more flour.
Once all the flour and buttermilk have been added, gently fold in 1 cup of blueberries
Spread the batter into your 9" greased pan. Distribute the remaining blueberries over the batter
Then...sprinkle the crumb topping over the berries
Bake in the oven until lightly golden and firm on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 50 minutes. (if needed, rotate pan halfway through for even baking).
Meanwhile........Lets make a lemon syrup!!! Oh yeah!
In a small saucepan combine the sugar and lemon juice, whisking together until blended
Heat the pan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally until thickened to a syrupy consistency (about 6 - 8 minutes). The glaze will get bubbly and may need to be removed from the heat so you can properly check the consistency.
Removed it from the heat and set it aside in a warm place until the cake was done. It will thicken as it cooled
Remove the cake from the oven (don't forget to do the toothpick test...it may need to cook a bit longer). Drizzle the warm glaze over the top of your cake.
Let it cool to room temperature
You can keep the cake at room temperature for 2 - 3 days, covered with plastic.