Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Buckle for Breakfast

It is berry season in our area now with blueberries, blackberries and raspberries all available. Yesterday we went out to Makielski Berry Farm and picked two quarts of blackberries and two quarts of raspberries. The thorns on the blackberries were ferocious--my legs look like I've been playing with a whole litter of needle clawed kittens (the raspberries were much more kid-friendly picking). But I can handle a little pain for berries!

The whole time I was picking I kept chanting the rhymes from the picture book Jamberry which I have read to my kids so many times that I have it memorized. So my kids could keep track of where I was in the row by listening for "Clickberry clackberry pick me a blackberry; trainberry trackberry clickety clackberry..."

By the time we got home, I was a little tired and not quite up to dealing with the fragility of pie crust, so I turned to the recipe sheet that I picked up at the farm and settled upon Blackberry Buckle. The great thing about a Buckle is that it can pass as either dessert or as a fruit-loaded coffee cake the next morning! In the interest of testing both options, I consumed it both ways.

Buckle is fast to throw together--a basic cake batter, topped with berries (lots of berries),
then sprinkled with streusel and baked until it looks like this:
Mmmmm. Buckley goodness!

Blackberry Buckle
from Makielski Berry Farm

2.5 C fresh or frozen blackberries
1 C all purpose flour
1.5 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 C butter
1/2 C sugar
1 egg
1/3 C milk
1 t vanilla

topping:
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C flour
1/2 t cinnamon
2 T butter

  • Preheat oven to 375.
  • Stir together 1 C flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  • In a mixing bowl, beat together 1/2 C butter and 1/2 C sugar until fluffy. Add egg and beat until smooth.
  • Combine milk and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and milk alternately to the beaten mixture, beating at low speed after each addition.
  • Pour (or spread) batter into a greased 1 and 1/2 quart pan.
  • Arrange berries evenly over the batter.
  • Combine 1/4 C sugar, 1/4 C flour and cinnamon. Cut in 3 T butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over the berries.
  • Bake for 35 minutes.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was just talking about blackberry picking with the lady who cut my hair tonight. How much longer is the season, do you think?

Edward Vielmetti said...

yum.

Our trip to the UP spoiled me for the raspberry crop - there's nothing quite like having a quart of fresh raspberries to pick every day from the back garden to make you want to be somewhere. (at least as long as the flies are not too bad).

Tricia said...

Hey, I was chanting that book last time I went picking there, too! (last summer) Yum. I really must go berry picking soon.

zoe said...

hi

try the trout topped with creme fraiche mixed with horseradish it is lighter than mayo and gives it a little kick

knittingdogsandparrot.blogspot.com

Carla said...

Please tell me where Makielski Berry Farm is located! If you can believe it, my sister-in-law and mother-in-law went blueberry picking (while I watched the sister-in-law's children) and didn't bring me any!!

I have a serious jones for some blueberries.

Kate said...

CJ--
unfortunately, I think Blueberry season is over now :( Makielski's doesn't grow blueberries (those I pick in Dexter); they have raspberries now (which also make a great buckle, by the way). They are located out on 7130 Platt Road, out past Michigan Ave. If you are driving from Ann Arbor, they are on the right side of the road.