God Works for the Good

Buckles are known as crumbles here. It is a single layer cake with fruits in the middle and a streusel on top. This coffee cake is called buckle( meaning bend,twisted,crumple or warp and not the clasp of belt) in the US because during baking, the top of cake rises, and encases the fruits and streusel giving it an uneven crinkly appearance.  Over there, buckles are usually baked according to the fruits season and  blueberry buckle is the classic buckle. You can add whatever fruits which are in season and to your imagination.
Here, we get our fruits imported from many countries and though sometimes may not be as fresh and cheap, we can console ourselves we get to buy seasonal fruits from everywhere all year round. Lately, US blueberries are selling at S$4.95 for 2 packs(2.2oz, 125g) and I have been buying and stocking them.
Last Friday night was the church family night  and as usual I baked a cake, a Lemon Blueberry Buckle. Although I love this cake very much, it has mixed reviews from others. Some said very good but many said too sour and blamed the berries. They didn't know I have added lemon zest and a lemon syrup glaze on the cake.  What I think is that many people here are not used to tart tasting cakes and are also not aware lemon and blueberries are the perfect match. Nevertheless, this is one of the best crumble I ever made. This is a good buckle recipe and I will not change a thing in the recipe(omit lemon zest and syrup as suggested).



Lemon Blueberry Buckle
Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson

Ingredients

Crumb topping
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 stick butter, cubed at room temperature(28g)

Cake
6 tbsp butter, at room temp, plus extra for greasing the pan(85g)
1 1/2 cups flour + 2 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar, divided
Zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs(3 medium eggs)
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, divided
Crumb topping, chilled
Juice of 2 lemons (about 6 tablespoons)


Method

• Heat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9 inch square baking pan.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter, 3/4 cup sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
• Stir the flour mixture into the bowl, a third at a time, alternating with the buttermilk, until both the flour mixture and buttermilk are evenly incorporated into the batter. Gently fold 1 cup of the blueberries into the batter.
• Spread the batter into the prepared pan and distribute the remaining blueberries evenly over the top of the batter. Remove the crumb topping from the freezer and sprinkle it over the berries.
• Bake the cake until it is lightly golden and firm on top, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through for even baking.
• While the cake is baking, make a lemon syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the remaining one-third cup sugar with the lemon juice and whisk until blended. Heat the pan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickens to a syrupy consistency, 6 to 8 minutes. (the glaze will bubble while cooking and may need to be removed from the heat to check that it is proper consistency.) Remove from heat and set aside in a warm place.
• Remove the cake from the oven and drizzle the warm glaze over. Cool to room temperature. The cake will at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, covered in plastic wrap.

This post is linked to Bake-Along 'Fruit Buckle' hosted by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids
Joyce from Kitchen Flavours and Lena from Frozen Wings.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28.

Read a very interesting blog post, 'Religion is Good for kids'. If this interests you, read here