Wednesday 24 July 2013

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



18 comments:

  1. Hi Lian,

    Glad that Joyce has proposed this wonderful theme and I have learned a lot from my buckle baking.

    Yours look great with fresh blueberries. I like living in seasonal country but also think that the Singaporeans are lucky to have access to lots of seasonal fresh fruits from different countries too.

    Zoe

    ReplyDelete
  2. WOw! I think your fruit buckle looks delicious! Hope I can find time to bake this weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can't wait to see what you're baking:D

      Delete
  3. this is beautiful ! seriously! i also love the look of your streusels..yeah as long as you find it good and nice, dont hv to change anything :)

    thanks for baking with us, lian!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lena dear, thanks for your kind words. Appreciate it.

      Delete
  4. Hi i ate 4 that night :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Goodness! I didn't know that! That good huh? or lousy catered dinner that night?

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. Thanks Angeline. Yours are just as lovely too.

      Delete
  6. Hi Lian,
    Your buckle looks gorgeous and delicious! Yeah, I would stay with the lemon and the zest too, it makes a great pairing with the blueberries!
    Thank you for baking along with us!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The lemon zest and syrup do make a difference, Joyce. I like that recipe.

      Delete
  7. Hi Lian, nice knowing you! I hopped over from Bake Along even though I didn't participate this time round. Your buckle looks very yummy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jasline, Thanks for your kind comment. Voted for you. The Tuscan Baked Eggs look really yum, full of Tuscany flavour. Hope you'll win.

      Delete
  8. Hi Lian,
    Thanks for dropping by my humble blog & your kind words . Really glad to know you thru Bake Along. Your lemony blueberry buckle looks lovely & tasty! YUM! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Kit, Nice to meet you too. I love the beautiful layout of your blog:D

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Lian,

    Baked this for my cell group juz now. Simply delicious. Will definitely bake it again. God bless

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Joan, I am glad you like this. This is one of my favourite recipe now.

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...