How to make the World's Best Blueberry Buckle - A Blueberry Coffee Cake!

Want to make the best blueberry coffee cake you've ever had, and don't want to spend all day in the kitchen combing the Internet or studying complicated recipes? This "Blueberry Buckle" Coffee Cake is so easy and has stood the test of time. This is a great crumb-topping blueberry coffee cake that my mother made for decades.  I thought it was a secret Pennsylvania Dutch, Amish or Mennonite recipe, but I've since seen variations of it elsewhere.  Whatever it's origins,  it's the best blueberry coffee cake you'll ever taste! What makes it different from other blueberry coffee cakes is: it is light; moist, filled with blueberries, has a great crumb topping, and there's really not a lot of sugar in it.  Plus you can substitute Splenda for half the sugar, if you want - see this recipe for the sugar-free version! And it doesn't matter if you're not a chef or have never made a coffee cake before! Following these illustrated directions ANYONE can cook a perfect blueberry coffee cake!

Ingredients and Equipment
(per 9 inch square dish coffee cake)

Cake batter:

• 3/4 cup sugar
  (if you want the sugar-free recipe, click here!)
• 1/4 cup soft butter (or margarine or vegetable shortening)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cups milk (nonfat, lowfat or whole; depending upon how healthy you like to be!)
• 2 cups flour (all-purpose white, wheat, whole grain, whatever)
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 2 and 1/4 cups blueberries; fresh or frozen (without syrup)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Crumb topping:

• 3/4 cup sugar (if you want the sugar-free recipe, click here!)
• 1/2 cup flour (plain white, wheat, yada yada...).  you can sift it, if you want...
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup soft butter or margarine (not vegetable shortening here)

Cookware

• One 9 inch deep-dish Pie Plate - OR 2 small meat loaf pans, or a round casserole dish. Grocery stores sell both disposable coffee cake and meat loaf pans and glass pans.

Step 1 - Wash the blueberries

Just rinse them in a colander or sieve in cold water, no soap.

Pick out and and remove any bits of stems, leaves and soft or mushy berries. It is easiest to do this in a large bowl of water and gently run your hands through the berries as they float.  With your fingers slightly apart, you will easily feel any soft or mushy berries get caught in your fingers.

Now is also a good time to get the oven preheating to 375 F.

Step 2 - Mix the dry ingredients

Combine the 3/4 cup sugar,  2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional) and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl  and mix well!

Step 3 - Add the butter and the egg

Add the 1/4 cup soft butter (or margarine or vegetable shortening), the egg and using a mixer (hand, electric, or just a large spoon, whatever you have) , mix it up!

Step 4  - Mix in the milk

Add the 1/2 cups milk and mix it up.

Step 5 - Add the flour

While mixing, stir in the 2 cups of flour! (it's just like making pancakes). It will end up like very thick pancake batter.  You may have to finish mixing by hand .

Step 6 - Add the blueberries and mix

Add the blueberries and gently mix it.  You don't want to crush the berries, but it won't matter if some get crushed, either!

Step 7 - Grease and flour the pan(s)

Of course, nobody in their right mind uses grease or lard anymore!  It just means put a thin layer of vegetable shortening, margarine or butter over the interior surface of the pan (using your fingers), and then put 1 tablespoon of flour in the pan and swirl it around so all surfaces are coated.  then dump the excess flour into the trash or sink.

Step 8 - Pour the batter into the pan(s)

Just pour the batter into the the pans.  It should only fill the pan about half way up!  It WILL rise, don't worry!

Step 9 - Make the topping

Now to make the topping, in another bowl, mix together the topping ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup soft or melted butter or margarine

Step 10 - Sprinkle the crumb topping over the batter

Pretty self-explanatory, don't you think?

Step 11 - Put the coffee cake in the oven!

Cook the coffee cake at 375 F (or 190 Celsius) for 45 minutes.
  

Step 12 - Remove when the coffee cake is golden brown

After about 35 minutes, check to see if the top is golden brown. If if not, check every 3 or 4 minutes until it is.

Enjoy!

Set the coffee cake on a rack to cool and enjoy! Here is a slice of the finished coffee cake! Serve warm!  It also freezes well for another day!