This Sunday is Mother’s Day, and if your mom is anything like mine, cooking one of her favorite dishes is the best way to celebrate her (and okay, maybe some cleaning, too). There’s nothing like a sweet homemade baked good to set Mom’s day off on the right foot. And if you’re looking for recipe inspiration, you can’t go wrong with the Queen Mother of Cooking herself, Miss Martha Stewart.
Martha has so many recipes from which to choose, but for this occasion, it seemed fitting to choose a recipe she learned from her mom, Big Martha, like this blueberry buckle cake. The sweet and fruity treat makes the perfect addition to your Mother’s Day brunch menu.
Related: How to Make the Best Hot Cross Buns, According to Martha Stewart (And Her Mother)
What is a Blueberry Buckle?
A buckle is a type of cake made with a mix-in, often berries or another fruit and often topped with a streusel or crumb topping. The name comes from the way the fruit and topping cause the cake to bend and buckle as it rises in the oven. Buckles have a soft, jammy, moist center that you don’t always get from a traditional cinnamon-spiced coffee cake. Martha and her mom’s recipe is a major step up from your basic coffee cake, thanks to fresh berries and a crunchy, sweet streusel topping.
Related: The Absolute Best Way to Make Tender, Juicy Brisket, According to Chef Andrew Zimmern (and His Grandmother)
😋😋SIGN UP to get delicious recipes, handy kitchen hacks & more in our daily Pop Kitchen newsletter🍳🍔
What Makes Martha Stewart’s Blueberry Buckle So Special?
Martha and Big Martha’s blueberry buckle stands out for a few reasons. First, it uses fresh blueberries (though frozen will work in a pinch), which add brightness and a natural sweetness to every bite. Second, it’s topped with a simple homemade streusel made from butter, sugar and flour. The streusel gives the cake a crispy, golden topping that contrasts beautifully with the soft cake and juicy berries.
Related: How To Make the Best Ever Mac and Cheese, According to Dolly Parton (and Her Sister)
How to Make Martha’s Blueberry Buckle
You can get the full blueberry buckle recipe on the Martha Stewart site, but here’s the basic rundown.
Start by whipping up the crumbly streusel topping. It’s made with just five ingredients: butter, flour, salt and brown and white sugars. Before you start cooking, make sure the butter is room temperature so you can easily work it into the flour and sugar with your hands until you have a crumbly mixture. You’re looking for some larger pieces and some crumbs; it doesn’t have to be uniform. Keep your streusel in the fridge until you’re ready to bake the cake. This helps the butter firm up so it holds its shape in the oven.
While the streusel is chilling, make the cake batter. In one bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. In another, beat butter and white sugar with a hand mixer until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add in one egg and a splash of vanilla extract. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the batter, beginning and ending with flour. Adding some of the dry ingredients, followed by some of the wet ingredients, helps the flour absorb the wet ingredients a create a smooth, more cohesive batter.
Gently fold in the blueberries until the mixture is just combined. Be careful not to over-mix or you may end up with dense, tough cake and smashed berries.
Now it’s time to bake! Spread the batter into a greased and floured springform pan and top with the chilled streusel. Bake until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Let the buckle cool in the pan before removing the outer ring. Now all that’s left to do is slice and serve the warm blueberry buckle.
If your mom is anything like Big Martha, who said, “blueberries are my favorite summer fruit,” she’s sure to love eating these streusel-topped, berry-packed slices on her special day.
Related: How to Make the Best-Ever Crab Cakes, According to Stephen Colbert and His Wife
