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Blueberries pack this homey dessert

Recipe: Blueberry buckle has a touch of sour cream

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED AUG 2, 2020

Slice of blueberry coffeecake — Blueberry buckle is chock full of juicy fruit. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Blueberries in colander — Our blueberry season is ending. It's a great time to

make a buckle.

Blueberry season is wrapping up now in California. The fact that there is even such a thing as a "California blueberry season" is thanks to modern hybridizing, which created blueberry varieties that require less chill to produce fruit.

Packed with antioxidants, blueberries rank among the healthiest foods you can grow. That's helped make blueberries best sellers in produce markets and farmstands.

How to enjoy all those late-season blueberries? This buckle is a twist on an old-fashioned favorite (the difference is sour cream). Basically a giant biscuit with the fruit baked inside, blueberry buckle belongs to the same family of homey coffee cakes and desserts as cobblers, betties and crisps -- all with evocative names. Most of then have a crumbly topping, too.

How do blueberries "buckle"? As it cooks, the fresh blueberries turn into ooey, gooey, juicy filling, encased by sugary biscuit. Fruit packs this easy comfort food -- no ice cream or whipped cream necessary.

Chopped peaches, apples or pears may be substituted for the blueberries.

Pan with blueberry batter — This homey dessert goes together quickly.
Don't forget the sugary topping!

Blueberry buckle
Makes 9 servings

Ingredients:

1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup low-fat milk
2 cups blueberries

For topping;
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup butter

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Grease a 9-inch square baking dish; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together shortening and 3/4 cup sugar. Beat egg and add to mixture.

This buckle is fresh out of the oven. Let it cool for a bit.

Sift together 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt. Stir together sour cream and milk. Add flour mixture and sour cream mixture alternately to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Batter will be stiff. Gently fold in blueberries.

Spread batter into prepared baking dish.

Make topping: In a medium bowl, stir together 2/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour and cinnamon. Cut butter into cubes, then cut butter into mixture until crumbly. Spread topping over blueberry mixture in baking dish.

Place dish on baking sheet to catch any overflow from fruit. Bake at 375 degrees in center of oven for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until topping is golden and a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean (at least batter-wise -- the blueberries will be juicy).

Let cool a few minutes before serving. Cut into nine 3-by-3-inch pieces.

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

baking recipes gardening Sacramento farmers markets summer fruit summer produce backyard produce produce management seasonal cooking blueberries

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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