We’re in the midst of blueberry season, and grocers everywhere are offering cheap pints of berries. What we get here in PA supermarkets are mostly Jersey-grown berries. While these may not taste as perfect out-of-hand as wild Maine blueberries, they still fare quite nicely whether plain or in desserts. In my opinion, baking them is one of the best ways to bring out their best qualities. A blueberry buckle, which is more or less a coffee cake that happens to contain more berries than batter, is an excellent way to make those supermarket berries shine. The quantity of fruit makes it supremely moist, and a crunchy streusel topping adds texture. With a swirl of lemon curd sauce for a bit of tang, this downhome treat is transformed into a sublime summer dessert (or breakfast). Not to mention it’s very easy to make. The following recipe is adapted from one in Cook’s Illustrated magazine.


Blueberry Buckle with Lemon Curd Sauce

Equipment:
1 9-inch cake pan
Parchment or wax paper
Electric mixer

Ingredients

Streusel:
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (2 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cut into 8 pieces, softened
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
pinch of table salt

Cake:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour ( 7 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/4 stick), softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar (about 4 3/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs , room temperature
4 cups fresh blueberries (about 20 ounces)

Sauce:
1/2 cup lemon curd
1/2 cup yogurt (plain or vanilla)

For the streusel:
In standing mixer fitted with flat beater, combine flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt on low speed until well combined and no large brown sugar lumps remain, about 45 seconds. Add butter and mix on low until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 2 1/2 minutes. Stir in nuts, transfer streusel to small bowl, and set aside.

For the cake:
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cake pan with with nonstick cooking spray, line bottom with parchment or waxed paper round, and spray round; dust pan with flour and knock out excess.

Whisk flour and baking powder in small bowl to combine; set aside. In standing mixer, cream butter, sugar, salt, and lemon zest at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes; using rubber spatula, scrape down bowl. Beat in vanilla until combined, about 30 seconds. With mixer running at medium speed, add eggs one at a time; beat until partially incorporated, then scrape down bowl and continue to beat until fully incorporated (mixture will appear broken). With mixer running on low speed, gradually add flour mixture; beat until flour is almost fully incorporated, about 20 seconds. Disengage bowl from mixer; stir batter with rubber spatula, scraping bottom and sides of bowl, until no flour pockets remain and batter is homogenous; batter will be very heavy and thick. Using rubber spatula, gently fold in blueberries until evenly distributed.

Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth edges with rubber spatula. Sprinkle streusel evenly over batter. Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool on wire rack 15 to 20 minutes.

Make lemon curd sauce: mix curd and yogurt, testing for balance of tartness. Sauce should not be so tart as to overpower the cake.

Run paring knife around sides of cake to loosen. Place upside-down plate on top of cake pan; invert cake to remove from pan, lift off cake pan, then peel off and discard parchment. Re-invert cake onto serving platter. Cool until just warm or to room temperature, at least 1 hour. Cut into wedges and serve with a dollop of sauce on the side.