You may never have heard of a blueberry buckle, but seeing these pictures of my gluten free Blueberry Buckle, you’ll probably want a slice!
This old fashioned recipe is in the coffee cake family and relies on lots of extra fresh berries to make it special.
Unlike a typical coffee cake, this gluten free Blueberry Buckle Cake “buckles” under the yummy streusel topping, and both the topping and the copious amounts of berries wind up sinking into the cake itself.
(For more yummy gluten free blueberry recipes, check out my gluten free berry cobbler, gluten free old fashioned blueberry cobbler and gluten free oatmeal crisp recipes!)
The batter is thicker than usual in order to support the topping and berries, so don’t be put off by a batter that doesn’t just pour into the pan — this one will need to be spread with a spatula. But don’t go substituting a brown rice-based flour in this recipe either, as it will just make a dense, gritty cake that you won’t be proud to serve anyone.
My light and clean gfJules Flour is what Chef Patrick used to create this recipe, and it’s what you should also use if you want these same beautiful and tasty results.
And speaking of Chef Patrick, if you don’t know of him, you’re missing out on some inspiring allergen-friendly recipes. He’s a kitchen genius when it comes to gluten free and food allergen free baking, so I recommend checking him out on Facebook. He shared this recipe with me after he created it with my gfJules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. I made a few changes, but the heart of the recipe came from him.
If you have my cookbook, Free For All Cooking, you may have already tried my gluten free Blueberry Buckle Cake recipe from there; it’s a lot like this one, only it makes a much bigger buckle. So if you’re looking to feed a crowd, check out that recipe for another choice!
Bake this cake in a round springform pan like I have — either a 7-inch for a thicker cake (pictured above) and add bake time, or a 9-inch springform (pictured below) for a more traditional single layer cake — or simply use an 8 or 9 inch baking pan. You could even use a tube or bundt pan.
The wider the pan, the less time needed for baking, so start checking your cake at about 40 minutes to be sure it’s not going to overcook. Each time I’ve made this recipe, I needed more time, but Chef Patrick’s cake baked in a 9×9 baking dish only took 35-40 minutes — just be aware ….
I know many of you will ask, so I’ll go ahead and say it here: while you may use frozen blueberries for this cake, it turns out prettier with fresh berries.
Frozen berries tend to stain the batter and make it a little grayish in color; fresh berries rolled in my gfJules Flour will stay intact and not color the batter at all. Rolling them in flour before adding to the batter also helps to keep them from clumping together when baking, contributing to a prettier result.
One more thing: you can use anywhere between 2-3 cups of berries. I don’t want you to not make this cake just because you don’t have 3 cups of fresh berries (that’s a lot of berries!). It’s pictured made with 2 cups of berries and 3 cups of berries — they’re both delicious!
However you slice it, this scrumptious gluten free Blueberry Buckle Cake makes a coffee cake-like breakfast treat (anything with yogurt is breakfast, right?) or a respectable dessert, and it’s a great way to show off the abundant fresh berries of the season!
Gluten Free Blueberry Buckle Cake
Gluten Free Blueberry Buckle Cake
This classic "Buckle" cake is a cross between a coffee cake and your favorite dessert cake. The streusel topping sinks in along with the berries and permeates the entire cake, making it yummy, through and through!
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 cups (270 grams) gfJules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
- 4 Tablespoons butter or vegan alternative (Earth Balance Buttery Sticks) room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg or 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal steeped in 3 tablespoons of warm water for 5 minutes
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup milk, dairy or non-dairy (coconut milk or soy milk work well)
- 2 cups fresh whole blueberries + more gfJules Flour
Topping:
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup gfJules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg or allspice
- 1 teaspoon baking power
- 4 Tablespoons butter or vegan alternative (Earth Balance Buttery Sticks) chilled & cubed
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Spray a 9 by 9-inch baking dish or round springform pan (as pictured) with oil and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the gfJules flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon and lemon zest. Set aside.
Beat together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes.
Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
Add half the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until incorporated and then add half of the milk and beat until incorporated. Repeat, alternating flour and milk until fully incorporated.
Rinse blueberries and toss in a bowl with a small amount of gfJules Flour until coated. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter, then pour into the prepared baking pan. Set aside while you make the topping.
In a small bowl whisk together the sugar, gfJules Flour, spices and baking powder.
Add the cold butter and cut into the dry ingredients using a fork or pastry cutter to combine. It will make a crumbly mixture that is not uniform.
Sprinkle the mixture across the top of the cake batter.
Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45-55 minutes (depending on the pan) or until golden in color, them middle isn't sunken in and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with some crumbs attached, not wet.
Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information
Yield 10 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 260Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 44mgSodium 253mgCarbohydrates 40gFiber 2gSugar 28gProtein 3g
Please keep in mind that nutrition information provided is per serving, which may vary. While we have taken care to provide you with the most accurate nutritional values possible, please note that this information may differ significantly depending on the exact ingredients and brands that you choose to use to make this recipe. Additionally, where options are given for ingredients, the resulting calculation may include all ingredient options instead of only one per line, skewing the totals significantly.
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I am an experienced baker but don’t do a lot of GF baking because then I would eat it all. This had a wonderful taste but the batter seemed to get so thick and sticky that I wondered how it would bake. It came out so dense and almost gooey. That texture was a turn off to me so it went in the trash. The taste was great but, I couldn’t get past the blonde look and blobby texture. Mine was cooked fine but blech. Not for me.
I’m baking it… now , ; – )
Can’t wait to hear how it turns out!!!
~jules
Hi! I just picked a bunch of blueberries so I am excited to find this recipe! I am cooking for a large bunch —- how do you suggest making this recipe for a bigger group? What kind of pan would you suggest? Thank you!!!