Peach-Almond-Berry Buckle : Bake-Along #48, Theme - Fruit Buckle

Time for our Bake-Along #47 and theme is Fruit Buckle. I first read of fruit buckle when I was sourcing for some other info on the internet. A buckle is really a simple variation of cobblers. It is basically a dense moist butter cake, with fresh seasonal fruits mixed into the batter, with a topping similar to a streusel which gives a crumpled or buckled appearance at the top when baked. The classic buckle are made using fresh blueberries, though other fresh seasonal fruits are widely used nowadays. This old-fashioned classic dessert has been in the United States for centuries.

A slice of mixed fruit buckle.

When you search the internet for fruit buckle recipes, you would find many different versions of buckles. There's however one thing in common, that is the presence of fresh fruits in the batter. But you can find many different variations for the topping, some with buckled top appearance and some are just simple struesel topping such as the one below.

I made this Peach-Almond-Berry Buckle, recipe taken from "Baking For All Occasions" by Flo Braker, the original recipe uses fresh apricots, but since I could not find any, I have substitute with canned sliced peaches. And have mixed in 1 cup of frozen blueberries and half a cup of frozen cranberries. I have substitute the sour cream with homemade yoghurt, and reduce the sugar to 140gm.

The batter is very easy to mix, as everything, excluding the fruits, are mixed together in a mixing bowl until creamy. The fruits are then added in gently and the batter is spooned into the prepared baking pan. The almond topping which is just a mixture of some egg white, some sugar and flaked almonds, are mixed together, and then sprinkled all over the batter.  Bake at 375F for about 60 minutes until the top is golden and cake is done.

Crispy, fragrant almonds.

This cake is a winner! The texture of the cake is moist, tender and buttery. The canned peaches are sweet, the blueberries very juicy and sweet and the cranberries are juicy and sour.  Very nice buckle! Though there's no buckled appearance in this cake at all, with just a shiny layer of crystalline golden almond crust at the top, as just what the recipe says, but then I supposed this is the modern version of fruit buckle! Maybe next time I'll omit the cranberries, as they are quite sour, it's a good thing I've only used half a cup.

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I'm sharing this with Food on Friday : Cherries and Almonds hosted by Carole's Chatter


Apricot-Almond-Berry Buckle
(adapted from "Baking For All Occasions", Flo Braker)
Yield : One 9-inch round cake, 12 servings
Cake :
4 ounces (1 stick/115 gm) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons sour cream (use yohurt)
2 tablespoons whole milk
1-1/4 cups (5 ounces/140 gm) cake flour
1 cup (7 ounces/200 gm) granulated sugar (use 140gm)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 large egg yolk (reserve the white for the topping)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

Fruit :
5 to 6 small (10 ounces/280 gm) firm but ripe apricots, halved, pitted, and halves quartered lengthwise to yield about 1-1/2 cups (9 ounces/255 gms)
1 cup (5 ounces/140 gm) red raspberries, picked over for stems
1 cup (5 ounces/140 gm) boysenberries or other seasonal berries, picked over for stems

Almond Topping :
1 to 2 tablespoons egg white
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 cup (3-1/2 ounces/100 gm) natural or blanched sliced almonds

Before Baking :

To soften the butter for the cake batter, remove it from the refrigerator about 2 hours ahead and place it in the bowl of a stand mixer. Center a rack in the oven and preheated the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch round springform pan with 2-3/4 or 3-inch sides, then flour it. tapping out the excess flour. Line the bottom with parchment paper. In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream and milk for the cake batter. Have all of the other ingredients at room temperature.

To Make The Cake :

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt onto the butter in the mixer bowl. Add the sour cream mixture, eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla and almond extracts to the bowl. Attach the bowl to the mixer, fit it with the paddle attachment, and beat on low speed until creamy and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Detach the paddle and bowl from the mixer, and tap the paddle against the side of the bowl to free the excess batter.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the apricots and berries. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread as evenly as possible with the spatula.

To Make The Almond Topping :

In a small bowl, use a fork to beat the egg white just to break it up, set aside. In a small bowl, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the sugar over the nuts. Pour 1 tablespoon of the egg whites on top of the nuts and toss with the fork to coat evenly. If needed, add more eg white to coat the almonds evenly. Scatter the almond mixture over the cake batter.

Bake the buckle just until it springs back when lightly touched in the center, a round wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out free of cake, and the almond topping transforms into a shiny, crystalline golden crust, 55 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for about 20 minutes.

Slowly release the springfrom clasp and carefully remove the pan sides. Invert a wire rack on top of the buckle, invert the buckle onto it, lift off the pan bottom, and slowly peel off the parchment liner and discard it. Invert a serving plate on top, invert the buckle so it is right side up, and remove the original rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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