Get this tested recipe for gluten free blueberry buckle: a moist yogurt cake with a layer of fresh blueberries and a crumb topping!
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A buckle can either have fruit mixed into the cake batter (like that one) or a layer of fruit between the cake and the crumble topping (like this one). Since blueberries are exploding right now, a layer of just blueberries seemed like the right thing to do.
We all know that everything is better with a crumble topping. It's so easy to throw together, and it seems like what cake would like to be if it just got rid of everything else that wasn't essential. Just be sure not to skimp on it, though. There is nothing sadder than a crumble topping without big, rewarding chunks of crumble.
You bake this cake in a few easy steps. It takes a wee bit of babysitting, but really nothing you can't handle. The idea is to bake the cake, covered, without the crumb topping. That way, you don't have to overbake the crumbs. Oh, and be sure the crumbs are chilled before baking them. That's how they stay crumb-like, instead of just melting into a single layer in the oven.
You know how kids tend to have bright blue lips in the summertime from whatever never-seen-in-nature treat they got from the ice cream truck? Well, my children's lips were bright blue after they each finished a big piece of this moist, sweet summer cake. Naturally. Will you forgive me my smug satisfaction?
Gluten Free Blueberry Buckle
Ingredients
For the crumble topping
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 cup (140 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter; please click thru for full info on appropriate blends)
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (73 g) packed light brown sugar
For the cake
- 1 ¼ cups (175 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter; please click thru for full info on appropriate blends)
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons (40 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons (48 g) vegetable shortening I like Spectrum brand
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) plain yogurt
- 3 (150 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the fruit layer
- 2 ½ cups fresh blueberries rinsed and patted dry
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch square pan and set it aside.
Make the crumble topping.
- Combine all of the topping ingredients (8 tablespoons butter, 1 cup flour and xanthan gum, granulated and brown sugars, and salt), and blend with a fork until well-combined. Place in the refrigerator to chill until ready to use.
Make the cake batter.
- Combine the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt and granulated sugar in a large bowl, and whisk to combine. Add the light brown sugar and whisk to combine, working out any lumps in the brown sugar.
- Add the 2 tablespoons butter, vegetable shortening, and plain yogurt, and mix to combine well.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla, beating well after each addition. The batter should be thick, but not stiff. It should spread easily.
- Scrape the batter into an even layer in the bottom of the prepared pan.
Make the fruit layer.
- In a small bowl, place the blueberries, sugar and salt, and toss to combine. Spread the blueberries out on top of the cake batter in a single, even layer.
- Cover the pan securely with aluminum foil, and place it in the center of the preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the crumble topping from the refrigerator and fluff it with a fork to break it up into irregular pieces.
- Remove the pan from the oven, uncover it and sprinkle with the crumble topping in an even layer.
- Return the pan to the oven, and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached and the crumb topping is light golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, and allow the cake it to cool completely in the pan. Slice into 9 equal squares, and serve.
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Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Kathy D'Urso says
I made this today, and it is amazing!!! It’s tender, and buttery, and the perfect blend of sweet and crumbly. We are eating for dinner with vanilla ice cream on top. I might roast some veggies to eat afterwards :)
Jess says
Hi Nicole!
A little off topic, but I’m wanting to make your Table Water Crackers for this weekend. Problem: I live in Australia. No Better Batter flour for me (at least I don’t think so..). I did check out your post on GF blends, but tbh, since I’m not the gluten intolerant person (it’s for my friends), I am entirely confused by it :/
Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)
Thankyou, Jess
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid I’m not really sure what else I can explain that isn’t already explained on my All Purpose Gluten Free Flours page here on the blog, Jess. If you have a specific question, I can try to answer, but that is a basic primer. If you are going to build a gluten free flour blend, you’ll need the component flours listed plus a digital food scale.
Nicole
Latia D says
I get a little frustrated, or a little sad when I see a recipe I really want to try, read through all the comments to see if it’s good and all everybody says is, “I can’t wait to try this.” I want results. Well, here ya go.
I made it. Funny, just the day before you posted this, I was looking for this EXACT recipe. I had just bought some organic blueberries on sale for a coffee cake and surfed for a good GF recipe. I didn’t find anything that satisfied me so I gave up. Then, your blessed email arrived in my inbox the next morning. I made this today and it turned out beautifully, in spite of a couple of substitutions. I can’t use Crisco, just can’t, so I substituted coconut oil. I didn’t have any yogurt so I substituted [gasp] Veganaise of all things. I was panicking as I had everything else on hand but no yogurt! No sour cream, even. The cake turned out fabulous even with these crazy substitutions.
Thank you again for all the amazing recipes. I must say, it amazes me that you get up every morning and provide us with a new, wonderful recipe, pretty much every day. It blows my mind. Thank you!
Nicole Hunn says
Thanks for the I-made-it-already comment, Latia! So glad you enjoyed the recipe. For others’ benefit (and yours!), I just wanted to mention that I never use Crisco. I use Spectrum Naturals nonhydrogenated shortening—a world away from Crisco! I used to specify that in blog recipes, but I got a lot of questions about whether readers could use Crisco, so I stopped specifying so as not to seem to prescriptive. The reason for using part shortening is that it is much lower in moisture than butter and so it behaves quite differently in baking.
xoxo Nicole
Valerie says
Hello Nicole, thanks for this yummy recipe! I have a question and forgive me if it’s out of ‘topic’. Have you got a recipe for gluten free brioche? The one you can fill in with chocolate or jam and bake…. The round one basically lol
Thank you!!!
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Valerie,
Any recipe question is fair game on any blog post! Yes, there is a recipe for Gluten Free Brioche in my first cookbook. :)
xoxo Nicole
Cathleen Preslar- Hawks says
This looks great! As per usual, you have me mesmerized with your amazing-ness. We’re supposed to go picking wild blueberries this weekend in Greene Co., near Windham. Last we were up there, they weren’t quite ready, but we should have a nice harvest, now. Hopefully, it will be a bit cooler up there! I wonder if this cake would work with some of the black raspberries I happen to have growing wild around me?
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Cathleen,
I bet it would work great with black raspberries. And may I take this opportunity to say that I am very jealous of your wild black raspberries. :)
xoxo Nicole
Cathleen Preslar- Hawks says
We are so lucky to have had such a good year for berries, love. This is the amount we’ve been getting every day I pick them. Sometimes, more. I have my grandmother’s huge fix n mix Tupperware bowl that’s been filled twice to heaping. (According to their site, it holds 26 cups.)
One or two more trips across the street, and I’ll be leaving the rest for my neighbors and the birds. So far, we have a large batch of jelly, the sundae sauce out of the big Ball canning book, and quite a few quarts of juice, and a small batch of syrup.
No need to be jealous! I’ll share the wealth. You share your recipes. It seems only fair. ;)
Melissa says
Looking forward to the blueberries on the bush here on our farm to turn BLUE! They are blue-green right now, so a few more weeks!
I have found using psyllium husk INSTEAD of xantham gum works just as well!
I use it in your waffle recipe ALL OF THE TIME, and they turn out excellent!
Psyllium husk is available in the bulk section of your local Natural Foods store so you can see what I mean!
The gums were giving me trouble, plus who DOESN’T need more fiber in their diet?
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Melissa, I’m glad you have found that psyllium husk works for you in my waffle recipe. For others’ benefit, though, I just want to be clear that psyllium husk with not work in every recipe as a 1:1 substitute for xanthan gum. It is generally best to use recipes that were formulated with that ingredient to ensure success.
Nicole
Jennifer Sasse says
Oh my word. LOVE THIS! Blueberries are on sale this week too, so I guess I’ll have to stop and get some more just for this! yahoo!
Nicole Hunn says
Blueberries all around, Jennifer! :)
xoxo Nicole
Donia Robinson says
This is just the type of recipe my family will love, and what luck! I just bought a big container of organic blueberries from Costco yesterday!
I think, though, that I would probably spoon some out warm and put some DF ice cream on it. I know it would fall apart a bit, but I do so love warm, ooey, gooey things.
Nicole Hunn says
Costco always has the best big fat blueberries, Donia. Yum. It will definitely fall apart if you take it out warm, but hey, you’re not taking pictures of the thing. You’re just eating it. So who cares? ;)
xoxo Nicole