I'm so happy to report that the buckle was a success! I brought one (I made a double batch) to my bestest friends' house and to my delight the entire dessert was eaten in short order by her three kids- age 2,4 and 5 (my own 3 year old was a bit more ungrateful). Not only did the buckle go down quickly- but the older kids had fun with saying the name "buckle". Which got me thinking where does the term come from? My research says- a buckle is a single layer cake with berries added to the batter. The topping is similar to a streusel which gives it a buckled appearance. Surprisingly the use of the word buckle for pastry is fairly recent- dating only to the 1950's.


 While googling I came across other great berry cake names- "the betty", "grunt", "pandowdy", "slump", and (of course) "cobbler". Making the thought of being a food historian sound pretty interesting.


Anyone interested in the recipe? It came from this magazine- which is quite good. Here's the recipe:


1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 canola oil (or whatever kind)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup blueberries
1 1/2 cup halved pitted cherries (but I used strawberries instead)
2 tbsp. slice almonds
2 tsp. sugar for topping (raw cane sugar if you have it)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9- inch baking dish with spray.


Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk milk, applesauce, oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and fold until blended. Add berries and fold. Spoon into baking dish. Top with sliced almonds and sprinkle with sugar.


Bake until golden brown and do the toothpick test. Should take about 45-55 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving.


Lastly, enjoy, make a double batch and bring some to your bestest friend!