Huckleberry Buckle
This is a simple but flavorful cake filled with wild huckleberries and a crunchy crumb topping. If huckleberries are hard to find in your area, blueberries make a fine substitution.
Here in the western United State, huckleberries are one of our favorite treats when visiting the mountains of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington in the summertime. Sometimes we deliberately go huckleberry picking, and other times it’s fun to just spontaneously find them on the side of a hiking trail or next to our campsite.
When we are lucky enough to come home with a full container of precious huckleberries (instead of just eating them all up right away), I love to put them into all sorts of baked goods, like this huckleberry buckle! It’s made up of simple dense cake packed full of berries with a buttery crumb topping, and it’s delicious.
This huckleberry buckle and my homemade huckleberry ice cream are my favorite ways to use up huckleberries when I’m lucky enough to have them!
Table of Contents
- What is a "buckle"?
- How to make huckleberry buckle
- Serving suggestions
- Recipe FAQs
- Huckleberry buckle recipe
What is a “buckle”?
A buckle is very similar to a coffee cake. The bottom layer is moist, dense and cake-like with lots berries or other fruit mixed in, while the top layer is a crumb topping. As it bakes, the batter and crumb topping “buckle” around the fruit. It’s a simple rustic cake, but it packs a lot of punch!
How to make huckleberry buckle
- Make cake batter. Cream the butter and sugar together till creamy, and mix in an egg. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and lemon zest, and add it in 3 additions, alternating with the milk. Gently folk in the huckleberries. The batter will be thick!
- Make the crumble topping. Stir together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter until combined.
- Layer in an 8-inch pan. Grease the pan with nonstick baking spray and line with parchment paper, if desired. Spread the cake batter into the pan and sprinkle the crumb mixture on top.
- Bake. Bake in a 375°F oven until golden brown and toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs, about 30 minutes.
- Enjoy! Let the cake cool before serving for best results. Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for 1-2 days, or store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Serving suggestions
You can serve this huckleberry buckle in the morning as a breakfast or brunch treat, or as dessert or a snack any time of day. It’s perfect as it is, but if you like you can add a simple vanilla glaze, whipped cream, or a scoop of ice cream.
Recipe FAQs
Huckleberries can be very hard to get! And don’t worry, pretty much all huckleberry recipes (including this buckle recipe) will work with blueberries just fine. The flavor won’t be exactly the same since huckleberries are generally more tart than blueberries. And blueberries are also typically bigger than huckleberries, which can affect appearance and texture.Â
Absolutely! You can use frozen huckleberries, frozen blueberries, or frozen “wild blueberries” (I’ve seen these at Trader Joe’s). Bake straight from frozen (do not thaw), adding 5+ minutes of baking time.Â
Use huckleberries just as you would blueberries! Make huckleberry jam, huckleberry pancakes, huckleberry muffins, huckleberry crisp, etc.
Huckleberry buckle recipe
Huckleberry Buckle
Ingredients
For the cake:
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter , at room temperature (56 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup whole milk (237 ml)
- 2 cups huckleberries or blueberries (340 grams)
For the topping:
- ½ cup packed light or dark brown sugar (106 grams)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (60 grams)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup unsalted butter , melted (56 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter together until combined and creamy. Beat in the egg.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Add to the mixer in 3 additions, alternating with the milk and mixing after each. Fold in the huckleberries. The batter will be thick. Spread into the prepared baking pan.
- To prepare the topping, combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and melted butter in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the cake batter.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with a few moist crumbs and the topping is golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Let cool completely, then slice and serve.
Notes
This is my family’s favorite dessert! We go huckleberry picking every year and this is the first thing that is made with our harvest. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so honored to be a part of your summer huckleberry tradition!! Thanks for the recipe rating and feedback, Wendy. 🙂
I luv this and have made it multiple times! Ty ty
I love this recipe 😋
I made this tonight but I added my huckleberries right from the freezer and I think that made it take longer in the oven !Â
I hope it turns out okay.Â
Just made this & added 1 more egg & it was light crumb & perfect.
Also added chopped candied pecans to the topping (I love nuts in everything!)
Yummy berry good. ??????
I wanted this to turn out so badly! Unfortunately, after over an hour of baking time (with a tin foil top at a certain point to not ruin the crisp), it is still unfinished in the middle. I followed the recipe to a ‘t’.
My yard has more than enough pink huckleberries I could ever pick. Excited to find all these recipes to try out. Hard to find pink huckleberry recipes. Thank you.
Hi! Â Can I freeze this with the huckleberry topping already spread on it or is it better to add the topping shortly before serving. Â Judy Smith
The topping is baked right on top of the cake, so you can add and freeze as is. Let it cool completely, then double wrap in plastic wrap. Thaw in the fridge or on counter.
Can you use frozen huckleberries?
Sure!
This recipe is absolutely a keeper; everyone loved it and it disappeared very quickly. I didn’t have any whole milk so added some cream to 2%– a good move, actually. I used huckleberries but any tart fruit would be good, I think. Thank you very much!