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.
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.
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
Wondering what hike you took to find the huckleberries? We are planning a family reunion in McCall next summer would love to do this.
Hi Nicole! We usually go huckleberry picking in Ponderosa State Park. Many of the trails have huckleberry bushes everywhere. I think the picking season is late July?
I’m originally from Idaho….Weiser, not far from McCall.
Do you by chance have a source in the McCall area to
purchase huckleberries by the gallon. Sure do miss them.
I’m sorry, I’m of no help! I occasionally see some in the McCall Farmer’s Market or on the street, but I don’t know how you would get McCall huckleberries without actually going to McCall. So sorry!
This looks amazing and I love Huckleberries!
I’ve heard of huckleberries but never seen them. They look great, as does your buckle. I love buckles.
I am new to buckles, but completely converted!
Love anything that’s called a buckle or a slump or anything with sugar and berries! So glad you had a restful time!
This looks yummy and fun to say!
I think I giggled several times the first day I came up with this hucklebuckle. So fun to say!
I am not familiar with huckle berries, I do not think i can get them in Australia. Could I use fresh currents or blueberries with more lemon or lime to make it tart?
You had such a lovely vacation, you are so lucky to pick such berries and get to back with them.
Huckleberries are similar to blueberries, so they would be a great substitution. But you can use any fruit really. No need to change anything else in the recipe. Have a try with what you have and let me know how it goes!
I’ve never made a buckle before but this looks fabulous! Can’t wait to taste this! Too bad huckleberries are not around here, but I froze some local Olallieberries I got from the farmers market. Score!
Score indeed! Except, I don’t even know what Olallieberries are. Oops. What are they similar to?
Olallieberries are a cross between a Loganberry and a Youngberry. Similar to a blackberrie, but sweeter. Grown in California, they are a treat!
Thank you, there are so many berries I have got to try!
I’ve never had hucklberries before, but this is one beautiful buckle! So glad you had a happy and relaxing vacation 🙂
Annalise,
Greetings from Wisconsin!
I went to your website today planning to make Blueberry Hand Pies and was seduced by the buckle. My wife and I just enjoyed it with blueberries and it was completely delicious.
Ross
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the comment!
It sounds as though you had an amazing vacation. The naps along sound idyllic! This gorgeous huckleberry buckle will be etched in my mind all week long.
Thanks Dara! I admit, I am missing the naps more than anything else. And I think that it’s a new requirement for every vacay. 🙂
I’m originally from Minnesota and went picking blueberries all the time and always made blueberry buckle, love the stuff.. sharon
Jealous of all that blueberry picking! I wish I had that opportunity here in Utah. Nothing like freshly picked berries!
I live in Idaho and I recently went up to McCall! We got over three gallons of huckleberries! Making your recipe soon! Can’t wait to try it out!❤️
We got SO MUCH this year too! I hope you love this recipe!
Hey, we just moved from Montana to Utah. I have frozen huckleberries from our Montana property, and am making this right now. I’ve added 6 min, 6 more min, and still knife coming out wet. I thought maybe you were low elevation, but you just said you live in Utah! ? what elevation are you? Any idea why I’m having this trouble? Jut added an additional 8 min.
Oh my…this cake totally blows me away! I’d never heard of buckles before but I’m already in love with them! Can’t wait to try this out with huckleberries as well as other summer fruits!
xo, Elisa
Beautiful ‘Hucklebuckle’, girl! I just love making buckles as they’re so easy and the payoff is huge. Everyone loves ’em and yours looks super tasty, ever so pretty. Glad you enjoyed your relaxing summer vacation, too. Thanks for sharing, m’lady! Pinning (everywhere)! xo
Aww so jelly of your vacation! The idea of relaxing and reading a few books sounds amazing! I’m taking mine in a few weeks and simply can’t wait! Love this buckle as well, friend!