It really was my fault, but I blame it on the potato. Preparations for a Memorial Day get-together with
friends were sailing along. I was embroiled in side-dish duty and dessert
detail; he was working on a rack of ribs. We were both in a kitchen groove,
staying out of each other’s way, listening to a funky iPod mix. A
culinary equation couldn’t get more harmonious. Guests were arriving in about 90 minutes, and almost
everything was done, except dessert. Flour, sugar, and butter were out and
ready to go; the baking dish was greased. And then, as quickly as a clove of garlic burns acrid,
my state of bliss dissipated into the humidity. Suddenly the sink was all
backed up, spitting up the scraps I had earlier tossed down the drain. My dutiful rib-maker was making earnest attempts at
plunging and cajoling the pipes, but they wouldn’t budge. I had a
funny feeling that I had allowed an entire red potato to escape down the
drain while peeling a bunch for potato salad and felt guilty for sending
him off to buy a container of drain magic. Clock ticking, we attended to our sick drain,
uncertain of the prognosis and increasingly worried about dessert. With luck on our side (or maybe good karma), the drain
returned to normal and, on the fly, I assembled a vanilla-y cake batter.
The hitch: It was my maiden voyage with this dessert, and I had no idea
what to expect. The batter in question was for a blueberry buckle.
Imagine the intense burst of fruit you get in a cobbler, but with an extra
dose of love from that homey cake batter. Fruit goes on top, followed by a
classic American buttery-crumb topping. As the batter rises, the fruit
expands and a traffic accident occurs, resulting in a pothole effect (ergo,
“buckled”) that is both disarming and charming. My only wish is that I hadn’t worried so much
about the potato, because every little thing, really, was gonna be all
right in buckle land.
“Mama’s Blueberry Buckle”
Adapted from Recipes
from a Very Small Island by Linda
Greenlaw and Martha Greenlaw
Ingredients Batter 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar One large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup milk 2 cups blueberries (1 pint)
Topping 1/2 cup sugar 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square
baking dish. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until
light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix until combined. In a small
bowl, sift or whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry
ingredients, alternating with the milk, mixing until blended. Scrape batter
into prepared pan and spread with a rubber spatula so that it evenly covers
the pan. Sprinkle berries over batter. To make topping, whisk together
sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add butter and work with a fork
or your fingers until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle topping over
blueberries. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until berries are bubbling and
topping is golden brown. Let cool slightly; serve warm or at room
temperature. Serves about six wild bucklers.
This article appears in Jun 15-21, 2006.
