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The prettiest and most delicious blueberry buckle. A buttery, moist, light and airy cardamon infused cake with a generous layer of fresh blueberries and an extra crumbly, cinnamon sugar crumble. It’s a winner any time of day!

overhead photo of Bursting Blueberry Cardamom Buckle with knife and flowers in photo

I just typed over four-hundred words only to completely delete them. Yup deleted. As in gone forever and never to be seen again. You’d be surprised how often that happens when I write my daily blog posts. Sometimes the words and stories just flow, and then other times it takes me a minute to really get into writing out a blog post.

Today it’s taking me a little more time than usual. I just spent the entire day writing up recipes, creating mood boards, and returning emails. It was a day full of non-stop screen time. It’s currently nine forty-five pm and, I’m not going to lie, my eyes hurt just a little. I’m excited to ditch the computer soon..ish. That said, I am feeling pretty happy with all I got done today, and very ready to get back in the kitchen tomorrow, so that’s just great!

And now I’m ready to tell you all about this blueberry buckle, that’s quite literally bursting with fresh summer blueberries.

overhead photo of blueberries on top of buckle batter before baking

{blueberry buckle before adding the crumble}

overhead photo of Bursting Blueberry Cardamom Buckle before being cut into

If you’ve never heard of a buckle, it’s really just another word for a fruit filled cake topped with a buttery streusel/crumble situation. The streusel topping on the cake makes the top look “buckled”, which is how it gets its name. If you read this description on the New York Times, it says that fruit buckles are softer and fruitier than a coffee cake, but much more buttery than a cobbler. So basically, it’s a soft, buttery, and generously fruit filled cake with a fun name. But most importantly, it’s really good!

And easy, which is always a major bonus in my book. OK and? You can eat this cake warm, right out of the oven, no cooling required, for brunch or dessert, maybe even with powdered sugar. And while completely optional, ice cream is definitely recommended.

Yessss.

overhead photo of Bursting Blueberry Cardamom Buckle with ice cream scoop on top

Now. Onto the details.

Like I said, this blueberry buckle is pretty easy. First up, mix the batter. It’s a pretty simple mix of flour, butter, milk, and eggs, but what makes my batter especially good is the addition of sweet vanilla and cozy cardamom, neither of which are traditional in a buckle recipe, but both of which are delicious in a buckle recipe.

Especially with the blueberry pairing. It’s warm and cozy, but summery too.

So, you mix the batter and spoon it into a cake pan. Now you layer.

Layer one, buckle batter.

Layer two, fresh blueberries. And lots of them.

Layer three, crumble, times two, and with a pinch of cinnamom because it’s cozy and I love it.

Bake. Wait in anticipation, smell all the delicious smells, finally remove the buckle from the oven. See its beauty, taste its deliciousness…

Is your mouth-watering yet? Because mine is.

close up photo of Bursting Blueberry Cardamom Buckle cake piece

What I love most about this blueberry buckle is that the cake layer is oh so soft, but the blueberry layer is oh SO juicy, and the crumble layer is oh so buttery and sweet.

It’s three layers of perfection and they make for the perfect bite every single time. Also, I’ve seen buckles with the berries mixed into the cake batter, and others with the berries places on top, as I did. I haven’t made a buckle with the berries mixed into the batter, but I’m sure that would be just fine too. I personally love the way the blueberry layer really bursts into your mouth with each bite, but do what sounds best to you here.

overhead close up photo of Bursting Blueberry Cardamom Buckle

You can serve this warm, for a brunch or after afternoon pick me up (topped with a light dusting of powder sugar if you like), or you can serve as an after dinner dessert, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Either way you serve it up, it’s going to be good. Make it today. Make it this weekend. Just make it soon before the summer blueberries are gone…and I start talking about apples and pumpkins.

side angle photo Bursting Blueberry Cardamom Buckle piece with flowers in photo

overhead photo of Bursting Blueberry Cardamom Buckle with flowers in photo

If you make this blueberry buckle, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you. Oh, and of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Bursting Blueberry Cardamom Buckle

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 834 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Crumble

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch spring form pan. 
    2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cardamom, and sugar. Add the butter, milk, eggs, and vanilla, mix until just combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Toss together the blueberries and lemon zest and sprinkle the blueberries over the batter.
    3. To make the crumble. Whisk together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the butter and mix with your hands until the mix is moist and a crumble forms. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the fruit. 
    4. Transfer to the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes or until golden on top. If you insert a skewer into the center, it should come out almost clean. Let the cake cool 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temp. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired. 
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overhead photo of Bursting Blueberry Cardamom Buckle with knife in photo

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Comments

  1. Hi, This looks amazing!
    Do you know if frozen blueberries would work?
    or thawed frozen blueberries?
    We have a ton of frozen ones and this
    looks amazing.
    Thanks,
    Kathi

    1. Hey Kathi,
      Totally fine to use frozen blueberries. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

  2. 5 stars
    Oh my goodness. This was incredibly tasty. All my kids loved it. I used almond flour instead of regular flour and it was super moist.
    I can’t stop eating it!!

    1. Hey Kyle,
      Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed! Have the best weekend☀️ xTieghan

  3. 5 stars
    I made the buckle cake this weekend too for my kids – it tasted amazing but the crumble on top did not look at pretty as yours. It looked more like cake.

  4. 5 stars
    This turned out so good! The cake was moist and delicious and the blueberries and crumble added lovely taste and texture! I used frozen blueberries and found it took longer to cook, after 55 minutes the middle was still giggly. Turned out great though!

  5. 5 stars
    Husband ate and the two kids ate it so fast I couldn’t even take a picture. I did use oatmeal in the crumble instead and turned out great!

  6. 5 stars
    Oh my goodness, this is delicious! Made it this morning subbing fresh frozen cranberries for the blueberries. Cut back on the sugar just a little bit and added chopped pecans to the topping. SO GOOD!

    1. Hey Lisa,
      Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that it worked out for you. Happy Holidays! xTieghan

  7. This looks so good! I’d love to make it for Christmas and am thinking of substituting cranberries for blueberries — are there any other subs you would recommend? (orange zest instead of lemon? would cardamom still go with cranberries?) Thanks!

    1. Hey Rupal,
      I think the cranberries would be great here! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other question. Happy Holidays! xTieghan

  8. 5 stars
    So…I made it vegan. And it was so good that even my non-vegan bf approved!! I just used vegan butter, subbed eggs for plant-based yogurt and dairy milk for pea protein milk. The final texture was probably different than the original one, but I loved it! Thanks for this amazing recipe, so easy to customise!
    It would be great if you could include more plant-based cakes and desserts Tieghan 🙂 I’d love to try your burnt basque cheesecake but I have no idea how to make it vegan!

    1. Hi! I am so happy you loved this one and it was easy to make vegan!! I wish I had tried making the basque cheesecake vegan, but I have not! I hope it turns out amazing for you as well! Thank you! xTieghan

  9. 3 stars
    Cake’s a little dry and it’s not exactly “bursting” with blueberry flavor. I’ll have to fiddle with this a little on my own to see if it can be improved. General flavor is good, and I like the “use your hands” method of making the crumble.

    1. Hi! I am sorry about that! Is there anything I can help with? Or anything that could have gone wrong? xTieghan

  10. 5 stars
    Bursting with flavor and the cardamom added such a nice touch! Really enjoyed the blueberry cardamom combo and will make again!

  11. 5 stars
    I’ve already made this twice in the past month & it’s a BIG hit. I didn’t have whole milk, so I used 1/2cup 1-2% milk and topped off with condensed milk to 2/3cup – which added a rich, sweet, creamy touch to the buckle. Loved it!

  12. 5 stars
    So good served it with vanilla ice cream Everyone at the table were making the sounds when you know something is so good My son wow this is so good mom Love making them all happy with new recipes I never go wrong with anything I have made from you

  13. 5 stars
    Oh so delish. I made it using gluten free flour since my hubby is GF. The measure for measure all purpose flour and it was delicious