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Combining stone fruit with berries to create a beautiful blackberry apricot buckle cake topped with toasted hazelnuts. Loaded with fruit with a crunchy exterior and soft texture, this cake makes for a delightful summer dessert.
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What makes this recipe special
For some reason, I have an easier time thinking of dessert recipes versus savory dishes. If you see my list of recipe ideas, 90% of them are desserts. With summer produce in almost full swing, that list of ideas keeps growing and growing. I'm slowly tackling them one by one (see the last caramelized honey cheesecake with cherries recipe?), and today's agenda is all about this blackberry apricot buckle cake. Loaded with fruit, this cake is studded with hazelnuts and finished with powdered sugar for the perfect summer treat.
What is a buckle cake, you ask? Well, simply put, it's a fruit cake. The fruit on the top of the cake makes the cake buckle under the weight, hence, buckle cake. You can use a variety of fruits, but I decided to use blackberries and apricots because I love the combination.
For another fantastic fruit cake, check out this almond cake with roasted cherries or upside down persimmon cake!
Recipe
Blackberry Apricot Buckle Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup blackberries (6 ounces)
- 3 ripe, semi-firm apricots (130 grams)
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (187 grams)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
- ½ cup finely ground hazelnut flour (56 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup buttermilk (250 ml)
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup butter (57 grams)
- ⅓ cup chopped hazelnuts (35 grams)
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Slice the apricots in half and each half into 3 wedges for a total of 6 wedges per apricot. If your apricots are small, cut them into quarters instead. Toss the apricots and blackberries with the brown sugar and cinnamon and set aside for 15 minutes.
- Combine the dry ingredients for the cake including the flour, sugar, ground hazelnuts, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Whisk together the vanilla, buttermilk, and egg until well combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring just until combined.
- Melt ¼ cup butter in a 10-inch cast iron pan over medium heat. Continue to heat the butter until it turns golden brown and smells nutty, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and pour the cake batter into the center of the pan, letting the butter surround the batter.
- Arrange the fruit on top of the cake and sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts on top. Bake the blackberry apricot buckle for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool and dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Marinate fruit
When I was a private chef preparing meals for families, I always jumped at the chance to bake this blackberry apricot buckle cake during the summer. Not only is it easy to prepare, but it looks elegant!
To make this cake, first, slice the semi-firm ripe apricots into wedges and gently toss them with the blackberries, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
You want to use semi-firm apricots because if they're too ripe, they'll turn into mush. However, you also don't want them to be too firm because they'll be too sour.
Let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes to allow the fruits to absorb the sugars.
Step 2: Prepare the cake
Meanwhile, make the cake batter. Mix the dry ingredients, whisk together the wet ingredients, then add everything. If you can't find finely ground hazelnut flour, you can substitute it with finely ground almond flour.
Next, melt butter in a cast-iron pan and continue to cook it until it turns golden brown and smells nutty. Brown butter is a glorious thing, and it just made sense to add it to this cake.
Carefully pour the cake batter into the pan, pouring it in the center so that the butter surrounds the batter. This way, the hot butter will create a lovely crust on the cake.
If you don't have a cast-iron pan, you can use any other oven-safe pan. Alternatively, cook the brown butter and pour it into a cake pan. Then, pour the cake batter into the cake pan.
Step 3: Bake
Place the fruit on top of the cake, pouring in all of those fruit juices along with it. Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts on top and bake the blackberry apricot buckle cake for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the cake cool, then sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve. This cake is best served either warm or at room temperature.
If you're looking for a cake loaded with fruit, this is for you. The inside of the buckle cake is wonderfully moist from all of the fruit, while the outside has a lovely crust from the butter. The crunchy hazelnuts also don't hurt either. A delicious cake if I do say so myself!
Make-ahead and storage
- Make-ahead: You can bake the cake earlier in the day and gently reheat it before serving or enjoy it at room temperature.
- Store: Like many cakes, this one is best served on the day it is baked. However, it can last up to 3 days if properly stored in an air-tight container.
More summer fruit dessert recipes
Looking for more summer fruit dessert ideas? Try these:
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