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Rock Recipes 2: More Great Food From My Newfoundland Kitchen
Barry Parson’s is back with the sequel to his best-selling cookbook: Rock Recipes 2: More Great Food From My Newfoundland Kitchen. Today he shares three amazing blueberry dishes perfect for those berries you stocked away during the summer.
Blueberry Buckle
I first heard of blueberry buckle in a restaurant in Maine many years ago while on vacation. Acting like a typical tourist, I asked where the name originated, but the server seemed to have no idea. “That’s what we’ve always called it” was her only response. It’s hard to fault her lack of knowledge on the origin of the name, especially when references to “buckle” as a dessert dish can be dated back to colonial times in the US. With that long a history, it certainly qualifies as a well-loved, old-fashioned comfort food. A little research does indicate that the name comes from the crinkled or “buckled” appearance of the streusel crumb topping as the cake batter rises.
I developed this Blueberry Buckle recipe on my own, and I’ve since used it with other berries and chopped fruit in season and even used frozen berries on occasion, so it really is a versatile year-round recipe.
Makes 12 servings
Blueberry Cake Base
- ½ cup butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup milk
- 2½ cups fresh blueberries
Streusel Crumb Topping
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ cup cold butter, cut in small cubes
Blueberry Cake Base
- Grease a 10-inch springform pan well and line the bottom with parchment paper, if you like, for easy release of the cake when it is baked.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time. Beat well after the addition of each egg.
- Beat in the vanilla extract.
- Sift together the flour and baking powder.
- Add dry ingredients alternately with the milk. Always begin and end with an addition of dry ingredients. As a general rule, add the flour mixture in 3 divisions and the milk in 2.
- Be careful not to overmix the batter, or your cake will be dense. Fold the batter only until the flour is incorporated but no more.
- Quickly fold in the blueberries.
- Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Streusel Crumb Topping
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon.
- Using your fingertips, rub the butter through the dry mixture until it resembles a coarse meal.
- Press the crumb mixture together in handfuls and break off small pieces about the size of the top of your pinky finger, scattering them over the surface of the batter already in the pan.
- Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The baking time can vary, especially if you use frozen berries. In that case, it may take 10-15 minutes more to bake. The toothpick test is the best way to ensure that this cake is fully baked.
Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars
When you want all that luscious cheesecake flavour and creamy texture without making an entire huge cheesecake, these perfectly portioned little bites of lemon blueberry cheesecake are just the thing.
These are a quick way to make small servings of a delicious cheesecake, which I especially like to have on hand in the freezer during the holiday season. I either pre-cut them into bars and freeze them in airtight containers with each one nestled inside a paper muffin tin liner or I freeze an entire batch, uncut, in case I need larger servings as a decadent dessert for unexpected dinner guests. Either way, you will always be prepared to serve something utterly delicious to serve family or guests.
- 1½ cups graham crumbs
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 8 oz cream cheese (1 cup)
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup whipping cream
- zest of 1 small lemon (or ½ large), finely minced
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Lightly grease a 9×9-inch baking pan and line it with parchment paper.
- Mix together the graham crumbs, melted butter, and 3 tbsp sugar and press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Beat together the cream cheese, ⅓ cup sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add the egg and beat for 1 minute.
- Blend in the whipping cream along with the lemon zest.
- Pour over the prepared crust.
- Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the cheesecake batter.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes until the center sets.
- To ensure even baking, you can place the baking pan into a larger baking pan and fill halfway up with boiling water. This may slow down the cooking process and require a little extra baking time, but the cheesecake will bake more evenly from the edges to the center.
- Cool completely before cutting into bars and serving. Store in the refrigerator or freeze until needed.
Blueberry Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes
This original photo accompanied the first pancake recipe ever published on RockRecipes.com back in the spring of 2008. It has remained the most popular pancake recipe I’ve posted. Back in the original post, I mentioned that I rarely made pancakes at our house because my ten-year-old daughter, Olivia, had taken on the duties of expert pancake maker. Not much has changed in the years since, but in the times when I still get up early on the weekends, before the kids, I like to whip up a batch of these, my personal favourite pancakes. There are never any complaints from the teenagers, either, when they wake up to the scent of blueberry and lemon wafting up from the kitchen below.
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