Peachberry Buckle (Peach Blueberry Coffee Cake)

My absolute favorite fruit to eat in the summertime is a ripe peach (or nectarine – to me they are interchangeable!).  They are so sweet and juicy – I just can’t get enough of them.  And berries are a close second, so when I saw a recipe for a peachberry buckle on King Arthur Flour, I just knew I had to make it!  They made up a word that fuses together my two favorite fruits, how could I not try it?!  If you are wondering what the heck a buckle is, it is just a coffee cake made with fresh fruit.  This version has a very light and fluffy cake layered with sweet peaches and berries and topped with a delicious cinnamon crumb topping. It is heavenly!  The fruit keeps the cake moist and gives it an amazing flavor. You can use any kind of berry that you want.  I used blueberries in mine and it turned out really well.  The crumb topping has a splash of almond extract – you can omit this if you aren’t a fan of that flavor. This buckle / coffee cake is a perfect way to highlight summer’s delicious fruits!  

I layed two strips of parchment paper in my greased cake pan to make removal of the buckle a breeze!

The finished product! Kind of looks like pacman…

Look at all of that delicious fruit in there!

Peachberry Buckle
Recipe slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients
Cake:
¼ cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temp
¾ cup sugar
1 large egg, at room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup milk, at room temp

Filling:
1 cup berries, chopped if large
1 cup sliced peaches, peeled

Topping:
¼ cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold
¼ cup light brown sugar
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
pinch of salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9” round cake pan.  If desired, lay two long strips of parchment paper in a cross shape across the pan, with the ends sticking out (see photo above).  This makes a nice handle to remove your buckle from the pan when it is cooked.

Cake: Beat together the butter and sugar in a medium sized mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well-incorporated. Mix in the baking powder and salt. Add the flour in three parts, alternating it with the milk. Begin and end with the flour.

Topping: In a separate bowl, add all of the topping ingredients. Mix them together using a pastry cutter or your fingers until crumbly. Do not overmix – you want crumbs, not a paste.

Buckle: spread half of the cake batter (10 ounces) in the prepared pan. Layer it with the peach slices. Fold the berries into the remaining batter in the bowl. Dollop the berry batter mixture on top of the peach slices. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the top of the buckle.

Bake for 45 – 55 minutes, until it is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs. Cool for a few minutes and then serve warm, or at room temperature.