Plum-Nectarine Buckle

So as not to leave you hanging, I wanted to share with you the final installment of our adventures with plums. After the plum cobbler and plum dumplings, would you believe that we actually had a few plums left? And after a trip to the produce stand, we had nectarines, too. A quick google search later, I found the perfect confection to try - Plum-Nectarine Buckle.


A buckle is similar to a fruity-coffee cake - a dense cake, fruit, and a crumb topping. How could I not make something like that??

The first step is to cut the fruit. This is also the part that takes the longest.


The next step, which little miss was more than happy to help with, was to make the base batter. She helped me smooth it into the pan, too.


The batter is then topped with the cut fruit, and then sprinkled with the crumb topping.


Simple and straightforward (though it does generate a lot of dishes, but hey... you have to have something to do while things are in the oven!) - my favorite kind of recipe.

And when the timer beeped, we were met with this:


Pure yumminess. Perfect for breakfast, snack, dessert and, well, constant noshing.


This recipe is an absolute keeper. And I think it would work with any number of fruits. I have some strawberries in the fridge and blueberries in the freezer that are calling to me to be turned into a buckle as I type... I can't wait!


Plum-Nectarine Buckle

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice (I used cinnamon instead)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2/3 cup whole milk (I used 1% - it was all we had)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 pound plums, halved, pitted and cut into 1/2 inch thick wedges (2 cups)
3/4 pound nectarines, halved, pitted and cut into 1/2 inch thick wedges (2 cups)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9 inch square cake pan with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter and set it aside. Whisk together the flour, 3/4 cup of sugar, the baking powder, allspice (cinnamon), and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

2. Whisk together egg, milk, vanilla and remaining 4 tablespoons or melted butter in another medium bowl. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Spread batter evenly into the buttered pan.

3. Toss the plums, nectarines, lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar in a large bowl. Spread the fruit evenly over the batter.

4. To make the crumb topping, use a fork or your fingers to work together the brown sugar, flour, pinch of salt and softened butter (I added a sprinkle of cinnamon, too) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping on top of the fruit.

5. Bake at 350 until a cake tester (toothpick) inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs, about 75 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for an hour before serving.

Enjoy!