Blackberry Walnut Buckle

A local grocer put blackberries on sale for a great price. I hadn’t made blackberry buckle in a while and once mentioned to my guys, they all volunteered to go to the store to buy them. If that’s not an endorsement, I don’t know what it is.

Walnuts are a classic match to blackberries. I add molasses to the raw sugar along with a touch of cinnamon and vanilla. That’s all it needs.

This is a batter I make in the food processor. You need it to chop the nuts into a fine meal, so you might as well make the batter in it. Faster and less clean up. You can have the dessert assembled in the time it takes the oven to preheat. That’s what this site is all about.

You’ll need: (for 6-8 servings)

1 1/2 cups walnuts, divided

4 Tbs unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 Tbs cream cheese or yogurt cheese

3/4 cup raw sugar

2 Tbs molasses

3/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup milk

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup unbleached AP flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder (aluminum free is best)

3 cups fresh blackberries

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

In a food processor, combine 3/4 cup walnuts, butter, cheese, sugar, molasses, salt and process until nuts are finely ground. Add milk, eggs and vanilla. Process until smooth.

In a small bowl, combine flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Open the top of the food processor and add the dry ingredients. Add the lid and pulse the batter until just incorporated.

Break the remaining 3/4 cup of walnuts into medium size pieces. (I put the nuts on the counter and press them with the palm of my hand. You get smaller pieces and not a lot of crumbs.)

Grease a 9 inch pie plate (or similar size dish). Add 1/2 of the batter.