Summer Berries in Winter

The snow and sleet is falling down outside, but inside, I'm baking up summer.

A rummage around in the freezer revealed a quart bag of frozen black raspberries, picked in long ago July from the canes in the south garden.  Wintry weather always makes me want to bake something, so this find was perfect for making a favorite dessert:  berry buckle.  A buckle is different from a cobbler and a crisp, and sometimes goes by the name of "grunt" (I know, it's another odd New England thing).  A good buckle involves quite a bit of butter, folded into a sweet and stiff batter studded with berries and spread in a good square baking pan.  Over all that goodness, you sprinkle a little more butter formed into cinnamon-scented crumbs and then it is baked.  It will puff up, and then "falls" into a crispy topped, spongy cake that is simply delicious.  It's a perfect dessert for a cold winter evening.

Berry Buckle

You'll need:  3/4 cup butter, softened; 1 cup sugar; 1 egg; 2 cups flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup milk; 2 cups berries, your choice, fresh or frozen; an additional 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Combine butter, sugar and egg, and beat until smooth.  Add flour, baking powder, milk and salt, mix until just combined then fold in the berries.  Don't overmix, this is a simple bringing the ingredients together and then patting it into a greased and floured 9-inch baking pan.  Combine the remaining 1/4 cup butter, sugar, flour and cinnamon into crumbs, sprinkle it over the batter.  Bake in a 375 degree oven until the center is just set (no longer wiggles when you gently shake the pan), which takes about 45-50 minutes.  Serve warm or cold, it is great plain or with a topping of ice cream or hard sauce.