Vegan Mulberry Buckle

A buckle is sort of like cake-meets-pie in a messy and delicious way. You can use mulberries, blackberries, or any seasonal berries in this recipe.

Hey, so remember that mulberry tree we discovered? It turns out, there are mulberry trees all over my neighborhood! On Friday, the birds got to our tree out back before I did, so there were maybe five mulberries that I could reach on there. Dangit!

Luckily, I remembered a really heavily-producing tree just a block away. My little sister, bless her heart, agreed to stop with me on the way to my house from the airport on Friday, so that we could gather the four cups of mulberries you need to make a buckle.

Our fingers were purple by the time we’d finished, but we were able to collect a serious mulberry bounty. We headed straight home to buckle down.

I’d never had a buckle before making this one, and it’s somewhere between cake and pie. Rather than a thick crust, you make more of a pancake-type batter. The berries sink in, and the result is a delicious, marbled dessert with a buttery outside and berry-licious inside.

We ate this for dessert Friday night, breakfast Saturday morning, and had a bit more on Saturday evening and Sunday night. In conclusion, I am a buckle convert!

The recipe here is a variation on this blackberry buckle from Bless Her Heart. It came out deliciously.

Vegan Mulberry Buckle

Ingredients

• 4 cups mulberries, stems removed
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• juice of 1/2 a fresh lime
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons vegan margarine
• 3/4 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cups additional brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup soy or almond milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. In a small bowl, combine the mulberries, 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar, lime juice, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
3. Place the margarine In a 2 quart baking dish and stick it in the oven to melt.
4. In a medium bowl combine the flours, additional brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
5. In a small bowl combine the almond milk and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture, and mix until moist.
6. Remove the baking dish from the oven, and pour the batter on top of the margarine. The melted margarine will peek up around the edges a bit.
7. Layer the blackberry mix on top of the batter, then press the mulberries down into the batter a bit.
8. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the batter has reached a beautiful golden brown.