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Gluten-Free Individual Blueberry-Almond Buckles

By Sara Mayer

Published on May 23, 2019

Time

1¼ hours

Yield

Serves 8

Gluten-Free Individual Blueberry-Almond Buckles

Ingredients

5¼ ounces (149 grams/¾ cup) sugar ½ cup sliced almonds, toasted and chopped coarse4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened¼ teaspoon salt ⅓ cup heavy cream 2 large eggs ½ teaspoon almond extract 3½ ounces (99 grams/¾ cup) America's Test Kitchen All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend ½ teaspoon baking powder 15 ounces (425 grams/3 cups) fresh blueberries

Before You Begin

Do not substitute frozen berries here. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray eight 6-ounce ramekins with vegetable oil spray and place on rimmed baking sheet.
  2. Process sugar, 1/4 cup almonds, butter, and salt together in food processor until finely ground, 10 to 15 seconds. With processor running, add cream, eggs, and almond extract and continue to process until smooth, about 5 seconds. Add flour blend and baking powder and pulse until incorporated, about 5 pulses.
  3. Transfer batter to large bowl and gently fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into prepared ramekins and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/4 cup almonds. (Buckles can sit at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 hours.)
  4. Bake buckles until golden and beginning to pull away from sides of ramekins, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let buckles cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.
Gluten-Free Individual Blueberry-Almond Buckles
Styling by Marie Piraino.

Gluten-Free Individual Blueberry-Almond Buckles

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Time

1¼ hours

Yield

Serves 8

Ingredients

5¼ ounces (149 grams/¾ cup) sugar
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted and chopped coarse
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon baking powder
15 ounces (425 grams/3 cups) fresh blueberries

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

5¼ ounces (149 grams/¾ cup) sugar
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted and chopped coarse
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon baking powder
15 ounces (425 grams/3 cups) fresh blueberries

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

5¼ ounces (149 grams/¾ cup) sugar
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted and chopped coarse
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon baking powder
15 ounces (425 grams/3 cups) fresh blueberries

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

We made the simple batter for these buckles in the food processor, folding in the berries at the end, which kept prep work and dishes to a minimum. This recipe requires very little flour because we grind up nuts to give the batter both flavor and structure; as a result, our gluten-free flour blend worked easily here. It helps too that these buckles are laden with fresh fruit and are meant to be moist and dense and not firm and cakey. Plus the ramekins help these buckles cook evenly, and we didn’t have to worry about soggy centers or even about unmolding. For a nice finishing touch, we topped the buckles with a portion of the nuts before baking. Coating the ramekins with vegetable oil spray prevented the buckles from sticking.

Before You Begin

Do not substitute frozen berries here. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray eight 6-ounce ramekins with vegetable oil spray and place on rimmed baking sheet.
  2. Process sugar, 1/4 cup almonds, butter, and salt together in food processor until finely ground, 10 to 15 seconds. With processor running, add cream, eggs, and almond extract and continue to process until smooth, about 5 seconds. Add flour blend and baking powder and pulse until incorporated, about 5 pulses.
  3. Transfer batter to large bowl and gently fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into prepared ramekins and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/4 cup almonds. (Buckles can sit at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 hours.)
  4. Bake buckles until golden and beginning to pull away from sides of ramekins, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let buckles cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.

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