Name: Blueberry–Walnut Buckles (Reduced Sugar)
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup walnuts , toasted and chopped coarse; 7 tablespoons (2½ ounces/71 grams) Sucanat; 5 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened; ½ teaspoon salt; ½ cup heavy cream; 2 large eggs; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 1 tablespoon grated lime zest (2 limes); 1 cup (5 ounces/142 grams) all-purpose flour; ¾ teaspoon baking powder; 15 ounces (425 grams/3 cups) blueberries

Why This Recipe Works

Our traditional recipe called for ⅔ cup of granulated sugar in the cake batter, but we found that a mere 7 tablespoons of Sucanat provided plenty of flavor and sweetness. Since we couldn't rely on the small amount of Sucanat for structure, we needed to adjust the consistency of the batter in other ways. Eggs and heavy cream helped with richness and stability, while baking powder ensured that it wasn't too dense. Although our traditional recipe called for simply sprinkling nuts on top of the buckles, tasters wanted more nut flavor throughout. Making the batter in a food processor instead of a stand mixer allowed us to grind some nuts right into the batter, boosting flavor as well as structure. A bit of lime zest and vanilla rounded out the flavor of the batter, which now cradled the berries beautifully. With a sprinkling of crunchy toasted walnuts on top, our buckles were so flavorful that tasters didn't miss the usual sugar-laden streusel topping—a change that allowed us to cut the sugar content by more than half.

Before You Begin

You can learn more about Sucanat in this article.

Instructions

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.

Process ½ cup walnuts, Sucanat, butter, and salt in food processor until finely ground, about 20 seconds. With processor running, add cream, eggs, vanilla, and lime zest and process until smooth, about 15 seconds. Add flour and baking powder and pulse until just combined, about 5 pulses.

Transfer batter to large bowl and gently fold in blueberries. Spoon batter evenly into prepared ramekins and sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup walnuts.

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.