summer fruit buckle (cake)

I was excited the latest issue of Eating Well magazine was waiting for me so I could pour over it while waiting on the school bus. June's "Sweet Summer" feature promised recipes that would "transport me to the long, lazy summer days of my childhood". Juicy berries protruded shamlessly from flaky crusts in one photo, an inviting ladder leaned against a stone fruit tree in another. A fruit crisp in one photo reminded me of the treat my mom would make my brother and me-- not just in the summer, but throughout the year. Blueberry Cobbler...Strawberry Pandowy...Peach Ginger Crisp...Plum Betty...Apricot Grunt. What names! Wondering what I was going to make for my younger son's class snack the following day, a recipe for Cherry-Raspberry Buckle caught my eye. Running it by him, he eagerly agreed that it was the perfect snack to share with his friends. Something every classmate would like. Of course, once we were in the supermarket that evening, he couldn't decide which two fruits he wanted to make it with, so we made it with fresh apricots, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. Here's our take on the recipe, which was a hit.

Apricot-Blueberry-Raspberry-Strawberry Buckle

from Eating Well's June 2011 issue, page 67-69

makes one 9" round dish / 8 servings

(I quadrupled this recipe, which made five 8" pie plates of cake...4 for preschool and 1 for home)

1 1/2 cups King Arthur white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
1/2 cup light olive oil or canola oil
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups raspberries or blueberries
1 1/2 cups apricots or cherries (pitted)
Turbinado for dusting the top before baking

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 9" round baking dish with a bit of oil. Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. In a larger mixing bowl, whisk milk, applesauce, oil, sugar, egg and vanilla until blended. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and fold until blended. Sprinkle with fruit and gently fold until blended. Spoon the batter into baking dish and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons, or so, of Turbinado sugar. Bake until golden brown, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Let cool for a half hour before serving this moist cake.