A fruity crumble cake, which is easy to make, isn’t too sweet, but is full of flavour and texture. Chocolate blackcurrant buckle is good for afternoon tea or served warm with cream as a summer pudding.
Blackcurrant Buckle is one of the cakes I grew up with, but I haven’t made it for many many years. Indeed I don’t even know where the recipe is – buried in one of my mother’s piles of clippings somewhere I suspect.
When I was unexpectedly given a punnet of blackcurrants the other day, I decided on the spur of the moment, now was the time to try chocolate blackcurrant buckle or blackcurrant crumble cake if you prefer.
Chocolate Blackcurrant Buckle
Full of hope, I hunted around for a blackcurrant buckle recipe, first on Eat Your Books and then on the internet, but to no avail. I did the next best thing and adapted a recipe for Cherry Crumble Cake in Rachel Allen’s book Bake. I’m guessing crumble cake is the anglicised version and more prosaic name for American buckle.
Goodness, I’m now wondering why it’s taken me so long to make blackcurrant buckle again. It’s a delicious mix of tart fruit, sweet crunchy topping and a soft, light, buttery, not too sweet, mild chocolate sponge. What a fantastic combination of flavours and textures.
Love Food Hate Waste
Having lost our raw milk supply a year or so ago, I was delighted to find it reinstated via Liskeard’s new Pannier Market. One of the wonders of raw milk is that it doesn’t go off, it just turns sour.
Sour milk is a great ingredient for baking. I had some of this sour milk in the fridge, but it really did need using up so I think this chocolate blackcurrant buckle cake qualifies for The No Waste Food Challenge. Hosted by Elizabeth’s Kitchen but started by Turquoise Lemons, this month’s theme is anything goes.
In addition, I had some blackcurrants in need of using up and I found a very out of date bar of organic cooking chocolate, squirrelled away where I would quite obviously forget about it. Dare I say 2011!
Summer Pudding
As well as a great cake for afternoon tea, this chocolate blackcurrant crumble cake makes an excellent summer dessert. Serve it warm with or without custard, cream or even ice-cream. If serving at room temperature, it’s even more delicious with a good dollop of clotted cream.
A Family Bake
There is a brand new blogging challenge on the block and one that greatly appeals to me. Inheritance Recipes from Solange at Pebble Soup and Margot at Coffee & Vanilla kicks off with Cool Recipes. Well this blackcurrant buckle may not be cool, but it is a summer recipe using seasonal blackcurrents and it’s very much a family bake too.
Other Tin and Thyme Blackcurrant Recipes
- Blackcurrant brownies
- Blackcurrant & rose nonnettes
- Chocolate pancakes with blackcurrant rose compote
- Blackcurrant fool with mint & rose
- Blackcurrant & white chocolate cookies
- Chocolate sundae royale
- Blackcurrant, rose & white chocolate ripple ice cream
- Easy homemade cassis
- Blackcurrant vinegar
- Rye bread & blackcurrant cake
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this chocolate blackcurrant buckle cake, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?
If you’d like more large cake recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Chocolate Blackcurrant Buckle. PIN IT.
Chocolate Blackcurrant Buckle – The Recipe
Blackcurrant Buckle
Ingredients
Cake
- 150 g flour half wholemeal, half white
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 120 g milk chocolate 35%
- 1 large egg I used a duck egg
- 50 ml sour milk milk with a squeeze of lemon works well or buttermilk
- 50 g dark brown sugar
- 250 g blackcurrants
Crumble Topping
- 40 g plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 40 g golden caster sugar
- 40 g unsalted butter
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Melt the butter, chocolate and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat. Allow to cool a little.
- Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl and make a well in the centre.
- Break the egg into the centre and start mixing adding the milk as you go. Add the chocolate mixture and stir well.
- Spoon the batter into a prepared 20 cm (8″) cake tin and scatter the blackcurrants over the top.
- Rub the remaining butter, sugar, flour and cinnamon together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Scatter this over the top of the blackcurrants.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for about 45 minutes until well risen and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Dev says
Would 1 large chicken egg work instead of the duck egg? Should I add an extra yolk since duck eggs have a larger yolk?
Thanks
Choclette says
Hi Dev. Duck eggs do make a difference, but probably not so much as it’s worth adding an extra yolk in. Not unless you have one knocking around. A large chicken egg should be fine.
Roz says
Can you tell me is the flour used in the cake part plain or self raising? Also I have black currants in the freezer, would I have to defrost them before using in this dish?
Choclette says
Hi Roz. Both flours are plain, but you could use self-raising instead of adding the baking powder. And yes, your frozen blackcurrants should be fine. Do let me know how you get on with it.
Roz says
Thank you for this recipe it was really lovely. I struggled a little making the crumble due to the eaqual quantities of flour and fat and It did take a bit longer to cook, probably because of the frozen black currants. I think I would probably defrost them next time. Definitely will make it again.
Choclette says
Thanks very much for leaving your feedback. The crumble is unusual with the same quantity of fat to flour, but because it’s on a cake, you don’t want it being too dry. If I’m making a fruit crumble, I use a lot less fat to flour. Cooking times are always approximate as ovens are rarely exact, so it could just be a difference in oven temperature. Then again, it could be because of the frozen blackcurrants. Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Margot @ Coffee & Vanilla says
Oh, that looks amazing, I love fruit cakes topped with crumble!! Would taste great with a cup of tea or coffee. And thank you for entering it to our Inheritance Recipes challenge.
Choclette says
Thanks Margot, the sweet crumble works particularly well with tart blackcurrants, but I haven’t actually tried it with other fruit. On my list ……
Anneli (Delicieux_fr) says
How interesting! I am a ‘Buckle’ newbie but I must say it sounds lovely! The topping looks lovely on top of that sponge. What a lovely Summer pud! Thanks for entering Four Seasons Food!
thelittleloaf says
I’ve never heard of a buckle but it looks and sounds absolutely gorgeous – fruity and juicy and chocolaty, what more could you want?
Katie says
Looks fabulous! I love the sound of the tart little blackcurrants popping in every bite. Yum!
celia says
Choc, SO pretty! If it tastes half as good as it looks, it must have been amazing!
Janine says
This looks delicious! I never see blackcurrants in the supermarket, and if I find any in my parents’ freezer I tend to use them for ice cream but maybe I’ll try this instead next time…
Elizabeth S says
I love a good buckle, me! This sounds fantastic and such a great way to use blackcurrants. Thanks for sharing with the No Waste Food Challenge!
Choclette says
Do you know why it’s called a buckle Elizabeth? I tried to find out, but didn’t really come up with anything very satisfactory.
Maureen Legge says
It got its name buckle because the weight of the fruit and streusel causes the cake to have a buckled appearance. Hence the name.
Choclette says
Oh that’s fabulous Maureen. Thank you so much for enlightening me. Buckle makes perfect sense now.
Elizabeth S says
I honestly don’t know! It’s called buckle where I grew up in Canada too, but then we have a strong Scot’s influence there. Perhaps it’s a Scottish thing?
belleau kitchen says
I can totally taste this right now… and the gorgeous aroma that must have permeated through the house… so divine… I love blackcurrant in sponges, so delicious!
Choclette says
Thanks Dom – I baked the cake in the morning and the house smelt wonderful all day.
auchwas says
A very delicious cake. I really like the combination of black currants and chocolate, then the delicious streusel. Perfectly. Thank you for the recipe, the cake will bake for sure. Kind regards
Ingrid
Choclette says
Thank you. I agree, tart blackcurrants and sweet cake go together very nicely and this was a particularly delicious version.
Angela Darroch says
You know something is going to be good when it makes you happy just looking at it. Would have to be warm with cream for me. Lovely!!
Choclette says
Thank you Angela. A happy cake – I like it. Warm with cream would be splendid.
fiona maclean says
That does actually, genuinely look good enough to eat for breakfast – MY breakfast – right now!
Choclette says
Ah, if only you were closer Fi 😉