First Monday of the month, it’s time to share with my readers one more post as part of The Secret Recipe Club. If you don’t know what it’s all about, the club joins two food bloggers in secret, one is the stalker, the other the stalkee… When Reveal Day comes, everyone blogs about a chosen recipe at the exact same time. A virtual thrill like no other, right? The blog I was assigned to this month was Things I Make (for Dinner), hosted by Sarah from Ontario. I’ve only been to Canada once and fell in love with it and its people, although the snowstorm in the middle of the summer trip was a bit uncalled for. I am sure I told this story before, but for newcomers, here we go with the short and sweet of it: the late June snowstorm caught me wearing shorts and a tank top. My mood dropped to what in temperature would be approaching zero Kelvin. Anyway, I digress. Sarah has a great sense of humor, her posts are a delight to read. I found myself smiling and nodding my head all the way through the lengthy stalking process. Keep in mind she’s been blogging since 2007, so there’s a ton of stuff to choose from in her fun site. Obviously, I had a hard time settling on a recipe. Take a look at my “short” list: Chicken Tikka Kebabs, Soft Pretzels (I cannot believe I still haven’t try to make those, they’ve been on my to make soon list for a decade!), Spicy Chicken Skewers, Thai-Style Steak Salad, Lemon Bonbon Cookies (I actually bought all ingredients for it), Blueberry Cheesecake, Nutella Ice Cream (triple sigh of pure desire), Upside Down Black Forest Cake (yes, you read that right). So, what do I have for you? A Raspberry Buckle. Love the name. Buckle is a dessert that has been around for centuries, very popular in New England. It refers to a coffee cake in which fresh fruit is mixed with a yellow cake batter. Very easy to make and I tell you it was a huge success in one of the several receptions we hosted last month. Believe it or not, I made it after arriving home from work, still had time to clean up the kitchen and serve it for the reception at 8pm. I felt like Super Woman after a successful mission. And, that – quoting Martha Stewart – is a good thing.
RASPBERRY BUCKLE
(from Things I Make for Dinner)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 pint fresh raspberries
Heat oven to 350F. Grease a 9″ square baking pan. Clean raspberries. Stir together flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Gradually add flour mixture, being careful not to over mix. Spread in prepared pan, and scatter raspberries over the surface. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes, or until golden brown and a tester comes out clean.
Cool 20 minutes, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with whipped cream, if so desired.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: Life has been busier than ever for us. For those who do not know, when we moved from OU to KSU four years ago, Phil became the Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. With that, commitments and challenges intensified more than we anticipated. Not only he has our research lab to consider in his professional life, but all the other things associated with running a department, from budget problems to teaching issues, from hiring new faculty to personnel evaluations. The list is huge, and the deadlines and pressure just keep building up. It is challenging for both of us, but I must say we enjoy it all. The underlying feeling that we are trying to accomplish something on several fronts pump us up, keeps us on our toes. Recently he went through an intense process to hire a director for a particular center at KSU. Every candidate’s visit involved a reception in our home. I wanted to prepare something special for each of the three candidates, and this Raspberry Buckle was my best choice ever. If you need something simple and delicious, look no further. Sweet, tart, melt-in-your-mouth good…
Sarah, thanks for a great recipe that pleased all the guests who had a chance to try it. Nothing was left next morning to take to the department, which is a huge compliment to your Raspberry Buckle!
As usual, I invite my readers to click on the smily blue frog at the end of this post. She will direct you to a list of blog posts published by my virtual friends at The Secret Recipe Club. Enjoy the ride!
ONE YEAR AGO: Seafood Gratin for a Special Dinner
TWO YEARS AGO: Cooking Sous-Vide: Sweet and Spicy Asian Pork Loin
THREE YEARS AGO: Farewell to a Bewitching Kitchen
FOUR YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen. June 2012
FIVE YEARS AGO: Goodbye L.A.
SIX YEARS AGO: 7-6-5 Pork Tenderloin
Bewitching Kitchen 
Hi there,
I like the concept of the recipe. And I do love raspberries. However, I don’t lean towards things too sweet. Don’t get me wrong, I do love desserts and am not seeking a staunch, neo-healthy, radical cutback.
If I were to cut back the sugar, how far do you think I could take it to still be tasty? 2/3rds cup? Or is this not overly sweet as is? Thanks for any thoughts you may have!
Cheers,
Anne
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I also don’t like anything too sweet. I think you could cut it to 3/4 cup and see how it goes….
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Well if the sweetness of the buckle seemed to balance well with the tartness of the berries to you maybe I just need to go with the recipe as it is?
Hard to go wrong when raspberries are involved!
Cheers,
Anne
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Raspberries are pretty tart – now I must say I like desserts with a very low level of sweetness, so I can see how a bit less sugar would still work for me. Maybe for you too… 😉
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How awesome that you were able to use this buckle for Phil’s search for a Director! Score one for SRC! Gorgeous!
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People absolutely loved it! I think other fruits would work equally well, but raspberries are simply gorgeous…
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And you beat me to the link up!
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You noticed!!!! I did a small happy dance for that. Probably the first and last time😜
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Reblogged this on Chef Ceaser.
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P.S. Nice “pinnable” pin =)
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the text below it says pin friendly – once you pin it. I need to change that somehow, but I’ll learn more tricks of the trade as time goes by… slow learner here, but it’s one of my quirks. 😉
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So sweet of you to host a reception at your house for each of the candidates
It is a great way to get people to relax and be at ease
I LOVE raspberries and I just know that this buckle would disappear in the blink of an eye in my house
P.S. as always I love the positive spin you put on everything Sally, even busy and hectic times at work
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Sawsan, thank you so much! the past month has been particularly hard, so I think we need to stay positive and remember that we are doing what we love, which is already rare for most people.
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gorgeous: I can just taste those terrific raspberries in the sponge
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OMG Philip! I first read your comment when I woke up, very sleepy and tired eyes – I read those ‘horrific” raspberries… and had a bit of a shock… wow, he really hates that fruit!
😉
glad it was my mistake…
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I have raspberries coming out of my ears at the moment, so this is a great recipe to bookmark for future baking, a FAB choice for reveal day! Karen
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Nice to see you, Karen! Raspberries were sort of an acquired taste for me, but now I don’t seem to be able to have enough… 😉
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Irresistible! Loving berry season and I can’t wait to make desserts like this beautiful one!
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Go for it… I do hope you try this recipe, so easy to put together and perfect!
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Your buckle is beautiful! I love the bright color of the raspberries, and this is my kind of recipe – simple but delicious.
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You and me both! I sometimes enjoy a more complicated recipe, but usually go for things that are simple… life is way too busy!
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This looks like such a lovely recipe to showcase raspberries! bookmarked! 🙂
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I am so happy that raspberry season is almost here. I love picking fresh ones each year in the summer. I will have to plan to get extra to make this buckle.
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Love this! I have a bunch of raspberries in my fridge right now and if I can resist eating them straight I must try this
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Now I want to go and find some fresh raspberries. I’ve not had a proper ‘buckle’ in years, not since I left Canada. sigh. I think it’s past due for me to make one. Great choice this month. Gotta go wipe the drool off my chin and plan a trip to the ‘big’ city so I can get some fresh raspberries.
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Oh yum! I would like a big slice of that right now. Looks absolutely delicious!
http://makingmemorieswithyourkids.com
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I’d love any dish that made me feel like superwoman, but this one has the added advantages of being beautiful and made from scratch. Love the photos – they make me want to run right out and grab some raspberries to make it myself. With all that you have had going on this month, I can’t believe you managed to do this cake and blog about it too. I think you earned your superwoman title this month!
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What lucky guests you’ve had, people must love coming to your receptions 😀☺️ And you are absolutely definitely superwoman ☺️☺️☺️ Xx
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I love this – and I love raspberries, but they are very expensive here. I; going to try it with our little Mirabelle plums that will be ready in another week or two
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Oh I love this. We love Raspberries and this looks so good!
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