I have to apologize in advance: this is a cookbook reject. I know! “A reject?!” you’re probably thinking. “Now why would I want your rejects?” Because this is a delicious reject; it failed because I decided to go in another direction, such a different direction that about the only thing the other one has in common is the word “buckle” and I’m probably renaming it anyway. Gosh, I sure like to make things difficult, though that’s not really news.
Needless to say, working on a cookbook is keeping me busy. Well, that and this (and this lost kneecap; we can’t find it anywhere!). I’m learning a lot I probably should already know. Just Monday, I learned that if I didn’t bake a cake long enough, it would sink in the middle! The week before, I realized if I had my camera on the wrong settings, everything would come out blurry and I’ve have to start all over again. Because I’m cooking seasonally, I’ve learned that things only go out of season when you need them most. (Rhubarb, baby, come back! I wasn’t finished with you!)
But mostly, however, it’s been fun. For years, I’ve kept lists of things I thought I might like to make one day. Now, I’m shaking them down and seeing what they’re worth. Some of them — like this — were pretty formed ideas that worked almost exactly the way I’d hoped they would. Those times are awesome, by the way. Others I’ve looked at and said “What the heck is a ‘butter mustard sauce’, Circa 2007 Deb?!” Friends, I still have no idea but if you figure it out, I apparently wanted to dip pretzels into it real bad a few years ago. Actually, I still kind of do, so hurry if you can.
So how about this buckle? At any time, there are two versions of something brewing. This came out of “Buckle Week”, which spilled (oops, but typically) into Buckle Month but it didn’t get evicted from the lineup because we didn’t enjoy eating it, promise. Need convincing? There is butter in here, butter that has been browned. It shows up in two places, the cake and the streusel. Nestled in this cake are hearty wedges of perfect summer nectarines, a sweet/tart contrast in a sea of rich cake. Cakes like this are called buckles because as the cake bakes, it “buckles” around the fruit. They taste a lot better if you don’t badly overbake them, like I did. (Details.) They will make you friends if you bring them to a pot-luck. But it can be our secret if you hoard it for yourself.
One year ago: Cantaloupe Salsa
Two years ago: Herbed Summer Squash and Potato Torte and Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
Three years ago: Zucchini Bread
Nectarine Brown Butter Buckle
The brown butter flavor in this cake is woefully subtle; I’d hoped it would be louder but there are too many other flavors clamoring for your tastebuds’ attention. This isn’t a bad thing, really.
Just a heads-up on the baking time; I had a hard time guessing when the cake was done. I felt that it wasn’t at 45 minutes, and kept going, landing myself with a burnt bottom cake. Oops. The wetness of the nectarines makes it hard to tell whether your toothpick is picking up raw cake batter (bad) or just a really moist one (good), but I feel pretty confident that if I’d removed it at 40 to 45 minutes, it would have been just fine.
3/4 cup (6 ounces or 170 grams) unsalted butter, plus additional for greasing pan
1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces or 190 grams) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons (9 grams) baking powder
3/4 teaspoon (4 grams) salt
Pinch of allspice
1 cup (7 ounces or 200 grams) sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 cup whole milk or buttermilk
1 1/2 pounds nectarines, halved, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch thick wedges (about 4 cups)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Streusel
Reserved butter from cake (above)
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces or 100 grams) sugar
1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces or 64 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Brown your butter: Melt butter in a small/medium saucepan over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Keep your eyes on it; it burns very quickly after it browns. Set aside and let cool (the fridge will hasten this along).
Prepare you pan: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 10-inch round cake pan, springform or cast iron skillet with parchment paper and butter the paper and rest of the pan generously; set aside.
Make the cake: Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and allspice in medium bowl to blend. In a large bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup cooled browned butter (set aside remaining 1/4 cup for topping), sugar and then eggs, one at a time. Stir in milk or buttermilk. Stir dry ingredients into this wet mixture; mix until just combined and spread batter in prepared pan. Toss nectarine wedges with lemon juice and arrange them in a single layer on top of the batter.
Make the streusel and bake the cake: Stir remaining brown butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt together until large crumbs form. Sprinkle the nectarine-topped batter with crumbs. Bake until top is golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs, about 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before flipping out onto a cooling rack.
I’ll take this reject any day! I’m just glad you posted it so we didn’t have to wait for the book.
I have lists like that too. Things I want to make. The list keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger…
Delicious!
i’m with jessica, sign me up for your rejects if this is what they look and taste like!
There’s something amazing about baking in a cast iron pan. Usually I reserve mine for upside down cakes, but this one is so pretty! The only downside is I would have to wait until the cake was finished to use my pan again. I guess I’d have to eat a lot of cake. Wait. That’s not a downside, is it?
Deb: Just wondering if you used Buttermilk or milk in yours and if you’ve used both, was there any substantial taste difference? The buckle looks great either way!
I used buttermilk. In other versions I’ve used milk. Both work. If I have buttermilk around, I prefer it for that extra depth of flavor. But, with the lemon and brown butter and cinnamon and juicy fruit… yeah, there’s no absence of flavor, promise!
I imagine this would work with peaches, too. I’ve got a few in the freezer from a picking trip last September that won’t be good for anything other than baking and I’ve been trying to find the right recipe to use them in.
Loved hearing this little tidbit about the book. I imagine you have to keep things under wraps, but it sure is fun getting little nibbles. Can’t wait to see what took this guys place in the buckle category!
Nectarine is my favorite fruit … but I’ve never actually cooked with it.
I definitely should give it a try!
Try baked alaska with ripeed nectarines under the ice cream. Very special
This looks amazing! I fully support the brown butter theme at SK.
Perfect for the nectarines I saw at the Farmers Market yesterday…
God. I want to eat this so badly, crisped bottom and all!
Love beautiful, rustic buckles! I’ve already decided that if I get another dog (a brother for my dog Byrd), I’ll name him Buckle!
Any amount of brown butter is great, just so long as it’s in there. : )
That looks delicious and the lay of nectarines is beautiful! I love making things in cast iron skillets!
I don’t see parchment paper on yours…is it not needed with a non-stick skillet? Also, I have exactly two nectarines in the fridge….think its possible to cut cake/streusel recipe in half and make this in a small (5 or 6 inch) skillet? (To me, that’s an individual serving, no?)
Love that you’re continuing with the love of brown butter, and I’m happy to get the cookbook rejects. I might try adding a few raspberries from the patch that is continually growing for good measure.
That last photograph has me drooling (and the one of the nectarine wedges, juiciness in all its glory). I love these type of cakes though I never seem to make them myself. This I’m gonna make!
Magda
Yummy… love me some nectarines! And Deb, in fear of rhubarb going out of season, I bought a few too many bunches, chopped, blanched, and froze it to use year-round!
Last night, I made the jam tart you featured a months back, and now I’m tempted to make another fruit dessert tonight! You’re a bad influence, but please keep the tempting recipes coming.
Yay! Even the your rejected recipes look delicious. I think that all of your cooking is divine.
Wei Wei
I love nectarines – this recipe looks so good. I will have to try it! I hope I’m not out of line with commenting, but I really like your basket that the nectarines are in. Is it ceramic? Where can I get one? Thank you for all your beautiful yummy recipes!
What a delicious looking sweet treat! I have seen a lot of delicious looking nectarines in the grocery store. I know have a delicious recipe :)
This looks amazing! So amazing that I just might have to try the recipe myself; I knew there was a reason I made a beeline for the nectarines yesterday….
This looks awesome, Deb!
Just one question – can I use a 9 inch round pan? If so, how much baking time would I need to add? (Ok, that’s two questions, but you know what I mean.)
Also – I cannot believe your little monkey is over 10 months old! You’ll be celebrating his first birthday in no time!
Anne — I think that the 9-inch pan might be too small. Mine pretty well filled a 10-inch cast iron. But if you’re willing to wing it, would love to hear how it goes. I know 10 inches is not the most popular size (and is one of those measurements I would have played around with had I retested this for the cookbook).
RB — I forgot the parchment and mine stuck a bit. Do as I say, not as I do. ;) By my quick math, a 5-inch skillet (with 2-inch sides) would hold about a quarter of the volume of a 10-inch skillet.
ooh, yum! have some peaches to use up between now and tomorrow night’s book club meeting. Happily have 2 lbs of butter too, so can brown it with impunity.
On that missing kneecap? Have similar shots of my kneecap-less squids wallowing around on the floor. Babies don’t actually ‘grow’ the bone that is the patella until they are a 3 to 5 years old, before that it’s more like cartilage. Crazy, eh?
this looks glor-ious….
This looks so, so good!
What a good use for buttermilk! I never knew what a buckle was before this but will be hunting for nectarines!
Send it over to my house! In fact, I’ll be your “taste tester” for FREE! :)
this looks lovely!
and keep looking for the rhubarb! I saw some fantastic looking rhubarb randomly at a stand at our farmer’s market here in Baltimore last Sunday. so some might be creeping around the NYC greenmarkets too!
These recipes always make me sad that my husband can’t stand most things in the peach family. Though I think nectarines taste completely different from peaches, he disagrees. Hmmm…plum brown butter buckle perhaps?
Grandma was right – cast iron’s better! I think I’ll try this with a peach/nectarine combo. We don’t see nectarines here locally much, but I’ve got a ton of peaches. BTW, are you sure Jacob is not Elvis reincarnated? I mean, look at that hair. And those flexible hips look like they were made specifically for swaying and swinging.
Guys, my mother just texted me to tell me that I’d spelled cookbook, “coobook”. Who else here is rejoicing that the cookbook will be overseen by a real live editor that has no idea what she’s in for?
Nothing wrong with a little texture! It looks great. :]
I do not know how I missed the future book announcement but I am SO EXCITED. I generally do not spend money on cookbooks, but yours will be mine. Congrats!
Geralyn — Thanks. You missed nothing; I didn’t announce it, just snuck it into the sidebar a couple months ago. It’s two years off! I figured it was too soon to bore y’all with details. But I really appreciate your excitement.
The photograph of the nectarines is the basket is beautiful. Glad to hear that you can make mistakes, too. Everything you do looks so perfect. I am coming to your beautiful city this weekend for my birthday. Where should my husband and I dine?We have no idea and we don’t want to break the bank.
Ahh okay – this looks incredible!!
Oh, yum. One question: for those of us that don’t like allspice, should we (I, as I don’t know of anyone else) omit it entirely, or can I substitute cinnamon or another spice?
I need to make this. It calls to me.
Anne — Yup, feel free to use 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg… cardamom (which I know some people adore with stone fruits)
Deb,
I love love love your website!!! I am wondering if in this recipe you would substitute just regular old melted butter or oil instead of brown butter?
Um, yes please.
Oh Deb — this looks fantastic! I just ate a juicy nectarine for lunch-dessert. Ah! Must make as soon as possible. Maybe with plums also? Ah! Thanks, as always, for such a lovely post.
Yummers.. I miss rhubarb too. my little rapscallion made me waste 1/2 of a bushel cause I forgot about it in the swelter.. grrr. but when I did have it I made a rhubarb buckle with ginger from the New York times post and it was fabulous cause it just is.. i’m all into the slumps, dumps, grumps and easy cakes with fruit right now so much that my hubby asked me not to bake anymore.. I gave him the look like don’t you know that now’s the time to sieze the day!soon the fruit will not be so bountiful.. baked peaches for us tonight.. thanks for the inspiration..
My daughter and I have been eating nectarines all day long for the last couple of days. I’ll have to go out and buy more so I can make this cake! Looks so good!
I never knew buckle actually meant something! I always thought it was like blueberry grunt–just a weird name. hmmm….. now I’m wondering if blueberry grunt actually means something! Either way, I’ll take your rejects happily, Deb. This looks delicious.
I can’t wait to see the recipes that DID make it into the book!
Wow, I’ve never heard of all these different types of pastries! Buckles? Looks really good!
And I love that you bake things in a cast iron pan. It just makes my world a little brighter.
I love desserts that include summer fruit – makes me feel less guilty for eating them as breakfast =)
I am constantly over and under baking cakes and quick breads…so difficult to tell when they’re done!
I have so many nectarines right now. THANK YOU for this post. It will be soooo good!
I find the easiest way to avoid overbaking a cake with fruit in it is to cheat ruthlessly! I always put my fruit on the bottom. ;) And for something that required a streusel topping, that just gets added later, or spooned on over the necessary yoghurt/icecream/other creamy deliciousness to accompany… oh, the joys of being a lazy baker sometimes! hehe.
I’m really interested in your upcoming cookbook, but I’d also love (and pay for) a print version of the recipes currently on your website – any plans for that?
Lisa — Click on the “print” link at the bottom of each post and a print template will appear.
Gorgeous recipe, thanks! I’ve been seeing plums everywhere so I think I’m going to try it with them … mmm. Plus, as always, you have the most gorgeous baby in the world! That cinnamon swirl hair is wild!
Hi Deb! Glad to hear that you’re working on the cookbook- I can’t wait! One question, though- when you develop baking recipes, how do you come up with the base cake, cookie, pastry, bread, etc. recipe? (For example, how did you come up with the cake recipe for this buckle?) Do you adapt it from an already-published recipe (I would assume that you’d make it different enough as to not credit the source or be accused of copying, plagiarizing, etc.) or do you make it up off the top of your head from experience? I’ve always wondered how cookbook authors develop recipes, especially precise baking ones. Thanks!
I’ve been putting off the purchase of a cast iron skillet because I keep wondering if I really NEED one. I think it’s safe to say that it is definitely a purchase I will be making very soon, because I’ve got some ripe nectarines that need to be turned into something!
I want to know if Jessica just sits by the computer hitting refresh all day until your newest blog pops up! LOL, really I’m just joking, but still….
I think you should publish another book called “Reject Recipes.” I’d buy it!
I love buckles! I can’t wait to try my family buckle recipes with browned butter!
i must make this asap. i have a fierce craving for some coffee cake and i adore nectarines… thank you for letting us benefit from your rejects!
Hey, #15 RB –
I think there might actually be parchment paper there on Deb’s skillet, but with the transparency of the greased paper over the dark skillet, it’s just not very obvious. Maybe? :)
I hear you on the rhubarb. I’m working on a book, too, and I swear, rhubarb was only available here in California for about 10 minutes.
I don’t know about that butter mustard sauce, but a few days back I made the Magical Butter Sauce from Tasty Kitchen (http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen-blog/2010/03/magical-butter-sauce) with some apricot mustard preserves (mainly dried milled apricots and mustard oil), and it was heavenly. I can well imagine a sauce with browned butter, dijon mustard, some balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and maybe a little honey. Maybe that can get you started, having way more experience with creating recipes than I do?
I usually avoid greenhouse vegetables, but they’re still selling hothouse rhubarb at my farmers’ market and (dare I say) it was better than the “regular” rhubarb I had bought weeks before. So you may yet be able to find some!
definitely doesn’t look like a reject, but i can imagine that writing a cookbook is a difficult task when you’ve got thousand of recipes to pick from , and test, and eat. tough life!
Mmmm! I’m going to have to try this! When does the cookbook come out?
Lisa — Spring or Fall 2012. We haven’t decided yet. Also, I suspect it might have something to do with how quickly I work. ;)
Love this recipe and just picked up nectarines yesterday at the store! Good idea, thanks! Can’t wait for the cookbook!!
I like my cast iron skillet for cornbread because I like a nice crust, though not a really dark one (less sugar and only melted butter in cornbread), but for everything else except upside-down cakes, no. It holds too much heat too long and with a lot of sugar and butter in a recipe, it browns the butter and burns the sugar in the batter where it contacts the pan darkening the crust too much. I like this type of cake in a regular pan, especially if you’ve already browned the butter. This conclusion is drawn from several bad experiences because I wanted the dessert to look all homey in a skillet.
This recipe is very similar to the coffee cake recipe I make. Mine only uses about 3 tbsp of melted butter and one egg. It’s moist and get more moist the longer it sits. I’ve been afraid to use fruit on it for fear of it sinking. Your’s didn’t sink, so I’m now confident it won’t on mine. I’m going in..
So does that mean you are cooking/baking and taking the pix for the cookbook right now? Way cool. And this buckle looks very yummy to me. Is it overbaked because the bottom looks a little dark – but the cast iron pan is dark to begin with? Either way, I sure would like a slice RIGHT NOW!
congrats on the cookbook-I will def be purchasing it come 2012! I wish it was coming out next week!
this reminds me of the dimply plum cake which when I made it also ‘buckled’ around the fruit. Problem was a day later all the cake around the fruit had turned into mush. Does this last or will it also go very soggy from the fruit?
Marissa — We didn’t notice any sogging around the fruit on this.
This is my first post, but not my first visit – I loooooveeee your site and the food is awesome too. I just keep making the zuchini galette, it’s that awesome! Can’t wait for the cookbook, but in the mean time have you considered linking a photo to the print template for each recipe? I love having a gorgeous photo to remind me of what it ***should*** look like :) Just a musing! Keep it up!
Sarah — I used to have a photo in the print template but people complained it used too much toner. I removed it and people miss it. I cannot win. Once day we’ll be fancy enough to offer both options. :)
This looks really good. I may have to give this recipe a whirl :)
looks like this is on the menu for baked good friday this week! i am loving the “reject” recipe!! thanks again!
How come everything looks more delicious in a cast iron skillet? hmm…
That is too funny; ever since I made Luisa’s mustard chicken with some apple spice mustard my husband brought home, I have been thinking about this apple butter my uncle makes and putting that together with mustard. Here’s to you whipping up a recipe for apple butter mustard and pretzels! :)
Best wishes on the cookbook!
looks yummy
I’ll take your rejects any day of the week. Brown butter, nectarines – now that’s a glorious combination.
Nope, sorry, not ready for another cake yet. I may NEVER make anything except your Chocolate-Chip-Cinnamon-Sour Cream Cake, ever again. I have married that cake, and cannot cheat on it. I am very faithful. :-)
I love it when a recipe is also an alliteration!
Hi Deb!
I apologize if someone already asked this but where did you find that lovely white container the nectarines are in?!? Thanks!
Ooh, I can’t wait to see what’s included in the cookbook when it finally comes out. This is a good teaser, even if it didn’t make the cut. Looks good!
I so love rustic desserts. I made a blackberry buckle this summer…actually I ended up making three. Buckes really do make you friends!! Nex time I’ll try to make one in the skillet because yours is beautiful.
Beautiful. The nectarines are making my mouth water, I can’t wait to find some and make this soon!
Buckles are just lovely. They make me feel like I’m out on the Prairie during the olden’ days. Thanks for the recipe!
Deb, I can’t wait to see your cookbook! So, the container the nectarines are in in the second picture — is that ceramic? It’s gorgeous! Is that something we can find online?
newlywed/Gillian/those who asked about the white container — I bought them years ago on Uncommon Goods, but they’re not made anymore. Such a shame, because they’re very sturdy. A bunch of readers (thank you!) pointed me to these from Roost. I couldn’t resist and ordered them; they literally arrived today and they’ve very cute but much thinner/lighter and thus more fragile feeling. Don’t think they’ll get as heavy use. (I keep the others on top of my fridge for onions and stuff.)
Uh, Butter Mustard Sauce sounds awesome, especially on pretzels. Maybe it’s just a really good spicy, grainy mustard blended with butter. It can be “melted” a bit to be used as a dip or and be cooler to spread on the pretzel. Wow, sounds good.
Oh, so does the nectarine brown butter buckle. :)
Please, never apologize for anything that looks as delectable as this.
LOVE your recipes, text, and photos and am so happy to have discovered your site.
One thing I especially appreciate is your reply comments being highlighted. Obviously the really cool part is that you do DO reply comments! Thanks for all your hard work — it shows!
I think I might have to buy a cast iron skillet just so I can wow people at our next BBQ- serving this skillet and all.
As always- love the photography!
I can’t wait to buy your cookbook — it will be so wonderful! Better still, you can use the proceeds to buy that poor kid a better-fitting toupee (I’m kidding — his hair is a wonderful force of nature).
I was literally on my way out to the farmer’s market for nectarines, but checked your site before I left. Perfect timing!! Already made and served and it’s delicious! Thanks, Deb!
Thanks! I just got them! I needed something that would let in some air for my onions & fruits!!! and um.. they’re great looking! and P.S. So excited for the cookbook! :)
Hmmmm… this could replace those peach pie plans I had for the weekend.
…and I made it. This is the fastest I’ve gone from reading a recipe to buying the ingredients (well, actually sending my boyfriend out to buy them) and baking a cake. Deb, this was (is) fantastic. Rich and buttery—even though, as you mentioned yourself, the brown butter flavor is not prominent—and everything complemented the sweetness of the nectarines. Honestly, if this is a “reject” I can’t even imagine how wonderfully delicious the recipes that DO make it in your book will be.
Magda
hmmm this sounds good. Maybe I should do this for my roommate’s birthday, as a substitute for a traditionally frosted cake. I mean, it is summer, after all.
Thought I’d point you to the latest entry in the “yummy desserts with weird names” category: a doobie. As in Blackberry Doobie–a fruit sauce topped with biscuits made on top of the stove, not baked like a cobbler. I saw it in Salon’s food section today and thought of you immediately :) I think I like the texture of baked dumplings better than steamed dumplings, but on these crazy hot days, skipping the oven is mighty appealing!
I’ve never made a buckle–maybe this should be my first one. I love nectarines so much–how could this not be wonderful?
i also adore the white containers! Bummer to hear they aren’t as sturdy. Thank you for letting us know – otherwise i would have immediately bought a few!
BTW what did you make with the red currants?
Asha — Something for the book! It required three more batches of currants to get right, then I took 50 blurry pictures of it and now I need more currants and missed the currant people at the market today and seriously, can you tell that my brain is like All Currants, All The Time right now?
I need to get my hands on some nectarines because this looks so delicious. I don’t know about the name “buckle” but I’m all for a buttery cake with a buttery crumb served up in a cast iron skillet. Unbuckle me now.
Deb! If you really want some rhubarb, Stop and Shops still have it! I was at the one in Fairfield just today, and it didn’t look too bad. It’s definitely a trip, but it’s a short train ride away. Am I the only person crazy enough to actually think this would be worth it?
wow. i literally have no words for this. our nectarine tree went buckwhile this year and i’m trying to find recipes to use them. this was PERFECT like i swear i heard angels singing, it was like a religious experience in my mouth! i’m not exaggerating when i say i wanted to cry. i think the browned butter made this. mine was more like burned butter hahah but it worked perfectly. thanks so much deb for this out of this world recipe!
Thank you for making my mother think that I know how to bake! I made this with fresh peaches from my neighbors tree, and she declared this the best thing she ever had!! Reject, I think not!!
I have a new found passion for nectarines so this REALLY tickles my inner tongue. I’ve been eating them straight up all summer and have included them in a couple recipes but nothing quite like this.
Delicious looking!
Smitten you’re positively killing me with all the sweet desert-y goodness. Thank you for making it possible for me to look for more dinner-y and lunch-y offerings which you’ve heretofore previously posted. Keep rockin’ that cookbook.
This sounds fabulous and I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing it Deb!
I really can’t wait for the cookbook if this is a reject.
‘Cause seriously, I just made it, and I need a second slice already. I used a mix of some nectarines that were in the fridge and begging to be used, some local peaches, and a handful of blueberries to round things out, and whole milk yoghurt instead of the buttermilk or milk. Also a third of the flour got swapped for whole wheat pastry flour, so that I could pretend the cake’s not loaded down with delicious, delicious butter.
And it’s gonna be really hard to bring it to the potluck I made it for.
Really looking forward to the book! love this dessert looks. And that’s about all the pleasure I’m going to get because nectarines are awfully expensive here! 6x the price of peaches. Sigh.
where does one get a cast iron pan and does something special have to be done to season it? I always seem to see this regarding cast iron pans. I have already asked for your cook book for Christmas so I hope its going to be published before then? I love your recepies your mango slaw is my most favorite yet! but I haven’t tried this peach cake yet so who knows? Love love love your recepies
Sandra — I got this one used but you can find them inexpensively new. The Lodge Logic ones come seasoned, however, the seasoning becomes compromised if you scrub it with too much soap or cook too many acidic dishes in it. Then you can reseason it like so, or just cook a LOT of bacon in it; same effect. You’ll never guess which one we pick! Thanks for your enthusiasm about the book. Sadly, it will not be out until sometime in 2012.
Can’t wait to see the cookbook. Buckles are so good in the Summer with all the beautiful stone fruits and berries available. Yours looks delicious!
My mutant rhubarb plant is still churning it out… I can send you some!!!! Do you think UPS will deliver rhubarb for Canada???? ;)
Diane
I love making buckles and have many numerous ones including blueberry, plum, etc.. but never nectarine. I will def have to try this one out. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Deb – I enjoy your blog so much! First it was for the recipes – now it’s for a glimpse of the little guy – my first grandchild is about the same age. What fun to watch their development.
This buckle reminds me of a recipe that I make often when summer fruits are ripe. It comes from my Mennonite heritage – our roots are in the Netherlands. Perhaps to replace pie – which is more labor intensive – Mennonites make “platz” – much like this buckle you’ve described. So good! I always bake mine in a greased pyrex pan – that way I can easily see how dark the bottom crust is getting. I also use the toothpick test, but I’m not sure of its accuracy if the fruit is very moist.
I look forward to seeing your new cookbook when it comes out.
Oh boy this looks amazing!! I’ll be making it for my mom, shes a nectarine freak, I mean fan :) Congrats again on the cookbook Deb, I hope there’s lots more ‘rejects’ in our futures!!
Reject…absolutely heaven. Keep them coming ,as I enjoy navigating your lessons!
I’m thinking plums… peaches and nectarines are starting to go out of season here in the south.
i’ve decided this is the reason my boyfriend and i suddenly stopped arguing over the dishes last night.
thanks.
I’m going to have to start using my cast iron skillet for more than just cornbread!
Thanks for the recipe.
I am in a seriously committed relationship with my 30+ year old blueberry buckle recipe – no summer is complete with out at least a few of them, made with Jersey blueberries – but I’m gonna test my love and give this a try!
So all these years what I thought was my mother’s peach cobbler was really a buckle? She called it a cobbler. How was I to know? Now I know, and I thank you. And your nectarine buckle is beautiful.
I wish my kitchen rejects were half as tasty as this!
Great post, I can’t wait for the book:)
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I’ve got 1/2 a huge bag of nectarines that are ripe but I didn’t think we’d get them eaten before they went bad.
I once baked something similar to this, with peaches. Very delicious!
Looks delicious!I love your site! The recipes, writing and photography are all wonderful. I found your site a couple months ago when I started my own food blog. I was pretty clueless about the food blog world before then. Yours is one of my favorites!
Great way to use summer fruits! I want to use brown butter in something, this sounds yum! :)
It’s still rhubarb season in my part of town (the PNW). I could see it being delicious in something like this, never heard of it called a buckle before.
I just made it this afternoon, and I have to say I’m glad it got left out of the book if it means we get to cook it right away! I made a half batch, and promptly ate half the pan. My husband made fun of this all through dinner, and requested a small ‘desert’ sized piece for himself. Then had seconds. I will definitely be making this again!
I’m getting all excited for the book, two years too soon! Have you considered publishing ‘cookbook rejects’ after that? :P This looks really delicious, I’m considering subbing with peaches and making this, since nectarines are rare and wayy too expensive here!
Perfect timing! I went a little mad at a fruit stand as I passed through the Keremeos Valley, BC, yesterday (10 lbs EACH of peaches and nectarines + a box of raspberries and bags of apricots, plums, eeek!) I may have to substitute cardamom for the cinnamon, but everything is better with browned butter.
If i baked something like this, im sure my husband would come back to me saying it isnt baked because of the nectarines… I tried it once with syrupy apples and he was like ‘bake it some more’ :) I have nectarines and im confused between yours and http://www.passionateaboutbaking.com/2010/07/baking-stone-fruit-almond-crumble.html
That is one tasty looking reject!! The pictures made my mouth water.
I made this (with peaches) today – turned out great! I found that the brown butter flavor was really obvious in the streusel but not the batter. As fun as it was to brown a stick and a half (!) of butter I think I’ll just brown enough for the topping next time. I substituted yogurt for the milk and used brown sugar in the streusel instead of white.
And, despite your elaborate warning, I also almost over-baked it. The batter really looked wet where it was peeking around the fruit! It smelled like it was about to start burning so I tapped gently on the top with the flat side of a wooden spoon and felt an appropriate springiness (much like my method for deciding when steaks are done on the grill).
Oh man, I love (LOVE) nectarines, and brown butter, in my opinion, is pretty much the only way one could improve upon pure and unadulterated butter. If I can make it home on Saturday from the farmers’ market without totally decimating my nectarine haul, I am SO making this!
I make buckles every summer! They are our favorite dessert (with a little vanilla ice cream on the side). They really can be made with any stone fruit and berry combo. Our latest favorite is raspberry/ apricot. Last year we did a lot of sour cherry. I make mine in a 9×9 pyrex.
This buckle is moving onto my ‘to bake’ list but the mere mention of a Smitten Kitchen Cookbook made me forget all about (and that is a big achievement alone) brown buttered and stone fruity goodness!
Cannot wait for 2012! Bring on the book! I think we all implore, beseech and implore you, please, aim for spring and not fall! How terribly exciting! Looking forward to placing numerous pre-orders, not only for myself but also my sisters, mother and mother-in-law all of whom have fallen just as in love with Smitten Kitchen as I am.
I made it last night, and it is AWESOME!!
Yum! Awesome dessert… maybe even more awesome as breakfast? Sinful! And as for butter mustard as pretzel dip… do it! I have actually made a melted butter/honey/mustard emulsion with dried fruit. I didn’t use it aas a pretzel dip but it was freaking fantastic on grilled chicken.
Deb – this looks really great. Must try it. Nectarines are big where I live and this sounds like a great option. However – this might be an extremely stupid question, but being Scandinavian I’ve never baked in a skillet. Does this go in the oven or on the stove? At what temperature?
Thea — Goes in the oven, just like a cake pan.
Anu — Looks like the one you linked to is a crumble (baked fruit with a crumbly topping) and this is cake with large pieces of fruit baked in.
Congrats on the cookbook, I can’t wait to have it in my hands. SK is my favorite food blog, the recipes are amazing and that baby is adorable. :-) My favorite discovery I learned from the blog to date is smoked paprika. Thanks!
I love a good buckle and never thought about the streusel topping will definitely make this after the trip to the farmers market, hopefully I can get the seconds from the fruit vendor…
I just wanted to add that I also am stoked about the book! :D Everything I have made from here has been AH-mazing so I can only imagine.
Deb-
I don’t have a cast iron skillet and really can’t afford to pick one up this week for this amazing desert. Do i have to change the baking times if i do this in a cake pan? Or pie dish? or pyrex casserole dish.
thanks!
jessie — Haven’t tried it in a Pyrex or a pie dish. In a cake pan, you’ll likely be at the higher end of the time bracket. In a cast iron, the lower one.
i have such a blog crush on you, ms. smitten kitchen. thanks for making me giggle.
I made this today using buttermilk. The only modification was that I peeled my nectarines (just a personal preference).
I found that once I browned my butter it was reduced to half a cup, not leaving me enough for the topping. Being lazy to start the process all over I just used plain melted butter. The browned butter flavor was barely audible, disappointing and leaving me wondering if the amount of time that goes into that step is worth the result. Perhaps if I had enough brown butter left for my streusel I would feel differently?
I found the topping to a be a bit “floury” and lacking the characteristic sweet crunch of a good streusel. If I were to make this again I would substitute brown sugar and reduce the flour.
The cake was perfectly baked, although the batter around the fruit remained a bit gooey. However, had I baked it any longer I would have had an overbaked-burned bottom cake.
While you remain my larger than life hero, this is the first Smitten Kitchen recipe (out of dozens) that won’t be making it into my tried and true recipe file.
There are similar everyday-fruit-type cakes on this site (raspberry buttermilk cake, lime yogurt cake, blueberry boy bait) that can be made with a thousand different variations, a lot less fuss and nothing less than spectacular results.
Nicole — Thanks for the feedback. You know, I had been concerned about the volume loss from butter once the butter was browned (and thought I’d have to increase the butter to account for it when testing this) but when I poured my browned butter into a measuring cup, it was still 3/4 cup. I don’t use fancy butter; store brand Whole Foods most of the time, and not a European-style higher fat (less water) kind and I assumed that most butters were like this. But what you’re talking about would be a butter with 33% water in it to reduce to 1/2 cup from 3/4… I just haven’t heard of anything like this. Nevertheless, with 1/2 cup butter, there would definitely not be enough left to make a streusel that binds together… Sorry it did not work out for you!
I made this last night and it came out very nice.
Except I used blueberries rather than nectarines.
And more than just a pinch of allspice – probably 4 or 5 pinches, plus a bit of cloves.
And with oil rather than butter (alas).
And I used about 1/3 c brown sugar and 2/3 c white sugar.
Hmm, at what point does this stop being the same recipe?
I fracking LOVE you for this — have been on a bit of a Nectarine binge myself, and I’m thinking about making a raw version of this. I’ll definitely credit you in the recipe post.
XO
S
this was amazing. . . well thats what i was told. i never eat my own baked goods but i bake every friday for work and the winery i work at also has a produce company side to it and so i picked up fresh nectarines and made this for today!! thanks for another incredible recipe! i am going to miss all these fruit-filled baked goods when summer is over!
Psst, Deb, babies are born without kneecaps. For real.
Deb – so, so delicious – thank you! I usually hate when people praise a recipe and then go on to list all the changes they made, so I’ll just say peaches, didn’t brown the butter (since you seemed to think it didn’t come through strongly) and brown sugar in the streusel. Must. stop. eating. it. before. dinner.
Deb, even rejects need to be loved! I’m glad you decided to post this one. I can’t wait to try it. The aroma of this baking must me amazing! Thanks for posting so many great recipes.
Hi! My favorite part of this recipe is the lost knee! Having 2 little boys myself I just loved your photo and wished so much to have them that age again for a moment! He is so cute I could eat him up!
I made this last night, in a 10 inch cast iron, and there is only a tiny wedge left. And there were only 3 of us eating. *looks sheepish*
Delicious. I also noticed that the dough around the fruit stayed soft, but I thought it was a good thing – it’s a buckle, don’t they kind of do that? My friend brought over some fresh blueberries and blackberries, and I tossed those in, too. It was fantastic.
Hi Deb,
I’ve been following your blog for about a year now and regularly drool over the food and the baby. But last night I made my first buckle, thanks to you. We hosted our monthly grandparent dinner (where the 6 grandparents in our life come over for a special dinner) and the dessert received compliments from everyone. I had the most amazing nectarines on hand so I just had to try it. I was a little nervous because I had never browned butter before (!) but your description of what would happen really helped. I followed the recipe exactly and used a springform pan, 45 minutes in the oven. Perfect!
subbed blackberries for nectarines (don’t have to wait for blackberries to ripen!)
and i brought my brown butter a couple ticks past brown, so the butter’s flavor in the buckle ended up being much more toasty, nutty, and pronounced than it would have been had i been paying attention while browning my butter. :)
This recipe was just the thing for the last four peaches from my Mom’s tree. I made a half batch, which was perfect for my 8 inch cast-iron skillet. I skipped the parchment paper, because my skillet is well-seasoned and I browned the butter in it. Started checking after 30 minutes in the oven and took it out on faith at 40 minutes. I let it cool in the skillet and then held my breath as I turned it out and right-sided it. Perfect! Follow my link to see the pictures.
The crumb is moist. The fruit is gooey but not mushy. The lemon keeps the sweet streusel in check. And that brown butter – well, it is just so sophisticated!
You say you flipped it onto a cooling rack–upside down? Or slid it out on parchment? Put it back in pan later?
Li-hsia — Flipping it out, as in, flip it over, then back over again so it cools right-side-up.
I had the same problem with the butter. Mine was regular ol’ store brand unsalted butter. Perhaps I didn’t brown it right? In any case I’m going ahead with the baking and just melting a little extra butter to make the streusel stick together.
Yikes. Maybe that generic 365 brand is fancier than I thought. I’m going to do some research; thanks for the feedback.
Yum. Pity about the brown butter’s lack of punch, though. About that butter mustard sauce, I have a feeling it might be a bearnaise/hollandaise type sauce mixed with mustard. I know that mustard is sometimes used in tartare and other eggy sauces, so it sounds plausible.
Oh, and I forgot, it might even be a beurre blanc blended with mustard. Though in that case it would be thinner.
Deb,
Do you need to flip this out of cast iron pan or can you just let it cool in the pan? I’d like to bring this to a potluck tomorrow, but I would prefer not to flip it out and find another way to transport it.
Thanks
Alissa — You can let it cool in the pan but remember that it will keep baking in there, especially a cast iron that retains a lot of heat. I would take it out on the literally-finished-cooking-this-second side of things.
Okay, I was just in NYC and i absolutely cannot believe that you bake in that heat.
I wonder if you know the brand of your cast iron? The newer ones I’ve found have these super-sloped sides and I’d like to find an older one with deep and sturdy straight sides.
Can’t wait to make this one!
Planning on making this for my sister-in-law’s birthday, but I only have 12-inch skillets. Thinner cake, less cooking time?
Yum! I made this yesterday and it was DELICIOUS! I made mine in a 10-inch spring form which worked very well. There were four of us eating this last night and not much left today for snacking…
Looks wonderful! Anyone have suggestions on how to convert to gluten free? Many of my friends are gluten intolerant to the point of illness if even the smallest bit of gluten is in the recipe. Thanks
Hi,
My dad is gluten intolerant, and I replace the flour in the cake with buckweat flour and ground almonds half/half but I leave out the streusel (never tried it, maybe it’ll work though?) and it works out perfectly! Although it isn’t as fluffy as the original cake (I tried both), even I as a gluteneater really like this version.
Just made this for som friends who are going through a trying time… It arrived at their door still hit from the pan and started to work some healing magic :) thank you.
Our house still smells so good, we decided to make another one to keep! Thank you for this!
Blessings,
S
I now think I’ll wing it in a 10′ pie pan. Maybe. Ah!
Shannon — Go with the pan you have with the most volume. You can always use too big of a pan, too small will just overflow. A 10-inch pie pan has less volume than a 10-inch springoform, possibly half.
Deb — thank you for sharing this recipe. It was absolutely wonderful. I love buttermilk in recipes, so I used that. And I managed to resist my usual urge to add vanilla to the cake. I’m glad I didn’t used it, because it would have overshadowed the allspice. The only thing that didn’t work entirely perfectly was the streusel — it wasn’t quite as ‘crunchy’ as it normally is — tastes great, though, with the brown butter. Next time I might use a mix of brown and white sugar.
I’m taking it to a dinner tonight — I know it will be a great success.
I absolutely love your blog — I’ve made a number of recipes and I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed. I can’t wait until your book comes out!
Regards,
Alison
i made this yesterday and i also did what lynsay (comment #164) did – took it til it was just about burned but not quite. the brown butter taste was deeper and not a question. i also made mine with plums cause thats all i had in the house. the spring form pan i used made a great presentation to see the crusty edge. i took pictures if yal want to see. please let me know, i dont know how to send you pictures. thanks for the great recipe. oh – and the 45 min cooking time, even in my uneven oven, was perfect. thanks. !!
I made this with peaches this weekend. It was a huge hit (everyone going for seconds)! I made it in a springform pan and baked it for 45 minutes. Thanks for another great recipe.
Just made it this afternoon with peaches. LOVED it! I’m thinking this is going to be my breakfast. Thanks!
I’ll take me some of that. I love nectarines!
Looking good, as usual :)
Oh my gosh… This is fantastic. Well, I made mine with peaches because apparently I am a peach addict and have more than I know what to do with, but yes, fantastic. Made mine in a springform, and the only slight problem I had is that it took significantly longer than 45 minutes to cook – about an hour. But then I also suspect that my oven temp is off.
I made it this weekend and it was wonderful! Even better for leftovers after it sat in my Pyrex storage containers…got a bit more moist. I baked it for 50 minutes in a 9 inch springform pan at 350F. And I substitued whole wheat flour and then added 1/4 cup sliced almonds to the topping. So good! More tasty rejects please.
going to the market tomorrow and I am not coming back before I find the best nectarines, I need to make this cake! thank you for posting this recipe!
I made this over the weekend with peaches for our annual family “Summer Birthdays!” party, and even as one of five cakes (three made by me!) there was hardly any left at the end of the night. Amazing recipe!!
Deb,
Thanks so much for this recipe! I tried this today, and blogged about it, and cited you directly. Thanks for the confidence booster! I have to say, your directions are just perfect for a chemist like me :) I really appreciated the comments about browning the butter!
Thanks again! It was delicious! I’m excited to buy your cookbook!
Best,
Krista
i tried your recipe and subbed in white nectarines and ground cloves instead of allspice. SO YUM! thanks for your great blog…i’ve been reading it for a while but have been too shy to comment :)
Hi I just discovered you through Flipboard for my iPad and was instantly drooling over your recipes. I tried this one and love it. I have never browned butter before (well not on purpose!) and, well, where have you been all my life? I used brown sugar in the struesel because I ran out of normal sugar (it is a signature of my cooking that I ALWAYS forget something). It was extra delicious. Thank you and I look forward to what comes next!
Ooh, that looks good. I’m definitely making this.
Would it be OK to leave the lemon juice out? Is it just for extra flavor or will this not turn out right without it? I would like to bring this to church on Sunday and one of my friends is allergic to citrus. I think if I bring this glorious buckle and say, “Sorry Nancy, you can’t have this” we won’t be friends anymore.
Susan — No big deal if you skip it. It’s just to punch up the fruitiness a little.
Made a double-batch, using Cardamom in place of the allspice and cinnamon. One pan was a huge hit with Sunday’s dinner guests and the second has made me an office hero this morning. Thanks, Deb!!!
Deb… I think you have a view right into my Huntington Beach, Ca backyard! First the zucchini and ricotta gallette posted when I ahd more zuchini than I knew what to do with. And now this! A day after I picked my nectarine tree clean and have BUCKETS of ripe nectarines! Thank you so much- I am making this tonight!!
I have a couple nectarines, a few peaches, and some fresh picked Oregon boysenberries at home. I wonder if they’d be delicious combined in this recipe or if I should just stick to the stone fruits? I don’t have enough nectarines to just use those… might have to experiment tonight!
I made this yesterday and it was an epic FAIL!! I didn’t have the problem with the brown butter that others had, but the streusel and nectarines fell completely to the bottom. I served it as an upside down cake..when life gives you lemons… :) d
I checked that I had copied the recipe properly(I did), so maybe it was just operator error?! No one else seems to have had this problem. I’m going to try it again today using sour cream instead of buttermilk, to see if I can firm the cake up. We shall see!
kim — Not sure why everything fell to the bottom, but buckles are called that because the batter is supposed to buckle around the fruit as it bakes, and somewhat envelop it.
Deb — Thanks! I went with the 12″ skillet, and it worked out great. I just added a bit to the batter. It was delicious and certainly thick enough. We loved it — thanks for the great recipe. Can’t wait for the book!
Made this two days ago and it. is. so. goooood. Didn’t have so much of the buckling, but that’s because I think I definitely had more fruit crammed in that layer than you did. We got a crap-ton of nectarines the week before and they all went in. I had the same done?/not-done? dilemma with the toothpick test after 45 minutes. I just turned the oven off, left it for another five, and it was still perfectly moist enough. Recipe: most certainly bookmarked.
Sidenote also: Used a springform pan.
This is my first post here and I have say I love this site. The baby pictures are definitely a draw. I made this last night with peaches (peeled) and my family loved it. I baked it in a cast iron skillet and after cooling transferred it to a French White Corningware dish. Mine also took much longer than 45 minutes to bake. To test for doneness I used an instant read thermometer in the cake. When it read 210F I took it out of the oven. This is how I test pound cakes so I figured it would work here. The cake was a little gooey in the center, but the rest was perfect.
Reporting back about my fruit experiment! I went a lil’ crazy and used a pint of boysenberries, a nectarine, and three peaches. It came out super delicious! I used cardamom in the cake batter and a smidge of cinnamon in the crumble. I baked it for 50 minutes. The middle is a little gooey- not sure if it needed more time or if that was inevitable considering the amount of fruit I dumped on top of the cake! The berries were especially nice.
I made this recipe TWO days in a row last week….I can’t stop thinking about it! I’m making it tonight AGAIN for some friends but am going to use berries instead. YUM!
I have never baked before and now I have you to blame for this new interest. What a delicious dessert! It had a lot of really rich flavors.
My only comment is that, based on your experience, I baked the buckle for 45 minutes and didn’t even try to test to see if it was done. I took it out, cooled it and when we cut into it at dinner, the center was still batter (which we happily ate around). I put the rest of the buckle it back on the bottom of the springform pan, put that on a cookie sheet and baked it a second time for 10 minutes.
Next time (and there will be next time) I will remember to get buttermilk, add cardamom as someone suggested, try berries with the nectarines and test it before I cool it. Yum.
Instead of nectarines I used chopped strawberries and rhubarb. It was delicious! I left it in the oven for an hour and it was still a little too gooey in the middle. I suspect elevation and juicy berries are responsible. Nevertheless, the buckle was awesome! I loved the crumbly texture of the cake.
I think you mentioned you’re doing a seasonal cookbook? Is that right? I LOVE seasonal cookbooks!
I tried it in a 9.5″ glass pie pan. It took about 45 minutes. It was close, but it held it all and didn’t spill over the edges. Amazing! I have never done much with nectarines, but I think this recipe has changed that. I can’t wait to wake up tomorrow and eat it for breakfast. :)
This recipe was a big hit! Seasonal, but also wonderfully comforting in the midst of a frigid San Francisco summer.
Hi, Deb. I’ve been looking for a good cutting board for a while- do you like your Epicurean board and would you recommend it? Thanks!
Well, I took a gamble by not papering the pan (I thought it would get a better crust), and the bottom of the cake didn’t unmold. It didn’t stick to the pan, it just didn’t come out. It probably could have used the full 45 minutes of baking – I took it out after 40 and the tester came out clean. That said, it is incredibly delicious! I made it with plums and added chocolate chips. There is basically no way to go wrong with the combination of chocolate, butter, and fruit.
Buckle is one of my all time favourite things to bake (and coincidentally eat).
Summer in a dish! Tried this today to use up some buttermilk I had around, and what a great way to go! I mixed up peaches/ nectarines/ plums/ blueberries, cutting into chunks instead of slices. This gave a great buckle effect, but probably didn’t help with that soft center issue (juicy!) I also used an oval baking dish, which may have contributed. But I’m not particular, and definitely couldn’t have cooked it longer (outside was perfectly golden) and it sure tasted fine!
Deb, Do you think I could make this with peaches instead of nectarines? My CSA just dropped off what looks to be ten pounds of them. :)
Heather, I just made it with peaches.
it was delicious.
careful with the baking time. I over baked mine a little – it was a little too dry.7
but overall it looks pretty wonderful in the cast iron.
Deb,
I love love love your website!!! I am wondering if in this recipe you would substitute just regular old melted butter or oil instead of brown butter?
I’ve got one in the oven right now, but added a splash of almond extract and cherries on top instead of nectarines. I have my fingers crossed! The kids were so sad they had to go to bed before it was out. Love your recipes!
I made this tonight and it was fabulous!
I had the same volume others had with the butter. I reserved the full amount fir the streusel and just added a couple T of oil to the cake to make up the difference. I’ve been meaning to try browned butter for a while and finally did it. I wasn’t hard at all and so complexly delicious – so much flavor from a little butter.
And thanks for the explanation of “buckle” – I had thought buckle, crisp, Betty, crumble were interchanelgeable. Nice to learn the differences.
This was super-easy, too!
Your photos tell such a lovely story.
beautiful photos, beautiful food. try to put a bit of Lavender flowers in the streusel… and a bit of honey on your fruits, just a bit, you will have a taste of provence.
enjoy!
Hi Deb! I made this last night with the following mods: Cut recipe in half to fit my 8 inch cast iron skillet, used nutmeg in place of allspice, skipped right over the flour that was supposed to be in the crumble (all the while wondering why my crumble was not so crumbly) and I have to say… it was fantastic! Thanks for another great one!
This is really, really good. Made it exactly as written, with milk, and it was incredibly moist. I contemplated a 9-inch pan, but I think you’d get an undesirably smaller fruit-to-batter ratio then. Also, my batter rose enough in an 10.5-inch pan that it probably would have overflowed anything smaller. It’s a keeper, thanks!
I tried this one out and it was amazing I only had two problems, when the nectarines got cooked their skin got tough and was hard to cut and chew on abit, do u think I should peel them or use fruit from a can? also I got scared after a couple of days that the fruit may go bad because of the heat
Excellent recipe. Served this warm with a homemade white chocolate ice cream.
WOW! I was new to Buckles and a girlfriend tried this out on me & the kids, loved by all! SO, no nectarines in the house but LOADS of beautifully ripe Bartlett pears from the tree – VERY browned butter, lovely flecks all throughout + some grated nutmeg and the (roughly ground) allspice… used the batter bowl to make streusel, mmmm. Served with sk buttermilk ice cream (made with only 7 yolks, as noted) THANK YOU!
New to your site, resounding cheers all around the table, hooked!! 9″ spring form, decanted beautifully, solid 45min bake time. Rock and Roll!
You had me at ‘nectarine’! Really looking forward to your cookbook. Hopefully by the time it’s out my fiance will have lifted my cookbook ban :-)
Ok, I just made this, and the brown butter taste was so intense! It was awesome. I cooked it until it had lots of little brown flecks, and since they were in the bottom of the pan they got added to the crumble… yum.
I was worried that I messed it up, because my batter was much thinner than in your photo. I was impatient and didn’t really let the butter cool. Anyway, it turned out fine. Now to find someone to share it with so my husband and I don’t eat the entire stick-and-a-half-worth-of-butter ourselves…
Deb — and others looking for more of those DARLING ceramic berry baskets — may find that the ones at Jaysonhomeandgarden.com http://www.jaysonhomeandgarden.com/home.php?cat=15&view_all=Y are a better quality (or made of heartier stuff and subsequently less fragile). I LOVE those baskets and came across them while on-line shopping from a tear-sheet I pulled from Bon App back in Dec. ’09. Happy shopping!
I made this last night (with alternating rows of peeled peaches and nectarines), and it was kind of unbelievable.
Thank you.
Thank you for posting this heavenly recipe. I just made it with peaches and found it perfectly divine! I’m glad it didn’t make it into the cookbook because now I don’t have to wait two years to discover the perfectly sturdy batter, juicy fruit and brown-buttery streusel. I added a vanilla bean to the browning butter, and used some brown sugar and whole wheat flour in place of the white. I baked it in a 9″ springform pan for about 1 hour. It fit perfectly and came out moist (but not soggy around the fruit- just right.) Thank you for rocking so hard, Miss Deb!
Thank you! Made it and loved it. This recipe is definitely going into the keepers.
Was ANYONE thinking I don’t want your rejects? I’d take your rejects any day of the week! If I were your neighbor, I’d be peeking out my door peep hole waiting to pop out and ask about any possible rejects you may be willing to part with every time your shadow darkened your own doorstep (don’t worry, though, I live across the country). :) This looks delicious! I will definitely be making this when I can get my hands on some decent nectarines!
I love this buckle! I’ve made it a few times and it’s always been a hit. I was hoping to make some version of this for the holidays, but stone fruits are disastrously out-of-season… any suggestions?
You could try apples or pears, but with caution. I haven’t tried it with either and it’s possible they may not be entirely baked by the time the cake is done. If you like the tartness, you could use some cranberries. You could also toss them in extra sugar first, too.
@ CAMPBELL: I’m hitting this again for Thanksgiving tomorrow with more CA grown (not the yard this time) Bartlett Pears. They were JUST ripe last time and worked beautifully, no extra sogginess or any other bake problems. As previously mentioned, solid 45min bake time. Dried Montmorency Cherries poached in a very light & slightly boozy syrup would also add nice acid and color. Thank you again SK!
made this with peaches yesterday. amazing. thanks deb.
Dear deb, we just made this and it´s just amazing! Loved it! Really, thanks that was de-li-coius! greetings from Chile
Just wanted to pop in to attest that the “lazy man’s” version of this Nectarine Buckle is amazing, too, in case anyone is curious:
– Didnt brown the butter
– Didnt at the streusel topping
– Didn’t toss the nectarines in lemon juice
– Didnt put a circle of parchment at the bottom of the cake pan I used (just buttered it).
Delicious with whipped cream, and it didn’t stick to the pan. Thanks Deb!
Wow! I made this with peaches instead of nectarines and yogurt for the buttermilk, and it turned out exactly like your pictures. It was one of the best things I’ve baked ever, and worth every gram of that butter! I can’t wait to see what made it into your cookbook!
Made this for a dinner party last night with a 10-inch springform pan. Didn’t use parchment, just buttered the bottom.
It was excellent and beautiful!
Thanks
I bought extra peaches for the peach butter and used them in this instead of the nectarines (but peeled of course). I used a springform pan, which I discovered does not hold heat well and I had to bake it for a really long time but the finished product was so worth the wait!
I made this exactly as described with the addition of a bit of raspberry liquor to the berries and loved it. I am anxious to try with Greek yogurt to see if the flavor and texture is as great, with a few less calories though.
Made this. It. Was. The. Best. Wow!
I just made this as well but with peaches and blueberries instead – INCREDIBLE! Accidentally added all of the brown butter into the batter instead of the streusel, but it only made it more moist ;)
[IMG]http://i50.tinypic.com/34ec8z7.jpg[/IMG]
This was amazing, thank you! I think I’m addicted to brown butter, yummy!
I made this today with my Little Sister (Yay mentoring!) and it was UNBELIEVABLE. We did not brown the butter to save time and still, YUMMY :) Thanks Deb!
I recently learned you can brown butter in the microwave! – be sure to put it in a deep container (I do a cup of butter in a 4 c. pyrex cup) and cover (i put a paper towel over the top so that splatters don’t get all over the microwave). Then 3 – 5 minutes and it’s nicely browned and ready to pour. Since there are a ton of brown-butter-recipes on this site, I thought this would be useful. YUM.
Made this today using the following: 10 T. Browned butter (a little less than a half cup went into the cake), 1c. White flour and 3/4 cup spelt flour (would’ve just used white ww but I was out), 1/2 cup agave nectar ( sub for sugar), no spices, 1/3 cup milk. I used peeled peaches instead of the nectarines. For the topping I used turbindo sugar in place of the whit sugar and about a half cup pecans and again, no spices. I baked should’ve baked it at 325, because after eating one piece I stuck it back in the oven–not done around the fruit.
Delicious. Fabulous. My new go to cake recipe. The browned butter came through nicely for me. I think the agave and pecans helped. Thank you!
Oh, I baked it in a 9×9 inch square pan!
Yet another fantastic recipe!
I baked it in a heavy round 10″ cake pan, and it actually took almost 55 minutes to cook in the center.
The browned butter was definitely a challenge. My first try ended with dark browned solids that I had to strain out, and I was to skittish on my second try. I think I ended up making clarified butter instead of browning it. Luckily, the first attempt was actually fine, not too brown. Yay! Looking forward to trying Leslie’s microwave trick.
Oops! I forgot to mention that I used plums, which are at the height of their season right now.
Deb,
I know this post is really old now but I had to mention, since I couldn’t see it mentioned by anyone else, that this totally works as individual cakes.
I used a combination of peaches and nectarines, and a combination of milk and yoghurt, but otherwise followed the recipe.
I cooked it in muffin tins because I’m using an unfamiliar and unreliable oven, and given the difficulty in telling doneness, wanted the safety of being able to cut one open to test.
Despite this, and staying alert and multiple warnings, I STILL overcooked them.
I was looking for browning, which, after looking at your photos, was silly.
Luckily they are still great and I’m sure they’ll get gobbled up at work tomorrow.
The brown butter flavour comes through.
I had no problem with butter shrinkage. I weighed it as I don’t understand how you could measure something solid as cups.
Thanks for the clear instructions!
Oh that was genuine thanks, not a reference to the solid butter in cup measurement thing.
I’m at 60 minutes bc at 55 minutes I had a seemingly perfectly cooked edge but mush in the middle. I can’t wait to try it! Also, I only needed about half of the nectarines….plenty leftover for snacking. Can’t wait to try it!
Tried this last night to make use of some of the last local nectarines of the summer. Another really easy and delicious recipe! After 40 min the cake was totally done but I found I had to broil the streusel a bit to get it a nice golden colour. Thank you!!!
Attempted this recipe in a 9in springform, since another commenter said they did. Baked for 50 minutes at 350 just as they said….and the cake completely fell apart. Didn’t bake in the middle at all. Just stick to 10in as recommended.
My mom has been making a honey mustard for years that would be delicious on pretzels – about 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 or 2 tablespoon of honey, and 3 of mustard. Not sure if this is your lost butter mustard sauce, but it sure is good!
Oh my gosh, this turned out amazing!! Lots of compliments and 45 minutes was perfect! Just gotta trust your oven because like you said, there is no way to tell if the cake bottom is done. Thanks for sharing!!
I used your streusel topping recipe for this and Martha Stewart’s cake recipe as hers only requires one egg and I only had one. It’s very similar to your recipe. Her cake calls for vanilla, which I used. I used a 9 inch square metal pan. I also had to keep melting more butter, as I have European butter, as am in UK. I think next time I will use some brown sugar in the topping, perhaps mixed with the white, as I think the flavor is a good addition to a streusel topping. I baked at a slightly higher temp for half the time, and then lowered it for last 20 minutes. Came out perfect at 43 minutes.
Hi there! I made this a few years back and it was perfect. This time, I’m cooking in a gas oven, using a springform pan, and used the parchment paper (just like I did the last time) and it burned the center of my cake and then the edges burned! I’m so sad! I’ll just chop it off, but does anyone have any suggestions? I know this post is from forever ago, but anything would be great!
Also, I baked it for 37 minutes and then an additional 3 to get the top perfect. The rest of my cake is lovely. Just not the sides…or the bottom. Sad!
Thanks!
Hi Krista — Generally speaking, if the edges cook before the center, you might try it at a lower temperature (say, 25 degrees less to start) next time. There’s definitely variations in ovens and this was probably the reason. If not, just juicier fruit this time.
I have a treefull full of nectarines ripening at different times. I’m making pie tomorrow with the container-full I have now, but would like to freeze the rest. Any idea what I have to do to make a buckle or pie later on with the frozen fruit? I know it’s not good to thaw the fruit because it it turns mushy. Ideas?
I’m renting a house with no oven. Any thoughts to baking this in a cast iron pan in a covered gas grill?
Do it! Go for a moderate temperature until you see how fast it’s baking up.
I stumbled on this post because nectarines were in season, and I needed dessert for late summer dinner. I was intrigued by the brown butter, and so I tried it. WHAAAA…? Reject? I don’t understand. This is now one of my favorite things to bake for a group. Everyone marvels. It is infallibly delicious and beautiful. The brown butter is subtle but it’s there – a fun little surprise. I present it in the cast iron skillet – it’s basically a show-stopper.
What else have you rejected?
Could I substitute peaches for the nectarines? Just a personal taste thing….
Yes!
I made this yesterday! It looked just like your picture. It was fabulous, delicious and my guests gobbled it up! A new go-to recipe. I’m going to brown butter everything from now on! Thanks Deb!
Didn’t have nectarines and was too tired to go out and didn’t think frozen would work but I did have a bag or organic blueberries and it worked beautifully. I used a 9 inch and 6 inch spring form pan though I think it might have all fit in one – blueberries have less volume. It was a big hit even though the smaller spring pan was overcooked. The larger one didn’t look cooked in the center but it was. How is is that I read all the comments and what you said Deb and still overcooked one. The real reason I’m writing is about the butter. I use Costco-Kirkland organic butter. Having read comments, I did a search http://www.inspiredtaste.net/13029/what-is-brown-butter/ The 1/2 pound of butter yielded just over 3/4 cup of browned butter. I did cook it slowly this time and it was perfect. A suggestion tho is to transfer it to another bowl before putting it in the frig to cool – I use a Le Creuset enameled cast iron saucepan – it kept cooking even tho I immed. put it in to cool. Glad I checked after a couple of minutes and saved it from turning too brown. I’m not sure the effort of browned butter is worth it and I don’t have anything to compare it to.
what temp for baking? I’m sure I’m missing it… but can’t find where you mention it? thanks! Ready to put it in the oven now…. YUM!
It’s 350.
This was sooo delicious. Even better the next day.
Found out very late Saturday we would have company on Sunday. “What’s in the house and what recipe does SK have for that?” was my first thought. I had a bunch of perfectly ripe nectarines as well as buttermilk so this it was and it was perfect! I now totally understand the comments on not being sure when it is done but went with the suggestion and took it out at a touch over 45 min after a couple checks and seeing improvement on the cake tester. Also made it in a cast iron pan and was a little worried about it cooling in the pan but it really was perfect with a lovely presentation! SK to the rescue once again (-:
An addition: after browning the required amount of butter it reduced in quantity so after measuring out the half cup for the cake I melted a little more to get a quarter cup for the crumbles. Next time browned butter is called for I’ll just start with extra!
I just put together this cake, popped it in the oven, and then looked on my counter and realized I never added the buttermilk (ahhhh! I thought the batter had seemed rather thick…)
I hated the idea of throwing the whole thing out so I quickly took it out, scraped all the nectarines and streusel off, removed the batter, mixed in buttermilk, put it all back together and back in the oven. Waiting now to see how it turns out!
Can this be frozen after cooking?
I’d expect it to freeze well.
I made this this morning. It used up four peaches that were well on their way to melting, they were so ripe. 40 minutes in my 10″ cast iron skillet. I put two crosswise strips of parchment under the circle of parchment so as to make removing it from the pan easier. The peaches had lost a lot of their flavor, so I was wishing there was more of the streusel, but that’s my error, not the recipe.
Turned in the oven on a 102F day. Made it, posted it, drove all friends mad with Brown butter buckle lust. 42 mins was perfect for the cake: gorgeous crumb and taste. Not so much for the streusel which is not well browned and doesn’t add much to the eating experience. Next time, I’ll add oats and nuts to streusel.
Thanks Deb, you turned me on to browned butter and I have never looked back😘 I had a bunch of peaches that needed to be used and they worked beautifully. I think almost any fruit would work. Upped the cinnamon to 2/3 tsp (we love the stuff) and used brown sugar in the streusel. I only had standard parchment on a roll at hand (and am way too lazy to cut my own round) so used a piece large enough to go up the sides, and trimmed it around the top of the skillet. Helps to oil the skillet a little first so the parchment sticks to it. The folds in the parchment made a lovely fluted look to the edge and made it super easy to slide out of the pan. I even got a “looks like a picture out of a cookbook” from my family😄
I made this a few days ago and it turned out pretty good. I did have a few issues and would probably tweak some things if I make it again. As noted in the recipe, the browned butter flavor doesn’t really come through in the end, which is surprising considering how fragrant the batter and crumb topping are before baking. The crumb topping was probably my main issue because it never crisped up and remained very pale. About half of it just sort of melted down into the nectarines. I’m no expert in crumb toppings but perhaps all the moisture in the fruit prevented it from browning. I ended up sliding the cake under the broiler for a few minutes, checking it every 20 to 30 seconds, until the topping sizzled and the tips of the nectarines started to singe. Still, didn’t translate to a crisp topping in the end. And despite all the warnings of over-baking, I kept mine in the oven for a full hour and ten minutes. At 45 min the center was still raw and at one hour my wooden skewer was still coming out coated in batter. I have a thermometer inside my oven that showed the temperature running above 350° and going as high as 375° during baking, so my oven is def not running cool. I baked in a 10” springform pan which doesn’t have as much thermal mass as a cast iron skillet so that might explain the burnt bottom in Deb’s cake. Mine cake came out perfectly done and moist, not over-baked at all. Everyone who tried it raved about it.
It would be nice if I could print this recipe without having to install some adware app. So I’ll pass thanks.
Not sure what adware you are speaking of but recipes are easy to print here: There is a print icon that leads to a print template at the bottom of each recipe, where it says “DO MORE:” You can also click CTRL + P from any recipe post and it will take you to a streamlined print template.
Wow. Just wow! Made this quickly last night with peaches, as I had made the plum buckle a few weeks back for an office breakfast. Both recipes are quick, easy, and spectacular! Absolutely a go-to recipe for last minute guests, morning or night. Ans my dinner guests last night identified the “carmelization;” i.e., the browned butter flavor. Served it with cut up fresh peaches drenched in Tuaca and whipped cream. Added cinnamon to the topping. Delicious.
this is so yummy! perfect addition to my obsession with stone fruit in summer.
i had the same issue with the bake time, and ended up leaving it in for 55 minutes, which was perfect!
This was a great recipe though I made some modifications to suit my tastes. I used 3/4 cup sugar (instead of 1 cup as in the recipe) and it was still too sweet for me. The streusel topping was cloyingly sweet and I wasn’t crazy about the texture – so either I add oats next time or omit. The brown butter flavor does get lost in the cake so I may not bother next time. But the cake batter is light and fluffy and goes so well with fruit. And I can imagine several different fruit toppings. And it was so darn easy to make. So this is a keeper.
I took your advice and only baked for 45 mins even though the middle seemed gooey — bad idea! When I cut into it after cooling, the cake was not done in the center. Had to bake it for an additional 25+ mins for the center to get cooked, and the outsides got considerably browned (I even lowered the temp to 325 for the second bake to prevent burning). I’m not sure what the issue is.
I want to try this with mandarin oranges (and a splash of bourbon), just to see what will happen. Do you have any suggestions on what to change if trying this with little oranges? I thought that it may need more liquid than the peach version and could maybe use a splash of orange juice? Or more brown butter and some orange zest? Thanks, Deb!
I am obsessed with this cake. Maybe because I live way up in northern MN, but I hardly ever have ripe peaches because my kids will eat them unripe and I would never have any to bake with if I waited for them to ripen. So I love making this with unripe peaches in a small dice. I’ve made it with streusel and also with just regular cinnamon sugar topping and both are delicious. I add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Thanks as always for a delicious recipe!
This is an all-time favorite come summer nectarine season. Question: Has anyone made this in cupcake form for picnic, group gatherings when it’s easier to eat by hand? I want to make it for a swim meet.