Blueberry buckle shined with Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt and The Pass

One of my favorite books to read my class when teaching them how to write letters is Dear Mr. Blueberry by Simon James. The story is about a girl who finds a whale in her backyard and the teacher that gives her information about whales, while not believing her. Had Emily faced the dilemma I did this week, perhaps one of her letters would've gone like this:

Dear Mr. Blueberry,

There most certainly is a whale in my pond. There are also blueberries in my freezer from last summer that need to be used. What shall I make?

Love,
Emily

The reply:

Dear Emily,

I am adamant that there is not a whale in your pond. About the blueberries, make a buckle. It is quite scrumptious and reminds me of a coffee cake.

Love,
Mr. Blueberry

Blueberry Buckle (from the book Lee Bailey's Country Desserts)
(printable version)

for the cake:
-2 cups and all purpose flour
-2 tsp. baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon sea salt
-1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
-3/4 cup sugar
-1 large egg
-1/2 cup milk (I used two percent)
-1 pint blueberries

for the topping:
-1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/3 cup sifted all purpose flour
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease an 8-inch spring form pan with butter.

2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and sea salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy (it took about 3 minutes). Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk. Fold in the blueberries. Pour batter into the spring form pan. Set aside.

3. Combine ingredients for topping with a fork to make crumbly mixture. Sprinkle this over the batter.

4. Bake for one hour. Test for being done by inserting a fork. If it comes out clean, it is done. If not, give the cake another 5 to 10 minutes to bake.

5. Allow the cake to cool slightly before serving.

The soundtrack for this baking experience began with a band that just so happens to be hitting Tampa tonight (at the Crowbar), the Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt. Aside from a tour, the band will be putting out a new album in May entitled I Love You! I Love You! I Love you and I'm in Love with you! Have an Awesome day! Have the best day of your life! Here is a preview of the album (and what you might hear if you head out to the Crowbar tonight).

I love you! I love you! I love you and I'm in love with you! from theterrorpigeon on Vimeo.

I also enjoyed Louisville's The Pass who recently released an independent EP, Colors before signing to SonaBlast Records. The band is currently working on an LP that they hope to have out this summer. Thanks to indie rock cafe for introducing me to them. "Cross Walk Stereo" comes from Colors.

The Pass-Cross Walk Stereo