Berry Buckle

Instructions

1. Combine butter, flour, sugar and lemon zest in small bowl. With hand mixer: mix on low speed, until mixture looks like coarse, grainy sand. With stand mixer: mix with paddle attachment on low speed, about two minutes. DO NOT mix for too long, forming a dough. I like to double the topping mixture and freeze the unused portion for future buckles.
2. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour (or use cupcake papers sprayed with cooking spray or melted butter) 18 standard sized muffins. Or, 5 four-inch tartlet pans. (This can also be done in a single, 9" round springform or cake pan. Baking time for a single cake will be longer, about 40-50 minutes).
3. Beat the butter on low speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes, slightly longer with a hand mixer.
4. Add beaten eggs and vanilla. Mix about 1 minute total.
5. Add the flour and baking powder. Mix on low speed just until uniform in texture, being careful not to over mix! Gently fold in fruit until evenly mixed.
6. To Assemble the Buckles: Pour batter into prepared muffin pan or tartlet pans, until about 3/4 filled, smoothing the tops of each buckle with a spoon or narrow spatula. The buckles will puff up in size while baking! If using nuts, sprinkle the nuts on the buckles at this point.
7. Spoon one heaping teaspoon of topping onto each buckle, spreading the topping evenly on each buckle.
8. For muffin-sized buckles or tartlets: bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating midway through. For a 9" round buckle, bake for 40-50 minutes. Buckles are done when a toothpick comes out "dry" (when not inserted into a berry!) and the topping is golden brown.
9. Let cool before slicing, about 30 minutes. Can be served warm, or cool.