Last week I went blueberry picking on my way to Lily Dale. The fruit is very good, especially considering how very little rain we have had this summer. I also picked up some blueberry honey that will be wonderful to have on hand.
I was watching the BBC and caught a Jamie Oliver cooking show in which he made butter. It looked so straightforward that I thought I would give it a go. I bought cream and dumped the better part of a pint into the standing mixer bowl. Minutes passed as the paddle sloshed around. The cream whipped up as cream will do. I eagerly awaited the thump-thump-thump my darling Jamie assured viewers that would happen as the buttermilk and butter parted ways. More minutes passed. Many more. The cream was over-whipped, yet it was not butter. It could be described as greasy whipped cream. I was more than a little disappointed. I was not, however, going to throw away the bowl of whatever it was I had created.
So, when I found myself with the aforementioned blueberries, I decided to make blueberry buckle. Buckle, by the way, is in the family of desserts including crumbles and cobbler. I found a recipe in a 30-year-old Better Homes and Garden cookbook. I substituted the odd product I had created for both the shortening and the milk called for in the recipe.
The result was magical. The crumb was velvety and rich. The cream paired beautifully with the tang of the blueberries. Happy accident.