Tag Archives: blueberry

Dec 5

Blueberry Coffee Cake

During the summertime, I tend to go nuts over blueberries. I’ll eat them on their own or put them in muffins and crisps. And typically, I make this blueberry cake every summer – only this past summer I goofed and never got around to it. So to make up for that, I decided to add this fabulous cake to my Thanksgiving lineup.

This recipe is very easy to make, and you don’t even have to worry about blueberries being in season – frozen ones work just fine. You serve this cake for dessert or have it for breakfast. Or do both, like I tend to.

blueberrycoffeecake

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

For the topping:

1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup AP flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter or margarine

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round baking pan and set aside.
  2. To make the cake, cream together the butter/margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and milk.
  3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry mixture to wet, stirring thoroughly until well-combined.
  4. Fold in the blueberries.
  5. Pour the batter into your prepared pan.
  6. To make the topping, whisk together the sugars, flour, and cinnamon. Use a fork to cut in the butter/margarine until crumbs form.
  7. Sprinkle the topping over the batter – I find that it’s easiest to coat your fingers with some cooking spray and use your hands.
  8. Bake the cake for 45-55 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  9. Let the cake cool in its pan before slicing and serving.
Jul 10

White Chocolate Blueberry Blondies

After having achieved success with the white chocolate blondies I whipped up not so long ago, I decided to take that same recipe but incorporate one of my favorite summertime fruits: blueberries. I love the contrast of the sweet white chocolate and slightly tart, tangy blueberries. These babies were absolutely amazing. I actually got impatient and dug into them when they hadn’t fully cooled, which made them kind of gooey—but in a good way. In fact, you could just as easily serve these warm in a bowl, call your concoction a white chocolate blueberry pudding, and top it off with vanilla ice cream for contrast. Yum.

whitchocblueber

White Chocolate Blueberry Blondies

Ingredients:
1 cup AP flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate
1 cup blueberries (I used fresh but feel free to try frozen)

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an 8×8 baking pan.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Using either your stovetop or microwave, combine the butter and white chocolate to melt. If using your stovetop, put butter and white chocolate in either a double boiler or heavy duty saucepan and melt on low heat while stirring frequently. If using the microwave, put butter and white chocolate in a small bowl and melt on 50% power for 30-second increments until butter is melted and white chocolate is mostly melted. Use a fork or whisk to get the chocolate nice and smooth.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together your eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Add in the white chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth and well-combined.
5. Whisk or stir in the flour mixture until incorporated.
6. Stir in blueberries. (Quick note: If you’re washing your blueberries on the spot, make sure to pat them dry before adding to batter. You’ll want to eliminate as much moisture as possible; otherwise, your blondies may not bake up as well.)
7. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the blondies cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars. I recommend waiting a good 90 minutes to make sure they’re nice and firm. Worst case, if you’re impatient like me, you’ll get a gooier “blueberry blondie pudding” if you choose to dig in earlier. And trust me, that’s not such a bad thing.

Jul 4

Blueberry Crumb Bars

One of my favorite things about summer is the abundance of fresh blueberries available to big time fans like me. I’m happy to throw blueberries in just about anything – yogurt, ice cream, muffins, cake…So when I stumbled upon this easy recipe for blueberry crumb bars, I knew I had to give it a shot.

These bars are awesome—moist, crumbly, and just the right of gooey in the middle. They’re the perfect summertime treat, and I have a feeling I just might have to make them again before moving on to all things apple in the fall.

bberrycrumbbars

Blueberry Crumb Bars
Recipe slightly (barely) adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 and ½ cups granulated sugar, divided into 1 cup and ½ cup
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups AP flour
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons lemon juice (original recipe calls for zest and juice of one lemon)
4 cups fresh blueberries
4 teaspoons cornstarch

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch pan and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup of the sugar with the flour and baking powder.
3. Mix in salt and lemon zest (if you’re using it).
4. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. (Note: This might take awhile, but keep working at it—you want to make sure the butter gets nice and blended.) Your dough will be crumbly.
5. Pat half of the dough into your prepared pan.
6. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust, and then crumble the remaining dough over the berry layer.
7. Bake for about 45-55 minutes, or until the top gets slightly brown and an inserted toothpick comes out relatively clean (you’ll get blue streaks from the blueberries even if the bars are done).
8. Let the bars cool completely in the pan before cutting. I’d say wait a good two hours since the blueberry filling makes them gooey to begin with.

Jun 20

Blueberry and Peach Crumble

Now that the warm weather seems to be sticking around, I’ve been less and less in the mood for brownies (I know, blasphemy) and more and more in the mood for all things fruit-related. I just love the selection of fresh fruit we get this time of year, and I find myself constantly stocking up and chowing down on melons, peaches, plums, and berries. And while I can easily enjoy my fruit as-is, for me, there’s almost nothing better than a warm, fresh-from-the-oven fruit crumble.

The great thing about crumbles like this one is that they’re super easy to make. Just slice up your favorite fruit and toss it in a little sugar and lemon juice. Then whip up a crumble mixture using your hands, toss it in the oven, and you’re done.

For my latest concoction, I decided to feature blueberries and peaches in the crumble itself, but what I actually did was cut up a bunch of strawberries and plums to use as a cold, fresh bottom layer. You don’t have to take that extra step, but I like the contrast of cold fruit on the bottom, warm crumble in the middle, and cool whipped cream on top. Vanilla ice cream also works wonderfully if you have some on hand. Or, you can forego the extras and enjoy this crumble on its own.

Here’s to a summer full of fresh fruit and delicious fruit-centric recipes.

blupeachcrumble

Blueberry and Peach Crumble

Ingredients:

For the fruit mixture:
1 cups blueberries
1 cup peaches, peeled and sliced (about 2 large or 3 medium peaches)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 and 1/2 tablespoons AP flour

For the topping:
1/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup oats (instant should work just fine)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg – whichever flavor profile you prefer
Pinch of salt to taste
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons room temperature butter cut into small pieces

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make the fruit mixture, combine the blueberries and peaches in a medium-sized oven-safe bowl (Pyrex works well). Toss with lemon juice, sugar, and flour until the fruit is well-coated. Let the mixture sit for about 20-30 minutes before topping.
3. To make the topping, whisk together the flour, oats, sugars, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Using your fingers, mix in the pieces of butter until the mixture comes together and takes on a crumbly consistency. To make this step easier, before you get started handling the butter, try coating your fingers with a little cooking spray. You’ll have less trouble working with the mixture once it gets sticky. Once the crumble comes together, sprinkle it evenly over the fruit.
4. Place the bowl with the now-assembled fruit crisp on a larger baking sheet. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the top starts to brown and you can see the fruit mixture bubbling on the sides. Serve warm with whatever accompaniments you prefer.
5. Store leftovers, if any, in the fridge, and eat within a day or two. This recipe is designed to serve four people, but you can easily double or triple it if you’re looking to feed a larger crowd.