Blueberry Schlumpf

 

Photo credit: LK

Wow! Wow! Wow! Not hyperbole. This recipe is a WOW! From Food52, a recipe from Marian Bull, who got it from a distant relative, this should be your go-to summer dessert recipe.

The recipe calls for wild blueberries, but unless you live in Maine, or somewhere else where wild blueberries are widely available, regular blueberries will do fine. I made this with incredible New Jersey blueberries picked up at my local farmer’s market - huge, plump, sweet - and I think it really made the dish.

It couldn’t be easier. Combine the blueberries with a bit of flour and sugar; dump in a baking dish. Then mix the topping together, sprinkle over the blueberry mixture, and bake.

Serve warm from the oven with a scoop of “good” vanilla ice cream (I used Häagen-Dazs). The “yummy” sounds around the table told me this recipe was definitely a winner. Even without ice cream, which is how I ate it the next day, it was outstanding.

Blueberry Schlumpf

(Food52)

Makes one 8x8” pan.

Filling:

1 qt wild blueberries (conventional will do)

2 TB flour

2 TB sugar

Topping:

1 C flour

1/2 C brown sugar

1/2 C cold butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix the filling ingredients and put in 8x8” baking dish.
3. Mix the topping roughly (so that it’s still lumpy) and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot, preferably with vanilla ice cream.

Getting Ready for Blueberry Season!

Last summer I got some of the best blueberries at the Brick (NJ) farmers’ market & I am looking forward to it again this year. In case you are not aware, New Jersey is one of the leading producers of blueberries in the US (NJ is not known as the “Garden State” for nothing!) and blueberries are the official state fruit. The season begins in late June and runs into July, sometimes even August depending on the weather.

So in anticipation of the coming season, earlier this week I baked a Sour Cream Blueberry Banana Walnut Bread. I had a large container of Costco blueberries (from Canada, eh) and would never eat all of them before they went bad so I dug through my many, many recipes and found this one. It’s from an old Williams-Sonoma baking book (it’s so old I may have bought it when I was a W-S store manager back in the 90s!). As the name implies, it’s definitely more bread-y than cake-y, and not very sweet (only contains 3/4 C sugar), but perfect as a breakfast item, smeared with a bit of good salted butter or cream cheese. The bananas and sour cream give this bread its moist texture. If you’re going to use it as more of a dessert, I would sprinkle some confectioners’ sugar on top to give it a bit more sweetness.

Keep this recipe on hand when blueberry season comes to your area, or pick up a box now and practice! June is only two months away!

Sour Cream Blueberry Banana Walnut Bread (The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book)

Makes one 9x5” loaf

Ingredients:

2 medium-ripe bananas

2 C AP (plain) flour

3/4 C sugar

1-1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/2 C chopped pecans (I used walnuts)

2 large eggs

1/2 C sour cream

1 t pure vanilla extract

1/2 C unsalted butter, melted

1 heaping C fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9x5” loaf pan with butter or butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray.

Mash the bananas well with a fork or coarsely puree them in a food processor. Measure out 1 cup and set aside.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, vanilla, butter, and the 1 cup mashed banana pulp. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, add the banana mixture, and stir until just combined. The batter should be slightly lumpy. Gently fold in the blueberries, taking care not to break them up or mash them. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the bread until the top is firm to the touch and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Unmold the loaf onto the rack and let cool completely. Cut into thick slices to serve.

Blueberry Muffin Cake (AKA "Trouble Cake")

Not “trouble” because it’s difficult or laborious to make, but “trouble” in that this cake is SO good, it’s dangerous to have around!

This recipe comes from the terrific pastry chef, David Lebovitz, who adapted it from a wonderful baker, Zoe François. And now I give it to you. 

I had just frozen an extra pint of blueberries when I felt the urge for cake come over me (this happens quite often!). I had saved this recipe back in April & when I realized I had ALL the ingredients in-house, I knew I had to make it. 

It has all the qualities of the best blueberry muffin you ever tasted: an obscene amount of blueberries, a tender crumb, cinnamon, and walnuts. David adds cornmeal to the batter which gives it a nutty texture that I love. 

You’ll see in the notes a few suggestions from David about serving it (whipped cream, etc), but I don’t think it needs anything. The cake stands alone.

After it came out of the oven and cooled, I cut myself a generous “test” slice, and at the first forkful, uttered the words “OMG, this is trouble!” 

As this is blueberry season, I encourage you to make this cake now. You will not regret it.

Happy Baking!

Blueberry Muffin Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 C (130g) AP flour

1 C (200g) sugar

1/2 C (60g) almond flour

1/4 C (40g) cornmeal, or whole wheat (or AP)

1 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

10 TB (5oz, 140g) unsalted butter, cubed, at room temp

2 large eggs, room temp

1/2 C (125ml) whole milk, at room temp (I used half-n-half since I did not have whole milk)

1 t vanilla extract

Zest of one lemon

2 C (330g) fresh blueberries (if using frozen, see note)

Topping:

1/2 C (60g) chopped walnuts or pecans (untoasted)

 3 TB sugar

1/2 t ground cinnamon

Pinch kosher or sea salt

2 TB (1 oz, 30g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Butter an 8” round cake pan. Cut a circle of parchment paper about 16” round. Smear it with softened butter, then line the inside of the pan with it, buttered side up, so it covers the bottom and up to the sides of the pan, which you’ll use later to help lift it out of the pan*. Press the paper up against the sides to flatten and smooth away any wrinkles.
3. To make the cake, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together the flour, sugar, almond flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and mix on medium speed until the butter is in small pieces, about the size of peas. Add the eggs, milk, vanilla, lemon zest, and mix just until the batter is smooth but avoid overmixing and overbeating it. (The batter can also be made in a food processor by mixing all the above ingredients together until smooth.)
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Cover the top with blueberries and use a butter knife to swirl the batter and blueberries together very slightly, just enough to distribute the blueberries and embed them a bit in the batter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 45 minutes.
5. While the cake is baking, make the topping by mixing the chopped nuts, cinnamon, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle the topping over the cake, place the pieces of butter in various places over the top of the cake, and bake until the cake feels just set in the center. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean, about 15-20 minutes. (The original recipe said 25 minutes but I found it baked faster so the time will vary.)
6. Let the cake cool completely in the pan, then remove it to serve.
7. Serve the cake on its own, or with plain or slightly sweetened yogurt, ice cream, or whipped cream.

Notes: If using frozen berries, don’t defrost them before baking but use them frozen. Tossing them with 1 TB flour before strewing them over the top will help keep them from being overly generous with their juices, and also keeps them from sinking to the bottom.

*I used round parchment from Kana, which has built-in cake lifters (very convenient).

See handy parchment lifters?

Blueberry Buckle!

It’s June and you know what that means (cue the song “June is Busting Out All Over!” - Google it)? Blueberries! Of course, you can get blueberries anywhere and almost anytime of year nowadays, but for big, fat, juicy, super-fresh, farmer’s market blueberries, you’ve got to wait for June. And to celebrate official blueberry season, I made this gorgeous Blueberry Buckle. 

Originally, this recipe from the ever-reliable folks at King Arthur Flour, was gluten-free (made with Measure-for-Measure gluten-free flour), but my version was made with regular AP flour. Other than that, and the addition of a bit of nutmeg, the recipe remains the same. Adding some chopped pecans to the streusel wouldn’t hurt…

The cake bakes up so light and fluffy, with a fabulous streusel topping. I added a light dusting of confectioners’ sugar right before serving, because why not? It freezes very well, too, so if you’ve got the time (and the berries), make it now, cut into squares, wrap it well, and freeze. Then when a friend drops by for coffee, you can pull out a few squares and be ready in no time.

Happy Fresh Berry Season!

Blueberry Buckle (adapted from King Arthur Flour)

Ingredients:

Streusel:

1/3 C sugar

1/2 C AP flour

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1/8 t salt

4 TB butter, at room temperature, at least 65°F

Cake

2 C AP flour

2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

3/4 C sugar

4 TB butter, softened

1 large egg, room temperature

1 t vanilla extract

1/2 C milk, room temperature

2 C fresh (or frozen) blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease an 8” square, 9” square, or 9” round pan; make sure your pan of choice is at least 2” deep.
2. To make the streusel topping: mix the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in small bowl. Work in the butter until the mixture becomes evenly crumbly. Set aside.
3. To make the cake: in a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla.
5. Add the flour mixture and the milk alternately to the sugar/butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Gently stir in the berries.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the streusel on top.
7. Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Remove the cake from the oven, and set it on a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Serve right from the pan. Or to transfer to a serving plate, loosen the sides with a knife or spatula. Holding the pan in one hand, gently tip the cake out onto your other hand, remove the pan, and turn the cake topping-side up onto a serving dish. 
9. Store cake, covered, for a couple of days at room temperature; wrap securely and freeze for longer storage.