Sunday Dessert

All the kids come home on Sunday for dinner (a condition they agreed to before moving out). We have an old-fashioned traditional, sit-down dinner, including dessert. This particular Sunday I was a bit pressed for time and didn’t plan ahead in the sweets department. But intelligent Daughter did, and brought along a recipe for Blueberry Crumble Cake.

Back when blueberries were at their best and in abundance at the markets, I bought a large quantity. Everyone in the family loves them and I use them in clafoutis, muffins, scones, pancakes. Blueberries are very high in antioxidants and low in calories, and are also a tasty addition to fruit salads, pairing well with melons. I’ve never grown blueberries, or even been to a blueberry farm, but if you go over to Tea and Cookies, she has as great post on Island Blueberries, which chronicles her visit to Sunny Brae Farms, a Washington State family blueberry farm. The post includes pictures of her adorable niece Alice chowing down on the blue beads by the handful, a recipe for pie and jam, and some interesting history.

The berries I bought were local and I processed part of them using the IQF method I learned back in the days when I worked for a cannery in San Jose, California. IQF stands for Individual Quick Freeze. You put the fruit on a cookie sheet, pop it in the freezer, and once the fruit is frozen, you can Ziploc bag it. I usually put the frozen berries in one- or two-cup portions in each bag, since that is the quantity called for in most recipes and it makes it easier to just grab and bag and go. But the joy of IQF is that the fruit does not stick together and so you can pile as many as you want into a gallon Ziploc and just pour out the amount you want each time.

This cake was quick to make, taking only about 5-8 minutes, baked up in half an hour, and was delicious on its own. (Although some of us did top it off with whipped cream!) It would also make a great breakfast or brunch cake as well, as it is not too sweet.


Blueberry Crumble Cake

Ingredients
¾ cup white sugar
¼ cup shortening
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Topping
½ cup white sugar
1/3 cup flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup shortening, softened

Directions
Preheat over to 375°F and grease an 8x8 square cake pan.
Cream together sugar, shortening, and egg. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into sugar mixture, alternating with milk. Stir in blueberries and pour into pan.
For the topping, combine all ingredients and sprinkle over batter.
Bake 25-30 minutes.