A bowl of plump, luscious B.C. blueberries is a joy to behold and an even bigger joy to eat.
While they're wonderful eaten fresh with yogurt or on top of cereal, no other berry lends itself so perfectly to baking. Blueberries really come into their own when heat releases their gorgeous juicy goodness.
It's prime blueberry season right now, so be sure to freeze plenty to use in muffins, cakes and pancakes during our long dreary winter. And put a pound or two to use right away in one of these yummy recipes. Be sure to pick blueberries over carefully and remove any attached stems. They're not fun to swallow.
Blueberry Peach Kuchen
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2/3 cup sugar
½ cup cold butter
1 egg ½ cup milk (approx.)
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup sliced peeled peaches or nectarines Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
¾ tsp cinnamon
2½ Tbsp butter
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream
Preheat oven to 375° F; butter an eight-inch round or square baking pan. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a medium bowl. With a pastry blender, cut in the butter until it's the size of peas. Beat the egg lightly in a measuring cup; add enough milk to make three-quarters of a cup of liquid. Add egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just blended.
Turn batter into prepared pan and arrange the fruit evenly over the batter. In a small bowl, combine and mix the topping ingredients with your fingertips until mixture is moist and crumbly. Sprinkle topping evenly over the fruit. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until no moist cake batter clings to a cake tester inserted in the middle of the kuchen.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream. Makes six servings.
Heavenly Blue Dessert
1 lb fresh blueberries (reserve a few to decorate top of dessert)
2 Tbsp sugar
¼ cup water
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp cornstarch combined with
¼ cup cold water and stirred until smooth
1 angel food cake made from a mix, cooled and cut into two-inch cubes (see note in recipe regarding quantity to use)
Two 250-gram packages cream cheese
2/3 cup light cream (Creamo)
½ cup granulated sugar
1½ cups whipping cream
3 Tbsp icing sugar
For the blueberry filling, combine the blueberries, sugar, the quarter cup of water and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat and cook until berries start to burst, about five minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; add the cornstarch-water slurry and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook, stirring, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, whip together the cream cheese, light cream and half cup of sugar until smooth and creamy. Add just enough cake cubes so that they are thickly coated with the cream cheese mixture and there is a bit extra in the bowl (i.e. not attached to cake).
The cake absorbs the cream as the dessert is setting, so if you use too much cake the dessert will be dry. In another large bowl, whip the cream and icing sugar together to fairly firm peaks.
To assemble the dessert, spread half of the cake mixture in a trifle dish or large glass bowl. Top with half of the blueberries, spreading them evenly across the cake (if blueberry mixture is too thick to spread, thin it with a little orange juice or warm water).
Spread half of the whipped cream on top of the blueberries. Repeat these three layers. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours and up to 12 hours. Serve chilled; decorate top with the reserved fresh blueberries. Makes eight servings.
Baked Blueberry Lemon French Toast
6 jumbo bakery croissants, torn into pieces (or 12 regular croissants)
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 cups milk, preferably homogenized or 2%
4 large eggs
¼ cup maple syrup
Finely grated zest of one large lemon
1½ tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
Topping:
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup packed brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup cold butter, cut into cubes
2 Tbsp icing sugar (for dusting completed dish)
Butter a 9x13-inch glass baking dish. Place one third of the croissant pieces in an even layer in the dish; sprinkle half the blueberries over top. Repeat these layers, then do a third layer of croissant pieces on top. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, maple syrup, lemon zest, vanilla and one teaspoon of cinnamon until well blended.
Pour mixture evenly over the croissants and press down lightly to make sure all the croissant pieces get covered with custard; cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before placing into oven. Preheat oven to 350˚ F.
To make the topping, combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the cold butter and work it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the croissants.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with icing sugar; serve immediately. If you want to be really decadent, drizzle warm maple syrup over each serving. Makes eight servings.
Angela Shellard is a self-described foodie. She has done informal catering for various functions. Contact: [email protected].
