Blueberry Crumb Bar Cake
There was dessert! How could a picnic end without something sweet? Before planning the picnic, I read an article in Martha Stewart’s Living magazine about how to prepare a picnic. By chance I have a subscription to the magazine. I think it came as a package deal with something else I ordered or it was a secret friend who thought I would enjoy it, but in any case, I was surprised when I kept on receiving an issue month after month. There were a lot of cute ideas there, including the tomato hand pies that inspired my roasted tomato sandwiches and sour cherry crumb cakes for dessert. I decided to follow the article and make a crumb cake because it’s easy to transport, and the picture looked so scrumptious.
From the time I read the article to the time I went to the grocery store something in my mind changed and I believed that the article talked about raspberry crumb bars instead of sour cherry crumb cakes. I set out to find raspberries and didn’t even look at the cherries. However, when I found the raspberries I was totally shocked at how expensive they were. Half a pint was $4 and since I would have to buy at least three of them to make the bars I would be spending a grand total of $12! It might not sound like a lot to some people, but for a recent college graduate, it’s quite a sum. So, after a good ten minutes in front of the berry stand, I decided to buy blueberries, two pints for $5, instead.
I was really happy about my choice of fruit and could not wait to start baking. When I opened the magazine to read the recipe, I realized that I the whole time I was thinking about crumb bars and that I couldn’t make the crumb cakes anyway because I didn’t have any buttermilk or an acceptable substitute on hand. I quickly scanned the indexes of all the cookbooks I had and searched online for a blueberry crumb bar recipe and found one at AllRecipes.com written about by Smitten Kitchen that was easy and simple. Yay!
The bars came out really moist in the middle, sandwiched between a sweet crumbly top and a firm, buttery crust. It was a perfect ending to the picnic. I’m calling mine a crumb bar cake because I made it in a round pan instead of a rectangular one. They looked like slices of cake when I cut them into cute triangles.
Blueberry Crumb Bar Cake
Adapted from AllRecipes.com via Smitten Kitchen
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1 stick cold, unsalted butter
1/2 egg
Pinch of salt
Zest and juice of half a lemon
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch round pan.
Mix the sugar, baking powder, and flour together. Add the salt and lemon zest. Cut butter into small squares. Add the butter and egg into the flour mixture and blend with a pastry cutter, fork, or hands until combined and crumbly. Press half the dough into the pan to create the crust.
In a small bowl mix the sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice together. Mix with the blueberries. Pour the berry mixture into the pan and spread evenly. Crumble the remaining dough on top of the blueberries.
Bake for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool completely and store in the refrigerator.
Tags: bar, blueberry, cake, cookies & bars, crumb, dessert, picnic, sweets
August 18 2009 05:00 am | cake and cookies & bars and dessert and fruit and recipe and thoughts
Dan Solomon on 18 Aug 2009 at 9:24 am #
WOW, way to make me feel hungry at 9:30 in the morning
Kate on 18 Aug 2009 at 12:06 pm #
You take beautiful pictures! What kind of camera do you have? Happy eats!
ABowlOfmush on 18 Aug 2009 at 2:54 pm #
My mouth is watering! I love the perfect crumbliness of this cake! Your pictures are wonderful
Jessica on 18 Aug 2009 at 3:17 pm #
Kate- I use a Canon XS. Thanks for your comment!
Jen @ MaplenCornbread on 18 Aug 2009 at 3:38 pm #
These look so good, Jessia!!! I love all things Martha too! Raspberries here are $$ too, blueberries fill the void for me just as well!
Erin on 18 Aug 2009 at 6:19 pm #
YUM! I made those too. I love how you cut yours into wedges!
babycakes on 18 Aug 2009 at 11:34 pm #
Martha is my fav. These were the best ever. I wish i had room for more but at the same time i didnt want to eat 2 slices by myself!!
Irene on 19 Aug 2009 at 3:13 pm #
These look amazing! Blueberry crumb bars are my absolute favorite. The wedges are an inspired idea, they are too cute.
Grace on 20 Aug 2009 at 11:31 am #
These blueberry crumb bars look absolutely AMAZING. I almost want to organize a picnic just so I can make them!
Johnny on 20 Aug 2009 at 3:17 pm #
If I made these, I’d probably eat them all myself!
liisamarja on 21 Aug 2009 at 12:46 am #
hi jessica,
found your blog via your comment on martha’s blog. i do like your style, and the pictures.
take care
blueberry recipes « Lah Mode on 27 Aug 2009 at 4:37 pm #
Link: http://lahmode.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/blueberry-recipes/
Kelley on 18 Sep 2009 at 4:19 pm #
HALLO.
I just wanted to let you know that you are my new idol. I absolutely love your website and EVERY RECIPE I’ve seen so far is one that I want to make. I’m just starting college, and hopefully by the time I graduate I’ll have tried plenty of the recipes on your site. :]
Thanks for being an inspiration~!
Emma on 13 Oct 2009 at 1:43 pm #
These look mouth-wateringly good… I just have to try this one.
I have a question though. If you use frozen berries should they be thawed or still frozen when you use them?
Buen finde - Delikatissen on 06 Nov 2009 at 3:02 pm #
Link: http://www.delikatissen.com/2009/11/buen-finde-55/