Twenty years ago when I was a hard working Starbucks barista, blueberry crumble cake was the fastest selling snack in the entire store. It would arrive, fresh and warm from the bakery every morning and it would be incredibly hard to resist its sweet call. Since then, Starbucks has switched to a blueberry bar that I think is equally good, but if you want to make one at home to satisfy your craving then this is the recipe for you. Crumbly oats, fresh blueberries, and if you add a scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream alongside, it makes a wonderful summer dessert.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp grated orange rind
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold butter, cubed
3 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
4 tsp cornstarch
Filling:
In a medium sized pot, combine the blueberries, sugar, and orange juice. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, until tender. Whisk the cornstarch in a small bowl with 2 Tbsp of water and and then whisk into the blueberries, cooking until thickened. Remove from heat. Pour blueberry sauce into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. The plastic wrap needs to be actually touching the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming. In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats, flour, sugar, orange rind, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until you have coarse crumbs. Actually I found this a bit difficult and ended up using my hands! Press about 1/2 of the mixture into a 9 inch square cake pan that has been lined with parchment paper. I can't really stress the parchment paper enough; this makes the squares really easy to remove from the pan and cut. Next, pour the blueberry filling on top of the pressed bottom and spread evenly. Top with leftover oatmeal mixture. I didn't actually use all the oatmeal mixture, I had a bit leftover. Bake at 350 F for about 45 minutes, until light golden and bubbly. Let cool in the pan and when cool, remove from pan and cut into squares. You can keep the squares in an airtight container in the fridge for about 2 days, or transfer to the freezer for about 2 weeks. Allow them to come to room temperature before serving-and they are especially good warmed slightly in the microwave and topped with a dollop of vanilla frozen yogurt.
Yum!
Makes about 20 squares
Adapted from Canadian Living
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