Recipe: Sweet Summer Blueberry Crumble

Recipe video by Vic Chin.

I’m often surprised when people tell me they don’t like blueberries, or just think of them as a nothing-y fruit. Granted, they get a bad rap because most of the year they don’t taste like much. But find them in season, whether you are at the grocery store or a farmers’ market, and they are succulently fragrant and bursting with flavor. This is the time of year that I pop them in my mouth regularly; eat them with creamy yogurt; stuff them into muffins, scones, pies, or galettes; transform them into an easy sauce; or make one of my all-time favorites: crumble.

Crumble is probably the easiest fruit dessert that you could bake, because it really just involves stirring together the crumble topping, piling the berries into a baking dish with little sugar, and sitting back until it is transformed by the heat of the oven. Spoonfuls, straight out of the dish while hot, are terrific, but I like when it’s just slightly warm, topped with scoops of creamy vanilla ice cream, dollops of softly whipped cream, or a big drizzle of crème fraiche.

Crumble is not a whole lot different than a crisp, with really the only difference being that a crisp usually contains old-fashioned rolled oats and maybe some chopped toasted nuts, and a crumble is a crunchy-sweet mixture of flour, sugar, and butter. I add salt and vanilla extract to mine to amp up the flavor.

If you like, experiment with other berries—blackberries, raspberries, marionberries—your options are endless. Just use whatever looks amazing, smells fragrant, and is in season.

Recipe: Sweet Summer Blueberry Crumble

Makes about 6 servings

Ingredients:

For the crumble

6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt

For the filling

2 lb blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp tapioca starch
Finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
Juice of 1/2 small lemon
Whipped cream, crème fraiche, or vanilla ice cream for serving

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375F. Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking dish and place on a baking sheet.

Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking dish and place on a baking sheet. (Wendy Goodfriend)

To make the crumble, in a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt and stir together with a fork. Add the butter and vanilla and stir with the fork until evenly blended and crumbly. Use right away or refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.

Use crumble right away or refrigerate, covered, until ready to use. (Wendy Goodfriend)

To make the filling, in a bowl, toss together the blueberries, sugar, tapioca flour, lemon zest, and lemon juice until well combined. Pour the blueberry filling into the prepared baking dish. Top evenly with the crumble mixture.

Pour the blueberry filling into the prepared baking dish. (Wendy Goodfriend)

Top evenly with the crumble mixture. (Wendy Goodfriend)

Bake until the filling is bubbling and the crumble is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes then serve heaping scoops in individual shallow bowls with a dollop of cream, a drizzle of crème fraiche, or really good vanilla ice cream.

Let sit for 10 minutes then serve heaping scoops in individual shallow bowls with a dollop of cream, a drizzle of crème fraiche, or really good vanilla ice cream. (Wendy Goodfriend)