I LOVE blueberries! I wanted to start of by saying that. I am not sure where my obsession with blueberries came from, I'd think it likely started when I discovered blueberry cheesecake, which you would think the first time I make a blueberry dessert that would be what I would choose. But, no. I decided to start of with a crumble and I am so glad I did! I have made a lot of desserts in my years as a pastry chef, but this one is my absolute favorite! It is simple which is a great starting point, it doesn't take long to make, and topped with vanilla ice cream, makes it absolutely perfect!
First thing preheat the oven to 350 degrees! I always forget this step.
So, the first part of the baking process was cleaning my blueberries, I used three one pint containers, and then poured them into a large bowl. After that, I added 1/2 of a cup of sugar, 1 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch, and 1/4 tsp of salt. Than I zested 1 whole lemon and added that to my blueberries. Then I cut the lemon in half and squeezed the juice from half a lemon in to the bowl. Now, its time to mix everything together, use a large spoon to slowly combine all of your ingredients so they make what kind of looks like a paste coating the berries. Once that is done, begin to transfer it into a baking dish or dishes depending on if you are making on large crumble or individual sizes. Then put that to the side.
Now we start on the crumble, this is pretty straight forward. You take 1 cup of flour, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, and 6 tbsp of butter and put them in a medium bowl. From there, you take a pastry cutter and cut the ingredients together until fully combined. Once your crumble is the way you want it you take your baking dishes filled with the blueberry filling and sprinkle the crumble on top until you have a nice crumb layer. I like the make my layer a bit thick but that depends on your tastes, if you like a thinner layer you will likely have a bit of extra topping in this case I would say either half the recipe from the beginning or you can pop the excess in the fridge for a future dessert!
Then pop the dish or dishes into the oven and bake for 40 minutes. You will be able to tell when its finished because the topping will turn a gold brown and look more crisped up.
When your crumble is done take it out of the oven and wait for it to cool, especially if you made it in one big dish, if you made it in a smaller dish the cooling process will be shorter. You basically just want to let it cool long enough so it doesn't scald your mouth, but is still warm so you can top it with a scoop of cool vanilla ice cream! I have no patience and ate it right out of the oven, if you are like me just please be careful!
I could not believe how happy I was with how this turned out, it is hands down my favorite dessert right now and I cannot wait to make it again. The warm blueberry with the crisped up crumble topping it was absolutely perfect! Normally, when I have pies or crumbles my favorite part is the crust, so when I decided to make this I was a little nervous that I was gonna feel like I was missing something, but I wasn't, it was exactly they way I wanted it to be. Now I just have to learn to make my own ice cream and I'll be set. Happy eating!
Blueberry Crumble Recipe
Blueberry Filling
3 pints of Blueberries
1/2 cup of sugar
1 lemon zested
1/2 lemon squeezed
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
Crumb Topping
6 tbsp butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Clean blueberries and place in large bowl, then add all of the remaining filling ingredients and mix thoroughly, but delicately so you don't pop the berries. Then transfer the mixture to your dish or dishes and put them to the side.
In a medium sized bowl combine, flour, butter, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon with a pastry cutter till it creates a crumbly texture. Now, take your crumble and top your blueberry filling.
Place you dish/dishes in the oven for 40 mins. Once done take it out allow to cool and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.