Blueberry Crumble Squares

I'm a big fan of blueberries. My 'signature' cake is a blueberry with soured cream frosting and it's so because it's the one I always make. It's easy and delicious and Christ it's got FRUIT in it so it must be healthy, right? Blueberries are so expensive in the supermarkets though so when I saw this lot at Lewisham Market for £1 I rubbed my bargain-hunting hands with glee.


There are only so many handfuls of blueberries you can scoff by the handful before you feel a burning desire to mix them with butter and sugar. I decided to break tradition and try a new recipe. The ever trusty Smitten Kitchen popped up instantaneously and my mind was made up.

I made some tweaks. I ALWAYS make some tweaks. Ironically, when I came to making this recipe I didn't have enough blueberries left. Turns out I had shovelled too many into my gob. I ramped up the fruit flavour by not only adding lemon, but orange. For a minute I worried that the orange would overshadow the blueberry flavour.

My fears were unfounded and it came out beautifully fragrant; a whiff of orange, the jammy blueberries popped and stained the cakey-like base purple. The crumble topping was gorgeously crisp - it doesn't stay like that after being refrigerated though, so scoff them all on the same day or get some sort of airtight container. I can't wait to make these again (so, after I visit Lewisham on Saturday...) and next time, there are definitely nuts going into that crumble topping.

Blueberry Crumble Squares

(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

600gr blueberries
220gr caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
450gr plain flour
225gr butter, chilled
A pinch of salt
1 egg
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Juice of 1 small orange
90gr brown sugar
6 tsp cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Grease a rectangular baking pan.

Mix together the blueberries with the orange juice, lemon juice and zest, brown sugar in a bowl. Stir well. Add the cornstarch and mix well.

Add the flour, baking powder, vanilla extract, salt and caster sugar to a large bowl. Add the egg, then add the butter cut into cubes. Mix and rub the butter into the flour quickly to create a crumbly dough. Pat half the dough into the bottom of the baking tin and pat down and into the corners. Spread the blueberries and the juice on top, then top lightly with the rest of the crumbly dough mix.

Bake for 45mins on the top shelf of the oven. The topping should be nicely browned, if not leave in for a bit longer. Remove, leave to cool in the tin completely and then cut into squares. Serve with ice cream or custard.