Blueberry Schlumpf

A friend of ours recently discovered a system of forrest paths, not far from our house, lined with wild blueberry bushes. We set out, two moms and four kids under six, to pick, snack, and explore our way through the humid afternoon. As you would imagine, most of the tiny wild berries ended up in the kids’ bellies and not in our kitchens. I think we may have brought home a total of 30 berries – ha! Although the foraging expedition was not a complete success, I still had my heart set on a summery berry dessert. In walks Blueberry Schlumpf…

I made my first dish of Blueberry Schlumpf a few weeks ago and have done so many times since. This simple, fruit focused dessert is about as simple as it gets calling for just a few common ingredients. And how can you resist the name!? (yes, it tastes just as good at 8 am as it does at 8 pm).

Blueberry Schlumpf from Food52

makes one 8×8-inch dessert

For the filling:

1 quart blueberries

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 a lemon, juiced (this was my addition)

For the topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Mix the filling ingredients and put into an 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish.

Mix the topping ingredients together roughly, so that it is still lumpy, and sprinkle over top.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes then serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

A few notes:

-Mix the topping ingredients until all the flour is incorporated or it will be shaggy on top.

-How does a schlumpf differ from a crumble? Much less fruit to topping.

-For a crowd the recipe can be multiplied by 2.5 and cooked on a rimmed baking sheet for 40 minutes.

-A mix of berries or any one type of berry works great.

-If you happen to have leftover berries this summer the best way to freeze and preserve for the winter is to first place the berries on a rimmed baking sheet, freeze, then transfer the fruit to a freezer bag. This way the berries won’t stick together and become one giant mass.