Blueberry Crisp with Pound Cake Topping

Welcome to blueberry season!!! Be forewarned, my crew and I hit the blueberry farm this past weekend and picked A LOT of berries so expect to see many things blueberry on these pages in the near future. First up on the blueberry hit parade, this super easy and absolutely stellar Blueberry Crisp with Pound Cake Topping! Summer eating at its best!!

Before we delve into the crisp (sorry I know you’re already drooling) I’m going to go on my annual why-you-should-pick-fresh-berries rant. Partly because I am a creature of habit, but mostly because because farm-fresh berries are a billion times better than any you can buy from the supermarket. Sadly, there’s just no comparison.😘Sure, you can make any blueberry dessert (including this one) with store-bought berries, and the results will be good…just not as good as with fresh picked ones. So if you can in any way manage to get yourself out to a farm or at the very least a farmer’s market, I strongly urge you to do so!

Ok, enough nagging, now onto this berry delicious crisp (sorry, had to go there at least once) and its unusual topping. Most crisps have a streusel sort of topping which I love but I knew that the moment I saw this recipe in Food & Wine Magazine that I would have to try it because, hello, there’s cake and blueberries!!

If you’ve got the time you can whip up your favorite pound cake and if not buy a good one (hey, I can be flexible for some things). Whichever way you go, you’re going to cut the cake into cubes and toast them in the oven, before tossing them in a little butter, sugar and lemon zest.

Then all that’s left to do is let the berries macerate for a short time in sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch

Before scraping them into a casserole dish

Topping with the pound cake cubes

And baking up into a gorgeous, golden-topped, bubbling, blueberry concoction!!

Every bite is filled with bursting-with-flavor blueberries and sweet crunchy little pieces of poundcake. Heaven!

And since I’m already being bossy today, I’m also kind of going to insist that you serve this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream—sorry, not sorry!!

Anyhoo, if you’ve done your job right, the bowls will eventually look like this! Get yourself some fresh-picked berries asap, my friends!

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Blueberry Crisp with Pound Cake Topping

Makes at least 8-10 servings

Prep Time for Pound cake: 15 minutes; Prep Time for filling: 10 minutes; Bake Time: About 1 hour

Ingredients

For the Pound Cake Topping

• One 16 ounce pound cake, store-bought or use this homemade one (happily you will have leftovers)

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• The zest of 1 lemon

For the Filling

• 6 pints fresh blueberries (3 pounds)

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• ½ cup cup sugar (use a bit more if your berries seem very tart)

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

The Recipe

1. To make the pound cake topping: Preheat oven to 375ºF . Cut the pound cake into 1-inch cubes and arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, toss and bake again for another 5-7 minutes, until the cubes start to look toasty. Let cool a bit and then toss with the melted butter, sugar and lemon zest.

2. To make the filling: Place the berries in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch. Let stand for 10 minutes. Then scrape everything into a 9x13-inch baking dish. Scatter the pound cake cubes all across the top. Place the baking dish on a tray to catch any possible drips and loosely cover the top with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes, until the fruit begins to bubble. Then uncover and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and crisp. Let cool slightly and serve, hopefully with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream atop.

Enjoy!

Note: Recipe adapted from Food & Wine Magazine. I used more pound cake and lemon zest and cut the sugar in the poundcake topping and filling.