Blueberry Lemon Shortcake

I came home last night and set out to prepare this recipe that I was tasting in my imagination since afternoon. I had high expectation for this - fresh blueberry maple jam and mascarpone sandwiched in a lemony butter shortcake. YUM~ Took me a mere 15 minutes to turn the fresh blueberries into bottled jam.

The 99BHT blueberries from Central Chitlom Tops Supermarket. Heat it with some maple syrup and lemon juice for fresh jam.

I assigned Adrian for the dough making task. I don't want to point finger, I am not blaming anyone.... BUT.... Look....

Hmmm...... suspicious looking but smell very good. The last thing I said to Adrian before I fell asleep "I smell cake". I suspect he overworked the butter. Or maybe something went wrong with the measurement. The dough didn't hold up. I expected two burger bun looking things that I could slice into halves. Now I had just two flat disks.

Good news is they were super delicious. Mint leaves were a superb compliment. I'm making this again just so I can present them proper. Until then, I'm stashing the recipe aside.

"Oh, you rescued them!" said the culprit, "They look so pretty now." Grrrr.....

Fresh Fruit Mascarpone Pavlova

I left a message on Adrian's Facebook that said "Pavlova". He asked WHO was Pavlova - the only Pavlova he could think of was the train station in Prague. Funny. Given his intelligence I thought he would have it figured: I was making Pavlova at that time. Then I thought maybe he didn't know about Pavlova - the meringue based dessert that hails from either Australia or New Zealand. It was so named in dedication to an ethereal Russian ballerina whom was touring the region back in 1920s. If she were anything like the dessert indicates, she must be light, airy and sweet.

I have been actively looking for more meringue recipe since my last. When I chanced upon this Pavlova recipe that uses homemade mascarpone, I was hooked instantly. Despite my paranoia and the many attempts to check on the meringue as it was baking, it turned out just fine: firm on the outside, crunchy to the bite. I loved having macadamia nuts in it - it's more complex and imparted to it a palatable fat nutty taste.

It's when I make dessert like this that I tell myself I shall have desserts from home only. Most of the desserts out there are either too sweet or I don't trust the ingredients. Not to mention many of them make me dizzy, and give a funny feeling to my stomach.

Homemade Mascarpone

In Passionate About Baking, the writer uses low fat cream. I'm a proponent of the least processed possible, I welcome food in its most complete. The writer mentioned heating the cream to 82C before adding lemon juice.

• 1 Liter fresh whipping cream
• 2 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Bring to gentle boil over a waterbath. Stir in lemon juice and reduce heat to medium low. Keep it at that for a few more minutes.
2. Remove from heat, cover and let sit at room temperature until it is cooled. Refrigerate overnight. It will thickened further the next day.
3. Pour it in a strainer lined with cheesecloth. Let the whey drain in refrigerator for 24 hours.

Meringue

Sugar is a crucial part of meringue. Besides adding them spoon by spoon to aid easy dissolution, the finer they are, the faster they dissolve, the better to avoid moisture. I figured if powdered sugar is just superfine form of regular sugar, why not blend them? And I did.

(make 2 servings)

• 1 large egg white
• 1/4 cup powdered natural cane sugar
• 1/3 teaspoon corn flour, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
• macadamia nuts and cinnamon powder (optional)
  

1. Preheat oven to 120C.
   
2. Beat egg white, at low speed, until it's bubbly. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar, increase the speed to medium high and beat to form soft peaks. Continue to add sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating at high speed, to form stiff peaks.
3. Fold in corn flour and lemon juice. Beat for another 2 minutes or so to combine.
4. Stir in macadamia nuts and cinnamon powder if using.
5. Line the baking tray with baking paper. Separate the batter into two mounds. Use the back of a spoon to make a well in the center of each mounds.
6. Let bake in the oven for 60 minutes.

Filling

• 1/3 cup cream
• 2 teaspoon powdered natural cane sugar
• 1 - 2 tablespoons homemade mascarpone
• A couple pieces of 85% chocolate
• Fresh fruits: grapes, pomegranates, blueberries, etc.
  

1. Melt chocolate over a waterbath. May add maple syrup if necessary. Let cool slightly.
2. Whip cream with sugar till firm. Fold mascarpone in to mix. Be gentle and mindful not to lose volume.
   
3. Paint the base of Pavlova well with melter chocolate. Fill up with mascarpone mix. Top with fresh fruits to serve.
   

Sour Cream Pancake with Raspberry Jam and Balsamic Reduction

You don't see much use of fresh blueberry in this blog because they are too expensive. I always comforted myself that frozen blueberries made just as good ingredient as the fresh ones. Until yesterday.

Few days ago I bought four packets of fresh blueberries because they were on sales - 99THB per packet for what normally would have cost close to 300THB. What a bargain. So I thought I would use the fresh blueberry to make come French toast (that I didn't blog) and feel rich about it. Once again, it showed fresh is better. The frozen blueberries shrink or shrivel, leaving skin once burst under heating, not a pleasant texture to chew on. With the fresh ones though, it felt more alive and real. I wish the fresh blueberries are on sales more often.

This morning pancake however has nothing to do with cooking blueberries. It's raspberry jam that I made few days ago for another French toast that I, again, didn't blog about. I learned to add bits of butter to the jam for a more developed taste. Try it! This pancake is soft and fluffy with just a hint of lemon, not unlike the Lemony Ricotta Pancake, with minimal adaptation.

Ingredients:
(makes 2 8" pancake)

Sour cream pancake:

• 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup almond meal
• 1 tablespoon natural cane sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• zest of one lemon, grated
  
• 1 cup sour cream (lemon juice + cream)
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

To serve:

• Homemade raspberry jam
• Balsamic reduction (black pepper, lemon juice and salt to season to taste)
  
• Fresh Blueberries

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a big bowl.
2. Mix sour cream, beaten egg and coconut oil in a separate bowl.
3. Fold sour cream mixture over dry mixture. Gently fold to combine.
4. Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil over medium heat. Drop half the batter into the pan. Cook until the bottom is set and the top begins to form bubbles.
5. Flip and cook until it's nicely browned.
6. Repeat with the other half batter.
7. Top one pancake with generous amount of raspberry jam. Sandwich with the other pancake. Throw in some fresh blueberries and drizzle with balsamic reduction to serve.
   

Berry Yogurt Cake with Chocolate Chips

This recipe is an adaptation from here. It has a very posh French name: Gâteau au Yaourt à la Framboise, a.k.a Raspberry Yogurt Cake.

A basic Yogurt Cake is just a very simple, moist and fluffy cake. It lends itself to a great variations such as the one below. You can add citrus juice, zest, or peel for a delicious lemon or orange cake, you can add chocolate chips or nuts to the batter, you can slice the baked cake in two and spread a layer of jam in the middle, you can frost the cake with a chocolate frosting -- whatever strikes your fancy. I decided to throw in some chocolate chips along with mixed berries just because they have been sitting in the far-reached corner of the fridge for quite some time now.

I'm using the almond meal that came from my Homemade Almond Milk. You can either buy from the store or simply grind some.

• 1 C homemade yogurt
• 1 C natural cane sugar
• 1/4 C virgin coconut oil
• 1 1/2 C unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/4 C almond meal
• 3 eggs
• 1 TB baking powder
• 300 g mixed berries (fresh or frozen): strawberry, blueberry, raspberry
  
• 1/2 C unsweetened chocolate chips (optional)
  

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Copiously grease and flour a 9" springform pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine yogurt, oil and sugar with a spatula. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition.
   
3. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and almond meal. Add flour mixture to the batter in three or four batches, and stir until just combined. Do not over mix.

4. Pour half the batter into the cake pan. Cover evenly with half of the mixed berries and half of the chocolate chips (if using). Pour the other half of the batter, and arrange the other half of the raspberries on top. Sprinkle with the other half of the chocolate chips (if using).

5. Put into the oven to bake, for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is springy and a cake tester comes out clean.

6. Let rest on the counter for ten minutes, then run a knife around the cake to loosen it, and turn out on a rack to cool completely.

Veggie Smoothies

It began with the extra hydroponic butterhead lettuce: it came with roots and I was happily keeping it alive in a jar of water next to the sink. Few days passed and still no sign of cooking at home. I got nervous and started surfing for inspiration. Not much. Then the conversation with Fredrik about juicer came to mind. Hmm.... so I typed "lettuce smoothie". And what do you know? GREEN SMOOTHIE, anyone?

With Lettuces

Banana, blueberry, golgi berry, yogurt, lettuces and cinnamon powder.

Who would have thought? No sign of green at all =)

It's not that different than our usual morning stable: banana with mixed berries yogurt smoothie. I just threw in another handful of lettuces. I was going to keep in mum but Adrian walked in and I could see the expression on his face. "It's ok. I know what I'm doing" said the cook. You got to give this man a lot of credit for the faith he has on me.

How did it turn out? Well, the tartness of the berries overpowered whatever green taste the lettuces may have. Would I do it again? Only when there's leftover lettuces again.

With Chinese Celery

Same ingredients as Lettuce Smoothie plus raspberry and Homemade Almond Milk in instead of Homemade Yogurt.

Pretty~

This was the result of a big mistake. I was looking for parsley and somehow mistook Chinese celery as the Italian flat-leaved parsley. Although I had a couple celery recipes (cream of celery soup, butternut/ apple soup)that I liked and enjoyed, I don't go around and search for celery recipe as I would with broccoli or eggplant. You know what I mean?

The damage is done and I just got to fix it, don't I? It would be a whole lot easier if I had a juicer. Since I don't just have to make it into smoothie. I found recipes for banana and celery soup, and cantaloupe, celery and blueberry salad. Well, I guess it's I can just throw in to the morning mixed berries smoothis as I did with lettuces.... how convenient.

Apple Crisp

I have little resistance against warm baked fruit topped with tasty crust. Crisp is just another name for crumble. So called because when you pull the dessert out of the oven, the top has now become all wonderfully crispy and crumbly. This crispy topping is similar to the killer Blueberry Oatmeal Crumbs except it's spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. The filling combines apple and berry (I chose frozen blueberry), a British favorite flavorful crisp. I like my Apple Crisp warm with a dollop of softly whipped cream. I tried a second serving with sour cream and it's just as good. The chunky walnuts, crispy crust, tarty apple/ blueberry all come together real nice and delicious with just the right amount of sweetness. I enjoyed having it with mint, too! Unless my memory has failed me, otherwise I'm thinking this is better than the Blueberry Oatmeal Crumbs.

Gate tried her hand on the Blueberry Oatmeal Crumbs but it somehow didn't turn out right. I figured it could be the oat she used. Hence, I like to share a few notes on oats. As with the Blueberry Oatmeal Crumbs, this Apple Crisp, too, uses old fashioned rolled oats. Oats are a cereal grain that is rich and flavorful and comes in many forms. Oats to be consumed by humans are cleaned, toasted, hulled to become what we call oat groats. The oat groats are then steamed and flattened to become rolled oats or old-fashioned oats. Old-fashioned rolled oats are not to be confused with quick-cooking rolled oats. These are oats cut into pieces before being steamed and rolled into thinner flakes. They cook quickly, about 5 minutes, but their flavor and texture are a little different than old-fashioned rolled oats. You should not use quick-cooking oats for this recipe, nor the Blueberry Oatmeal Crumbs.

You can choose to make this into individual ramekins, or a deep 8x8 baking dish as I did. Refrigerate leftover and reheat before serving again.

Ingredients:
(8 ramekins or one 8x8 deep baking dish)

Topping:

• 1/2 cup unbleached flour
  
• 1/2 cup natural cane sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons (84 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
  

Filling:

• 4 Granny Smith's, peeled and chopped into 1" chunks
• 1 cup frozen blueberry (optional)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons natural cane sugar

1. Preheat oven to 190C. Lightly grease a 8x8 deep baking dish. Set aside.
2. For Topping: Place all the topping ingredients (flour, sugars, spices, butter, oats and nuts) in a food processor and process until the mixture is crumbly (looks like coarse meal) and there are no large pieces of butter visible. Set aside while you prepare the filling.
3. For Filling: Place the apple chunks in a large bowl, along with the berries (if using) and lemon zest. Toss with the lemon juice and sugar. Transfer to your prepared baking dish.
   
4. Spread the topping evenly over the apples.
5. Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes or until bubbly, and the topping is golden brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 30 minutes before serving.

Blueberry Oatmeal Crumbs

I love crumbs. i love the crunchy texture that comes with every bite. I knew I have to make something now that the cheap local frozen blueberry are back in the shelf. I fell in love with this recipe the moment my eyes set on its picture.

I don't usually mix my platter. I prefer to eat my meal in a specific "order"- whatever that means. But not this morning. I have so much faith and expectation for this recipe I made exemption for this crumbs - again, whatever that means. And as Adrian was savoring the Vegetable Casserole, I pressured him to dip into the crumbs - a behavior that would normally make me frown. "OMG! It's so good it puts the casserole to shame by one point!" And henceforth he couldn't decide which one to go in his mouth first: the savory or the sweet? The cheesy vegetable or crunchy blueberry oatmeal?

Good thing I baked a big tray of it - we still get to keep some while I share the rest with my friends. I'm pretty sure everyone approves :)

Ingredients:
For the Filling -
3 Cups frozen blueberry
1/2 brown sugar
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (from 1 orange)
2 tablespoons corn flour
2 tablespoons water

For Crust and Topping -
2 1/2 rolled oat
1 1/4 all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
zest from 1 orange
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter, cubed

1. In a saucepan, heat together orange juice, brown sugar and blueberry over medium heat to boiling; about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
   
2. Mix together corn flour and water. Stir into the blueberry mixture and return to boiling. Stir until the mixture thicken. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, cover and keep in refrigeration for at least 1 hour. I kept it for overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 175C. Lightly grease a 8" square baking pan.
   
4. In a large bowl, mix together oatmeal, flour, sugar, zest and salt. Add butter cubes, using fingers, mix ingredients together until it resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Layer 1/2 the crumbs to the bottom of the baking pan. Take the blueberry mixture from the refrigerator and pour it over the crust. Top the blueberry filling with the other 1/2 of crumbs. Pressing lightly to adhere.
6. Bake at 175C for 45 minutes. Remove and cool completely before cutting into squares.
   

Muffins: Take Two

During my two-month teaching stint on Cocoa Island, I was persistently hogging the baker every morning during his romantic breakfast with his wife. He told me many things, out of which these two stay:

1. Bake with love.
2. If you are angry, your bread will get angry with you.

How can I argue with that?

Anyway, I really liked the muffins there. Especially the ones with walnuts, and the one with chocolate chips, also that with buttermilk and bran flakes..... I guess I liked them all.... The baker was kind enough to give me his recipe, which I conveniently left behind.... So now I'm determined to explore the BEST muffin recipe. Or at least the one that works for me.

Blueberry Yogurt Muffin
When I told my Irish student I "resort to frozen blueberry" because I can't afford the fresh imported ones, she comforted me and told me her baker cousin strongly advocated frozen blueberry for baking. Frozen, NOT thawed, is the key. They will plum up nicely after baking. Well, I can tell that much is true from what little baking I've done.

Ingredients:
(makes 12 standard-sized muffins)
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup of yogurt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries (not thawed)

1. Preheat oven to 175C.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
3. In a separate bowl, combine orange juice, oil, vanilla, yogurt and egg; add to dry ingredients, stirring until just moist. Gently fold in blueberries.
4. Spoon batter into a muffin tray lined with paper muffin liners.
5. Bake until tester inserted in center comes out clean (about 15-20 min.). Remove muffins from the pan and place on wire rack to cool.

Maple Sour Cream Walnut Muffins

How can you resist a recipe that uses 3/4 cup of maple syrup? Plus, it has a crumb topping, AND sour cream, AND walnuts. I had so much faith and expectation for this recipe, I actually bought a muffin tray. Yes, I did. It was on 20% discount. And I'm so glad I bought the tray. Be it the tray or the recipe. This recipe gets 4 thumbs up from this family. I was going to give away 4 of them; they are so good I decided to keep 2 more after the 2 at breakfast.....

(makes 6 large muffins)

For the batter:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

For the topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 Tbs butter, chopped
Scant 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped small
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Whip butter in an electric mixer. Slowly add maple syrup to combine. Add eggs, one at a time. Add sour cream. Add vanilla extract. Combine dry ingredients (except nuts). Add to butter mixture. Stir to combine. Stir in walnuts. Fill muffin cups approximately half full with batter.
2. Combine ingredients for the topping. Use your fingers to pinch butter and break into pea-sized pieces well-combined into rest of ingredients. Generously spoon topping over muffin batter.
3. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 - 30 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.

Baked Coconut French Toast with Tropical Fruit Compote

The French toast is plain and easy, just like the many other you can find easily. What's special lies with the fruit compote. The tart sweetness of the marinade is perfect for the tropical fruits, not to mention the crispy coconut flakes. I also sprinkled some almond flakes to the French toast prior to baking. Feel free to experiment with other fruits such as papaya for a more colorful display.

For a balanced morning breakfast, I served up a Scrambled Egg with spinach, sun dried tomato and goat cheese with sprinkle of chopped thyme.

Ingredients:

(makes 2)
Fruit Compote:

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh pineapple
• 1/4 cup chopped peeled mango
• 1/4 cup chopped dragon fruits
  
• 1/4 cup chopped peeled kiwifruit
• handful of dried blueberry and raisins (option)
  
• 1 tablespoons agave nectar (or honey/ maple syrup/ sugar)
  
• 1 tablespoons fresh lime juice

French toast:

• 4 (1-inch-thick) slices diagonally cut French bread baguette
  
• Coconut oil
  
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 egg
• 2 Tablespoon maple syrup
  
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinches of cinnamon powder and nutmeg (option)
  
• 1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut

1. To prepare compote, combine all ingredients. Cover and chill overnight.
2. To prepare the French toast, arrange bread in a single layer in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine coconut milk, egg, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg (if using) stirring with a whisk, and pour evenly over bread. Turn the bread over to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 175°C.
4. Remove bread mixture from refrigerator, and uncover. Turn bread slices over, and sprinkle evenly with flaked coconut. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Bake, uncovered, at 175ºC for 30 minutes or until coconut is golden. Serve warm with fruit compote.

Banana Pancake with Coconut Syrup Peanut Butter

I came across a Peanut Butter Boy who has this obsession with, surprise! PEANUT BUTTER. I took his Banana Pancake and Maple Peanut Butter Recipe with a few adaptations and didn't skip any of the optional steps. The result: it's obscene but REAL GOOD!! It was such a winner that it "kind of" removed my disgust for the Banana Peanut Butter Omelet on its website...... Plus, I found out "someone's" childhood addiction of runny egg (boiled for exactly 3.5 minutes!) scrambled with jam and peanut butter for breakfast......hmmm......
The recipe makes an awful lots of pancakes. I went ahead with the volume and kept the remaining batter in refrigerator. It should keep good for 7 days. I can't wait to experiment with different toppings for our next servings.

Ingredients:
*Makes 12-15 (3″) pancakes.

Pancakes:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup cottage cheese with pinch of salt (I used ricotta)
3 eggs
2 bananas, divided

Optional:

Blueberries (I used raspberries)
1/4 cup mini dark-chocolate chips
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
Mix the chips and walnuts together in a small bowl

Coconut Syrup Peanut Butter:
1 cup creamy natural peanut butter (I prefer chunky)
1T Coconut syrup (PB Boy uses Maple syrup + 1Tablespoon of sugar)

1. To make pancake batter blend oats, cottage cheese, eggs and 1 banana in a blender until smooth and creamy. Slice remaining banana into thin slices and set aside.

2. To make peanut butter spread, pour coconut syrup and peanut butter into a jar and stir until well mixed.

3. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with a splash of butter. Place about 1/4 cup of batter in each spot and flatten with the back of a spoon. Place 3 slices of banana in each pancake along with raspberries and optional ingredients. Cook for about 1-2 minutes. Once the top starts to set, flip and cook for an additional minute.

4. Spread peanut butter spread on top. I finished it with a very generous dash of maple syrup. YUM!!

*Storing: The batter will keep in the fridge for about 7 days. When you remove it from the fridge, it will be much thicker due the temperature and oat absorption. Add milk, 2T at a time, to achieve desired batter consistency.

Absolutely the Best Blueberry Cobbler

I'm sure you all know by now many of the berries have been categorized as "superfood". Frozen berries are one of those things that we always have. I often fantasize living in a place where I'm surrounded by berry shrubs, where I hand-pick the berries that go into the cereal bowl every morning. Just like Michael Doucett's house by the sea in Seattle. I was absolutely mesmerized when I visited his house last August. The best part is: he didn't even grow the berries!

The blue or purple-black skin of blueberry is a good indication of the presence of the antioxidant anthocyanidins. These antioxidant compounds have practical application in protection against Alzheimer's disease, to improve vision and protect against age-related macular degeneration. Traditionally, blueberry has been used for treatment of diarrhea and constipation; thanks to its high fiber content, as well as tannins,which act as astringent to firm up loose stool.

The fresh berries sold in the store are not only expensive but also spoil quickly. I'm so glad they have locally grown frozen berries (good quality, too) that are sold at half the price of the imported ones.

"Is cobbler the same as crumble?" that rose to my head when Adrian told me how much he used to enjoy the berry cobbler his mother made when he was a kid. Although I was told they are similar, I wasn't too satisfied with the hesitation in the answer. I once made a berry crumble for Adrian's birthday. The topping was made of rolled oat, sour cream and chopped nuts, giving it a more flavorful crisp. Cobbler on the other hand has a scone-like or biscuit-like topping. Do you know that although cobbler is common in both America and United Kingdom, they each have different meanings? In the United State, cobbler is a sweet dessert with fruit filling such as an apple cobbler. In the United Kingdom, it consists of savory such as lamb casserole.

The Best Blueberry Cobbler

I didn't make the claim. It was by a website dedicated to blueberry and blueberry only. Some changes I made

1. I mixed 1/4 cup brown sugar with 1/4 cup white sugar
2. I used sour cream (1 tablespoon lemon juice + 1cup cream for homemade if you prefer like I do) instead of milk
3. Be generous with cinnamon
   

We had it together with the Smoked Salmon Egg Florentine for breakfast YUM! The crust resembled scone except much softer and moist.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup white sugar, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
6 tablespoons white sugar
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons sugar
1 pinch ground cinnamon
Lightly grease an 8 inc h square baking dish. Place the blueberries into the baking dish, and mix with vanilla and lemon juice. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of flour, then stir in the tablespoon of melted butter. Set aside.

1. 
   
2. 
   
3. 
   

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 3/4 cups of flour, baking powder, and 6 tablespoons sugar. Rub in the 5 tablespoons butter using your fingers until it is in small pieces.
Make a well in the center, and quickly stir in the milk. Mix just until moistened. You should have a very thick batter, or very wet dough. You may need to add a splash more milk. Cover, and let batter rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190C. Spoon the batter over the blueberries, leaving only a few small holes for the berries to peek through.
Mix together the cinnamon and 2 teaspoons sugar; sprinkle over the top.






Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown. A knife inserted into the topping should come out clean - of course there will be blueberry syrup on the knife. Let cool until just warm before serving.
This can store in the refrigerator for 2 days.