Blueberry Crumble Bars

These beautiful looking bars stole the show this past week when I made them on Expresso. We were talking all things Indigo, as apparently, this is the hottest hue of the year for walls, decor and fashion. I can't recall blueberries actually ever being 'trendy' but if ever there was a time, now is as good as any. Being the only 'blue' fruit, it had very little competition vying for the spotlight, which is why I gave it a starring role in this recipe. 

The pastry is dead easy to make with just a little rubbing-in required from your fingertips. My grandmother always taught me to leave one hand clean and flour-free when baking incase the telephone rang or someone knocked on the door. And being as stubborn as I am, I never do, which thanks to Mr Murphy means that someone always calls at the exact point my hands touch the flour. Go figure. You could, of course, swop out the fruit for whatever is in season (strawberries, raspberries, peaches, plums etc.) though they won't lend the stunning inky contrast the blueberries do.

Blueberry Crumble Bars

Makes 30

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

3 cups cake flour

large pinch of salt

zest and juice from one lemon

225g butter cold and in cubes

1 egg

4 cups fresh blueberries

½ cup sugar

4 tsp corn flour

Combine the sugar, baking powder and flour with the salt and lemon zest and mix well.

Rub in the butter until the mixture is crumbly then stir in the egg to form a dough.

Divide the dough in half and press one half into a lined baking sheet so it’s about ½cm thick.

Stir together the lemon juice, blueberries, sugar and corn flour and sprinkle this over the dough layer.

Crumble the remaining dough over the berries and bake at 190C for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool before slicing into squares.

Red Velvet Loaf Cake with Blueberries

I love blueberries and I adore red velvet cake so it wasn't a stretch of the imagination

to combine the two into this stunner of a cake. The plump juiciness of the berries with their velveteen inkiness is so beautiful against the rich scarlet hue of the sponge. 
And then there's the cream cheese frosting... swoon! 

Photographs by Angie Lazaro

Red Velvet Loaf Cake with Blueberries
Serves 6-8

120g butter, softened

300g castor sugar

2 eggs

15g cocoa powder

2 tbsp red food colouring

1t vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

300g cake flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

3 tsp white wine vinegar

400g icing sugar

100g butter, softened

250g cream cheese

2 cups blueberries

1/2 cup water

juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 cup castor sugar

Preheat oven to 170C. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
Beat on high while adding the eggs one at a time. In a seperate bowl, mix the cocoa powder, colouring and vanilla to make a thick paste. 
Add to the butter mixture and mix very well. Beat slowly while adding half the buttermilk and half the flour. Mix well before adding the remaining buttermilk and flour. 
Beat on high until smooth. Add salt, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar and mix well. 
Spoon into a lined 30 x 25cm rectangular baking tray and bake for 30 minutes until springy to the touch. Allow to cool on a wire rack. For the icing, cream the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth. 
Place in a piping bag. Cut the cake to form three 10 x 25cm rectangles and pipe the icing in-between each layer. Simmer the blueberries, water, zest, lemon juice and castor sugar until reduced and glossy. Allow to cool. Top the cake with the blueberry compote.

Below is a step-by-step video: