So I’m thinking that this is pudding in the same way that the lemon blueberry pudding cake was pudding. There are no eggs or cornstarch so it can’t actually be a custard. Based on the instructions I’m having trouble identifying exactly what this is. It isn’t quite a buckle, it’s kind of like a grunt, but maybe more like a slump in the oven. If that made your head hurt, imagine reading all the articles about these fruit desserts to try to figure out what this actually is. Maybe it’s just right side up blueberry cake but I have a sneaking suspicion that when it’s baked the dough is going to end up on top. So first try I’m going to follow this exactly based on the assumption that stewing blueberries means cooking them down to a jammy consistency. And I’m using a pretty small casserole dish based on the amounts here, 8x5ish.
Original Recipe
Stew 2 cups blueberries (apples, cherries, etc.) and 1/2 cup sugar.
Meanwhile: 1) melt 2 1/2 tab. butter in casserole in oven.
2) Combine 1/2 c. flour 1/2 c. milk 1/4 c. sugar 1 1/2 tsp b.p. and salt
Pour into casserole with melted butter.
Pour stewed fruit on top.
Bake 20-30 minutes in hot oven- 375-400
Doubles easily; use same amount of fruit and sugar stewed. Serves 5-6 or 10-12.
Reflections
Having made this “pudding” I am genuinely still confused about what it is. My search for answers led me all the way to the Little House on the Prairie cookbook (which I did not know existed and will be ordering immediately) and across the pond to England. Old Fashioned Blueberry Puddings, English Hefty Cakes, and Almanzo’s mother’s blueberry pudding are all vaguely similar to this dessert but they all have eggs and all come with a pouring sauce of some kind. There are also blueberry pudding cakes but the blueberries aren’t stewed.
Not knowing what anything was really supposed to look like I just went with it, even though the batter was way thinner than I thought it was going to be and the blueberries seemed like much too much liquid. It did bake up to a reasonable looking dessert. The texture of the cake part is almost like a chewy pancake, but in a good way, and the berry juice absorbs into it and makes a very fresh and bright tasting “blueberry pudding.”
The only changes I made were in flavor. I love blueberries plain but when they’re cooked I do like to add some flavors that highlight them and make them a little more complex. To offset the addition of the flavor and liquid of lemon I added a touch more sugar to the filling as well. I obviously also rewrote the recipe to the standard list of ingredients followed by instructions instead of the chaos that it was.
Louise’s Blueberry Pudding Recipe
Makes 5-6 Servings
Ingredients
- 2 ½ tablespoons (35 g)unsalted butter
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- Leaves from 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme (about 2 loose teaspoons)
- Zest and juice from one small lemon or ½ large lemon
- ½ cup (60 g) all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup (120 g)milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. While it is coming up to temp put in the butter in 8×5” baking dish and leave it in the oven to melt. When the oven is preheated remove the baking dish.
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat cook blueberries with sugar, thyme, lemon zest and lemon juice until the consistency is like a very loose jam. Stir occasionally while cooking.
- In a small mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Add milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
- Pour batter into baking dish with melted butter. Pour stewed blueberries on top, trying to distribute evenly.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove very carefully since the blueberry liquid will still be boiling.
- Set aside to cool and set before scooping into bowls to eat. Can be served with whipped cream, a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and/or ice cream.
vtx kitchen 