Monday, June 7, 2010

Blueberry crumb bars

I usually try to vary the types of sweets I feature, but summer berries are beginning to roll in, so surely you’ll excuse me for posting these blueberry bars right after my quick blackberry cobbler. (You should also expect more berry-centric treats in the coming weeks!) This recipe is from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s book The Joy of Vegan Baking, and though it’s billed as a sort of coffee cake, I found mine to be much more bar-like in height and texture. The base resembles a cakey shortbread, while the crumb topping is a loose streusel. I made them on a Friday night, and they were all devoured by Saturday morning.

For the bars:
1 1/2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer
3 Tbsp warm water
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup Earth Balance, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 soy or almond milk
1-2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries


For the topping:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup Earth Balance, COLD, cut up


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9-inch baking pan. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg replacer and the warm water until thick and creamy, about 1 minute, and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. In a large bowl, cream the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy, 1 or 2 minutes.



Add the egg replacer mixture and vanilla to the margarine-sugar mixture, and beat until incorporated.



Add the flour mixture and milk and beat until just combined (batter will be thick). Spread the batter into the bottom of the pan, smoothing the top. Evenly arrange the blueberries on top of the batter.



To make the topping, in a large bowl (it can be the same one you used before, just scrape it out well), combine the flour, sugar, and cinnamon.



Cut in the margarine with a pastry blender or a fork until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the blueberries.



Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.



What’s better than sweet bursts of blueberries peppered across a palette of buttery, crumbly cake? Not much, I say.



Yield: 16 servings. Per serving: 152 calories, 7.1g fat (4g sat), 21.4g carbs, 1g fiber, 1.3g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
Oat crumble jam bars
Homestyle blueberry cobbler
Vegan lemon bars

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11 comments:

  1. that looks great! thank you for understanding about my weight gain and hopeful weight loss! i have added you to my blogroll :)

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  2. That looks lovely Amber. I need to bake some cake with fruit in. Whenever I read "Coffee Cake" in an American book of blog I always forget that is describes cake to have with coffee not a cake that tastes of coffee and end up scanning the ingredients looking for coffee wondering where it is!

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  3. omg those look amazing! my mom as a kid used to make rasp bars w/ fresh raspberries from my dad's garden and omg so good. very similar concept except she used lots more sugar, brown and white and oats

    the raw vegan apple crumble i make and have blogged about is very similar, no bake, and GF too (vegan of course)

    yum to yours!

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  4. These look so so delish!! I love exploding blueberries especially when they are in season!

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  5. I love the blueberries oozing out of the cake!

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  6. Dearest Amber,
    While I have deep and abiding appreciation for all berries and cannot wait to see more of your creations (particularly when they include my current favourite spice, cinnamon), I do have two words of warning for you that I would be remiss not to mention:

    Violet Beauregarde.

    Yours sincerely,
    Hannah

    P.S. I'd love you anyway.

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  7. Wow those look incredible. I'm craving berries right now!

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  8. Fit&40—You’re very welcome! You’re on my blogroll too :]

    Helen—Haha, you’re right. That is quite a misnomer, isn’t it?

    Averie—Mmm, raspberries bars are always great…I need give your raw apple crumble a whirl this summer!

    Amanda & tasteofbeirut—Thanks! Oh yeah, berry explosions are the bomb. So to speak.

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  9. Hannah—HAHA! Oh, you cracked me up with that (plus, I ADORE Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!). You also reminded me of a time in high school, when I worked at Little Caesar’s Pizza and had blue hair. A man brought his 5ish-year-old daughter in to pick up a pizza, and she asked him, "Daddy, why is her hair blue?" He very matter-of-factly and straight-facedly replied to her, "Well, honey, she ate a lot of blueberries."

    idreamoftahini—Thank you! Berries are my favorite fruits, and I always crave them big-time in the summer :]

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  10. I think that's a very dangerous comment for a parent to make to his child. What if that little girl decided she wanted pink hair, and spent three years eating nothing but smoked salmon? Sure, her omega 3 levels would be good, but the sodium would kill her.

    *shakes head*

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  11. Hannah—Goodness, I would hope the child would make the berry association and just go for raspberries, but that would indeed be a tragic instance of thoughtless parenting if she opted for smoked salmon.
    :P

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