Blueberry Cobbler is great anyway you eat it, but top it with a Walnut Streusel and it takes it to a whole new level.
It has been beastly hot in St. Louis and the last thing I wanted to do was get into the kitchen with a hot oven going. We love cobbler
especially in the summer when so much fresh fruit is available. I was looking for something that would highlight the fruit but was easy, quick and a bit different from the usual cobblers. This Walnut Streusel Blueberry Cobbler fits all those requirements.
This is a combination of a streusel topping from an old standby sour cream coffee cake. The blueberry filling is the sauce from the Lemonade Cake with Blueberry Sauce and the base of the cobbler is the Cream Biscuits which are the easiest, lightest, best biscuits I have ever made. Layer them together and you have a fast and easy summer delight. The blueberry filling is great served slightly warm over ice cream.
The choice of a baking pan is up to you, but I like a glass pan for this as I can see if the bottom has lightly browned as this is about the only indication the blueberry cobbler has baked through.
This cobbler would be amazingly good with peaches also. Just skin the peaches, slice and substitute for the blueberries. I would use white balsamic vinegar and add amaretto liquor in place of part or all of the water.
Walnut Streusel Topping
¾ cup walnuts (85 grams or 3 ounces)
¾ cup brown sugar (150 grams or 5 ⅓ ounces)
3 tablespoons flour (28 grams or ounce)
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, cut up and cold
Place the walnuts in a food processor and pulse to chop finely. Remove from the processor. Set aside.
Place the sugar, flour, cinnamon in a processor bowl. Pulse several times to mix. Add the butter and process until it starts making crumbs. Add the walnuts and pulse several times. Set aside.
Blueberry Filling
⅓ cup sugar (65 grams or 2 heavy ounces)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 ½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries (340 grams or 12 ounces)
Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan; stir in the water and balsamic vinegar and mix well. Add the blueberries. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking and stirring for 1 minutes more. Set aside to cool.
If the filling is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of water to thin it out.
Biscuit Batter
1 ½ cups sifted cake flour
(150 grams or 5 ⅓ ounces)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ to ⅞ cups 40% cream
Preheat oven to 425F. If using a glass pan, reduce the oven to 400°F. Spray an 8x8 inch square baking pan. Set aside.
Place the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Blend together. Pour in ¾ cup of cream in. Mix the dough. The dough should be somewhat sticky. If it is not, add the remaining cream in 1 tablespoon at a time.
Pat the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Pour the blueberry filling over the dough and spread out evenly.
Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the cobbler.
Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until the bottom of the biscuit batter is baked. Lightly cover with foil about half way or three-quarters of the way through baking to keep the top from over browning.
This is best served warm.
Serves 9.
Jo Anna (jo) Kloster says
To what dairy product are you referring to when you say: use 40% cream. I don’t know what you mean by this. Thanks.
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Jo, You have found an older post. We used to be able to buy 40% cream which means it was 40% butterfat and definitely a heavy cream. I can still get it professionally, but it is no longer carried in grocers coolers. The heavy cream that can be bought by the public has to be at least 36% butterfat. Still better than regular whipping cream which can go as low as 30%. Heavy cream can be whipped and used without stabilizing it. Whipping cream not so much. So you would be looking for heavy cream.
Rockyrd says
Hi Helen,
Just in time for wild Maine blueberries just coming on sale this week.
Question
Is the second item in the filling corn starch? I believe it is as you have included it in the recipe and the photo, right? No biggie.
hfletcher says
Hi M.J. - Sure is. 1 Tablespoon cornstarch. I went back and corrected it. Thanks so much for bringing it to my attention. My son was in Maine recently and very much enjoyed it. You evidently have a lovely state!