Pretty please with crumbs on top

When you order 72 ounces of blueberries you hope that your husband won’t notice. Then when he does notice you hope that he loves whatever you make with those blueberries so much so that he gets over the shock of having so many blueberries in the house. Should you find yourself in such a position, I recommend freezing half (this will buy you 6 months to figure out a use for half of those berries), then eat a bunch plain then make a blueberry tart/pie and a blueberry cake with a crumb topping.

The crunchy buttery oats are necessary on the cake if you have that many berries on your hands (or hiding in your refrigerator).
Let’s talk about the pie/tart. The blueberry filling was so outrageous I may make a batch this weekend just to smear on toast, fro-yo, or heaven forbid eat it warm from the pan.

BLUEBERRY PIE FILLING

In a small-medium sauce pan place 2 containers of fresh blueberries (be sure these are rinsed and plucked of any stems or undesirables) over medium heat. After about 3 minutes, add in 1/2 cup of light brown sugar, the zest and juice of a lemon, and a teaspoon of cinnamon; stir well to combine. Let this cook for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile stir 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour with 2 tablespoons of water until all the flour is dissolved. Once the 5 minutes have passed, gently stir in the flour mix. Let this simmer over low heat for another 5 minutes until thick and decadent. That’s it! That’s your blueberry sauce.

BLUEBERRY CAKE

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9-inch square pan with non-stick spray.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar with 1/2 cup egg substitute (or 2 eggs) until rich and velvety, about 2 minutes on medium-high.
• With the mixer on low, slowly add 1/2 cup of vegetable oil. The goal is to a) not deflate the sugar-egg mix and b) deepen that velvety thickness.
• Sift together 1 1/2 cups of whole-wheat flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 3/4 teaspoon salt.
• Add the dry to the wet and mix until just combined.
• Fold in 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (rinsed & plucked as above) to the mix. Be gentle here as you don’t want a blue cake!!
• Once your berries are nicely incorporated pour mix out in to prepared pan. Smooth out to ensure even baking.
• In a small dish mix together (I do this with my fingers) 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of rolled oats, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 teaspoons of butter. Sprinkle this mix over the cake evenly.
• Bake cake for 50 minutes rotating the pan after 25 minutes. Also, because no one likes a dry cake, start checking for doneness after 45 minutes.
• Let cool on the pan for at least 5 minutes before slicing/serving. This will freeze very well if you can get leftover pieces to last that long.
• As you see below I topped ours with a smidgen of powdered sugar. Yumm

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