blueberries | Thankful Yoga Studio LLC

I really believe that if you’re going to become excellent at anything, from baking to baseball, you’ve got to be willing to try new things and make some mistakes. My success and confidence in the kitchen has come from years of practice and experience and yes, I’ve had my share of failures. As Einstein said, ‘anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.’ This is how we learn.

I had wonderful blueberries. I had pie crust already made. I knew it would be tricky to combine them with frangipane in a tart the way I wanted to, but decided to proceed nonetheless. Frangipane is a sweet filling made from almonds, butter and eggs, and it’s one of my favorite treats. It must be baked, and it really needs to be exposed to the heat (not buried deep in a pie) in order to puff up and brown a little. I did everything right in this recipe, almost. I made sure to blind bake my crust.

I didn’t cover the frangipane completely with blueberries. I baked until bubbly in the center. However,…. it needed 5 more minutes! The edges were perfect with crisp and flaky crust, but the center was not.

If I make this again, I think I’ll put the frangipane on top of the blueberries and let the berries peek through instead of vice – versa. At any rate, my husband LOVED this tart and said the amount of sweetness was just right. Served with lightly sweetened whipped cream, it really was good despite it’s imperfection.

Blueberry Frangipane Tart

Adapted from The New York Times Cooking

1 pie crust – Here’s an old post with a recipe you can use.

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1/2 cup ground almonds (almond flour)

2 teaspoons all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 stick butter

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Roll out the dough, chill and blind bake. For more information about blind baking click here.
Mix the almond flour, all purpose flour, sugar, almond extract, egg and butter really well. Spread into the pre-baked shell.
Place the blueberries on top, making sure to leave some frangipane filling peaking through.
Bake at 375 F for 35 to 40 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven. If the crust becomes too dark around the edges, cover with a ring of foil and continue baking.
Allow to cool at least an hour before slicing.
YUM!

Here’s an old post about the first time I made a Pear Frangipane Tart.

Quick breads are so easy and satisfying to make. This recipe is a direct offshoot of my Grandmother’s Banana Bread which I blogged about in 2012. It’s not too high in sugar and includes some healthy rolled oats and blueberries. Please try it and let me know how it goes. Don’t worry about exact measurements for this one, it’s practically foolproof!

Blueberry Banana Bread

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 very ripe banana

1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup blueberries – fresh or frozen

3 tablespoons turbinado sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare the baking pan(s) with a good smear of butter; this recipe works well in three mini loaves or as muffins.

Begin by measuring the rolled oats into a bowl or jug like the one pictured. Add the buttermilk to the oats, stir and let this combination sit while you gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients. The buttermilk will tenderize the oats.

Melt the butter in a large mixing bowl and add the 3/4 cup sugar and the banana. Mash the banana with a fork and mix well. Add the eggs and vanilla and continue mixing until well combined and relatively smooth. Now add the oats/buttermilk mixture and stir it all up.

Add the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda to the bowl. Begin to mix the dry ingredients in gently and then add the blueberries and continue to mix gently until just combined.

Pour the batter into prepared pan(s) and smooth out the top. Combine the 3 Tablespoons turbinado sugar and the cinnamon in your 1/4 cup measuring cup and sprinkle this all over the top. Turbinado sugar has larger crystals than white sugar and will give a wonderfully crunchy top. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn out to continue to cool.