Blueberries are usually in-stock in the produce section at stores year-round. It’s in summer, though, that the fruit is at its juiciest and most piquant. Not only are they great to snack on by themselves, they are great in a number of desserts, too.
Blueberry desserts have an intense flavor that perfectly captures the feeling of summer. Here are ten blueberry dessert ideas to try.
1. Blueberries on polenta pound cake
Covering polenta pound cake in thick, syrupy blueberry sauce isn’t the traditional way the cake is enjoyed. It’s a great idea, nevertheless.
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You simply need to cook a pint of blueberries over medium heat with sugar and a little water until the mixture thickens. Coating your pound cake with it, you’ll have a couple of berries in every spoonful.
2. Blueberry-flavored ice cream
Purple-colored blueberry ice cream can be far more festive than the chocolate that’s everywhere.
Blueberry ice cream, though, isn’t actually ice cream.
It’s a blueberry-flavored custard. You make thick, blueberry syrup by mashing up the berries and heating them over a low flame in a saucepan. Mix it with custard and serve fresh.
More: 10 Homemade Ice-Cream Recipes
3. Blueberry fruit salad with tequila
If you love margaritas, a summery fruit salad with tequila should work very well for you. You start with kiwi, mango and blueberries mixed in a bowl with sugar, agave tequila and lime zest.
You heat the mixture over a medium flame until the sugar melts. Stir in 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice and leave in the refrigerator for an hour to cool before you serve.
More: 10 Great Cookies for Summer Picnics
4. Blueberry pie
Blueberries are a popular pie filling. There are dozens of recipe variants on the same theme.
You make the filling by mixing blueberries, sugar, flour and lemon zest together, and fill the pie shell with it before baking it.
More: 10 Best Summer Fruit Pies
5. Blueberry muffin cake
A muffin cake is actually made with muffin batter – except that it is baked in a cake tin, rather than in muffin cups. It can be a great breakfast treat in the summer. You simply make muffin batter the way you usually do, but fold blueberries in toward the end of the process.
More: 10 Awesome Summer Cake Recipes
6. Blueberry hazelnut bar
Unlike the cakes and pies above, this is a little dessert that you can eat without much fuss. It’s a simple, multi-layered dessert that’s topped with crunchy hazelnuts.
With a layer of pastry at the bottom, thick blueberry syrup in the middle and hazelnuts on top, it’s easy to make and easier to eat.
More: 10 Delicious Gluten-Free Desserts
7. Blueberry gallette
In this traditional country dessert, you pair blueberry together with lemon to make a classic, simple dessert. The filling is a mixture of blueberry, honey, flour and lemon zest.
More: 10 Amazing Summer Cupcake Recipes
8. Blueberry cheesecake
What makes this cheesecake special is the blueberry purée that forms the bulk of it. Each slice is topped off with a handful of glazed blueberries.
More: 10 Quick and Easy Fruit Desserts
9. Blueberry shortcake
Strawberries are the preferred fruit for shortcake, most of the time. Blueberries make for a refreshing change, though.
What makes this recipe special is that you use the berries both in the sauce that you pour over the shortcake and in the biscuit base at the bottom.
More: 5 Strawberry Desserts to Help You Beat the Heat
10. Blueberry Cassis Fool
If you are in the mood for a quick blueberry dessert, this recipe should be at the top of your list. You simply need to whip heavy cream with a hand blender, add in sugar and fold in blueberry sauce until everything’s smooth and even. You put the mixture in glasses and chill.
When the markets sell plenty of blueberries cheaply, it’s a good idea to stock up each time you go shopping. You’ll find yourself thinking of every possible blueberry dessert recipe to use them in, and you’ll begin to explore different possibilities.