This dessert is a great example of how dumb I was as a child. I hated blueberries growing up. Maybe it was the sad blandness of cooked frozen blueberries in mediocre pancakes and muffins. Or maybe I never had a really good fresh blueberry before. Either way, until recently blueberries were avoided. I thought they were flavorless at best, overly soft and too sweet at worst. But like with so many other things (onions, sushi, girls) I was very, very wrong. Blueberries are amazing! Top quality blueberries are easily my favorite fruit, they’re tart with a hint of sweetness and a strangely rewarding texture. They’re also a “superfood” which yeah, I do care about… Anyway, I love blueberries now and wanted to incorporate them in an end of summer dessert recipe.
Apparently my grandfather also loves blueberries, and requested a blueberry-based dessert for his 85th birthday. His party was in Connecticut, and sadly I could not attend, but when I talked to my brother that day about what he was making for our grandpa, he told me “blueberry slop”. WTF is a slop? I had never heard of such a thing but despite the name I assumed it was delicious. After some light internet research and a few convos with my brother, who is a much better cook than I, I came up with this supremely easy recipe below.
The concept is easy. Break down the skins and tissue of some fruit (could be any fruit) in heat with sugar-water, and then top with a sturdy biscuit batter that will soak up the delicious syrup. You can get really creative with this type of template. I was tempted to add Grand Marnier to my rendition but forgot to grab some at the store. I added a fair amount of citrus to my grunt (same thing as a slop but better sounding), but also supplemented my blueberries with blackberries. Why? I don’t know, but it turned out to be an excellent decision. The blackberries didn’t fully explode like the blueberries did, and actually absorbed a lot of the blueberry juice. So I ended up with these delicious morsels of macerated blackberry soaked in blueberry and orange juice. Yum.
This dessert speaks for itself. I know summer is almost over but this is a super satisfying way to hold on to those dog days.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 8 Servings | 20 Minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 30 Minutes |
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| This incredibly easy dessert of berries and biscuits is delicious and a great option for a night in with friends or family. A classic flavor combination that goes perfectly with ice cream and a glass of whiskey. Keeps up to 1 week in the fridge.
|
- 1 lb blueberries
- 4 ounces blackberries
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon grated orange rind
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup white flour
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/8 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Mix the biscuit mixture together in a bowl and set aside.
- In an oven-friendly skillet, pan, or dish mix together all ingredients for the berry mix except the vanilla. Mix evenly and cook on medium heat.
- Once the berry skins begin to break down (about 10 minutes) add the vanilla and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Pull your dish off the heat and glop in some balls of dough. You could try to make a pattern or even attempt to make the top of this dessert look pretty. This dough is super sticky so I decided to go with a more rustic/random distribution.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the tops of your biscuits are slightly browned.
- Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
