Blueberry lemon crumble tart is an easy dessert recipe that just works ~ and it keeps on giving season after season with different fruits and fillings.
This blueberry-lemon crumble tart is a forever recipe ~ one that’s followed me from kitchen to kitchen, and from season to season, adapting to different ingredients and flavors. Always reliable and always a joy to bake.
If you frequent this site you know I have a mini obsession with shortbread, shortbread cookies, and shortbread crumbles of all sorts.
This particular tart has a lemon infused shortbread crust and a sweet-tart fresh blueberry lemon filling. It’s hard to beat it for an easy but elegant bake that works at home or on the road. Try it and see what I mean.
This dessert is made with everyday ingredients you no doubt already have. And if you don’t have blueberries you can sub in another fruit or jam.
Blueberries: for this I use fresh berries. If you need to use frozen, consider cooking the filling until it comes to a boil in a saucepan.
Lemon sugar: it’s where I process lemon peel with sugar and it provides a nice lemon flavor throughout the crust.
Shortbread crust and crumble: it’s the same dough, making this quick and easy ~ no extra bowl to mix up a separate crumble. A handful of rolled oats gives it extra texture.
a shortbread crumble tart process you can use over and over
- Make lemon sugar.
- Mix up shortbread dough.
- Divide dough and press 2/3 into your pan.
- Top with fresh fruit filling.
- Crumble remaining dough over the berries.
- Bake until golden and bubbling.
variations on blueberry lemon crumble tart
Soft or crunchy?
- This tart is delicious either way, and it comes down to baking time. A little less time in the oven will yield a soft tart to eat with a fork. A little more baking and you’ll have a crunchier hand-holdable bar.
More berries
- All kinds of berries work, especially raspberries and blackberries. Sliced strawberries too. Why not make a mixed berry tart?
No fresh fruit?
- Use your favorite jar of jam, marmalade, or lemon curd.
Play with flour
- You can use part whole wheat, white whole wheat (for a more tender result,) part oat flour, or part buckwheat flour. Make a gluten free blueberry lemon crumble tart with a 1:1 gf baking mix.
Add nuts
- I use rolled oats in the topping, but you can sub chopped nuts like walnuts, almonds, or pecans (or sunflower seeds for a nut free topping.)
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Blueberry Lemon Crumble Tart
Equipment
- 9 inch tart pan or springform pan
Ingredients
filling*
- 2 cups blueberries, heaped
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
crust and crumble topping
- peeled zest of 1 lemon
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp rolled oats, for the crumble topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour your 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
- Toss the 2 cups blueberries with the 2 Tbsp granulated sugar, 2 Tbsp lemon juice and 1 Tbsp cornstarch. Mix well, and set aside.
- In a food processor process the peeled zest of 1 lemon and 2/3 cup granulated sugar until the zest is competley incorporated and you have a fragrant pale yellow sugar.
- In a stand mixer or with electric beaters cream the 1 cup unsalted butter with the lemon sugar you just made until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract and 1/4 tsp salt. Note: it's important that your butter be at room temperature. I like to leave it out overnight when I know I'll be baking.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the 2 cups all purpose flour and mix just until there is no dry flour left. Don't over beat but do make sure all the butter is incorporated.
- Take 2/3 of the dough and pat it into the bottom of your tart pan. I like to scatter the dough in crumbles across the bottom, and then start to pat it down. It helps to flour your fingers, or use the bottom of a metal measuring cup to tamp it down. Take the time to get the dough evenly distributed. Note: you're not looking to go up the sides of the pan with the dough, just to make an even flat layer. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Mix the remaining dough with the 2 Tbsp rolled oats, breaking it apart with your fingers to make coarse crumbles.
- Arrange the blueberries on top of the bottom crust. Top evenly with the crumbled dough. Allow some of the berries to show through.
- Set the tart pan on a baking sheet, and bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until the top is just starting to turn pale golden.
- Let the tart cool for 15 minutes on a rack before releasing the bottom from the sides. Finish cooling on the rack.
- When cool slice the tart into 8 or 10 slices. Serve as is, or with some lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Notes
- I like my fruit and fruit fillings on the tart side, hence the lemon juice. If your berries are tart to begin with, or you just prefer things a bit sweeter, you can reduce or omit the lemon juice.
Going to break a speed record going to the kitchen to make this! 😊
The recipe calls for a springform pan. I have a couple glass/porcelain ripple edge tart pans../do these work for this recipe?
Yes, you can use a tart pan, but if it doesn’t have a removable bottom you’ll have to serve it right from the pan. Not a problem, but the slices won’t be as neat.