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Muffins move over. I give you: Blueberry Platz.
Every June, in the wooded area behind my childhood home in Pennsylvania, wild blueberry bushes would become full of plump, ripe berries ready for picking.
On Sunday mornings, we would venture out and fill buckets and mixing bowls with blueberries. There was nothing more satisfying than hearing the plunk of blueberries in your bucket when you found a solid handful in one bunch. To be honest, most of the blueberries I picked ended up in my gaping maw instead of my bucket. I was also petrified of the little beetles that inhabited bushes (they look like blueberries if you don’t look closely!) My sister was the pro blueberry picker. Our blueberries made a delicious addition to pancakes, but when there was a good haul we could make platz.
Platz are a German dessert that is very similar to streusel. You can use any kind of fruit, but I’ve only made the blueberry variety. It consists of three layers: the cake, then the fruit, then the crumb topping.
Mix flour, sugar baking powder, and salt in a stand mixer. Add softened butter and mix until well blended. Stir in milk, beaten eggs, and vanilla. Spread batter on a well-greased 17” x 11 1/2” x 1” baking sheet. Cover with blueberries.
Combine topping by hand until crumbly and sprinkle over blueberries. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool and cut into 2 inch squares. Yields 40. Enjoy!
