Blueberry mazurka

Mazurka (or mazurek) is a traditional Polish cake served at Easter and other special occasions. There are lots of mazurka recipes online – some for single-layer mazurka topped with fruit or chocolate and drizzled with icing; others with the fillings sandwiched between two thin layers of cake.

I chose this blueberry mazurka recipe for its similarity to the date squares my family makes at Christmas. It hadn’t occurred to me to use anything other than dates for the middle layer – my eyes are opened to all sorts of possibilities now…;-)

I really must acquire an 8″x8″ baking pan – it was a bit of a stretch to form the three layers in my 9″x9″ pan. It doesn’t seem that big a difference, but when you think about it, that’s 25% more surface area to cover.

Even so,  the final result was rich and delicious, with a lovely crumb. The filling wasn’t overly sweet, the vodka providing a subtle heat. I’ll definitely be adding blueberry mazurka to my baking repetoire.

Blueberry mazurka

For the filling:

• 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/4 cup vodka
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tb sugar
• 1 Tb cornstarch

For the dough:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened

1. Add all the filling ingredients to a small pot, and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Bring to a simmer over a medium flame, and stir for 7 or 8 minutes, or until thickened. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Butter or line an 8″x8″ baking tin.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine all the dough ingredients into a crumbly mass.
4. Pack half the dough into the baking sheet. Spread carefully with the blueberry filling. Top with the remaining dough, ensuring there is no filling exposed. Pat gently into place.
5. Bake until firm and golden – 45 minutes to an hour. Cool before slicing into bars.

Family score: 9.25 out of 10

Tags: bars, blueberries, vegetarian