Blackberry Slump

By Jessie Sheehan

Updated Oct. 11, 2023

Blackberry Slump
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.
Total Time
45 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(314)
Comments
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A berry slump is a member of the crisp, crumble and cobbler family, but one that doesn’t require an oven and takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish. Lightly sweetened fruit is cooked in a skillet on the stove and then topped with biscuit dough. Once the pan is covered, the steam created by the bubbling fruit helps cook the biscuits. This recipe calls for cream biscuits, simplifying the assembly process and bypassing the need to integrate cold butter into flour. It also calls for blackberries — but you may substitute any berry you’d like, though you might need an extra teaspoon of cornstarch if your fruit is extra juicy. An optional run under the broiler provides the biscuits with additional color and a crispier cap.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

    For the Dumplings

    • 1½cups/190 grams all-purpose flour
    • 2tablespoons granulated sugar
    • 1tablespoon baking powder
    • ¾teaspoon ground ginger
    • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
    • 1cup/240 milliliters heavy cream
    • 1large egg (optional)
    • Turbinado or other coarse raw sugar for sprinkling, optional

    For the Blackberries

    • 1cup/200 grams granulated sugar
    • 1½tablespoons cornstarch
    • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
    • 6cups/834 grams blackberries, fresh or frozen

    For Serving

    • Heavy cream or ice cream (both optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

388 calories; 14 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 62 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 37 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 475 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the dumplings: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, ginger and ½ teaspoon salt. Pour in the cream and stir with a spatula until combined.

  2. Step 2

    Prepare the blackberries: In a 10-inch cast-iron skillet (or other shallow 2-quart dish that is both stovetop- and oven-safe), whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and ¼ teaspoon salt. Whisk in ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons/90 milliliters water, and then stir in the berries. Cook over medium heat until bubbling and then simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  3. Step 3

    Portion the dough into about 16 small dumplings (about 1½ tablespoons/28 grams each) and decoratively top the fruit with them. Cover the skillet with a lid, if you have one (or a sheet of aluminum foil, or a heatproof plate wider than the cooking vessel), and cook the dumplings for 15 to 20 minutes, until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of one comes out clean and the tops are dry to the touch. Let sit for about 5 minutes to cool.

  4. Step 4

    To give the dumplings a little optional extra color and texture, prepare an egg wash: Whisk the egg and ¼ teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Brush the dumplings with the wash, sprinkle with turbinado sugar and broil for 1 to 3 minutes, watching closely, until the dumplings are nicely browned.

  5. Step 5

    Serve warm, with a drizzle of heavy cream or a scoop of ice cream, if desired. Fruit slump is best the day it is made, but will keep tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 300-degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Ratings

4 out of 5
314 user ratings
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Comments

RailGrl

In Nova Scotia we make this with blueberries and call it a “grunt” because of the sound it makes as the berries reduce and bubble around the dumpling topping. Blueberry grunt is a quintessential summer dessert in this part of the world. Easy and delicious!

TMCinSFCA

Excellent. I used a combination of blackberries and blueberries because I didn’t have enough blackberries on hand. It’s great with vanilla ice cream but very good without it, too.

Chantal

In Québec, they are called « grands-pères » or grandfathers! And are usually steamed in a maple syrup sauce or with blueberries.

Kassie

I hate to be that person who reviews a recipe after not following it to the letter, but I'm leaving this for others who may want to avoid the stovetop route. I mixed the berries and added them to a greased 9x13 glass pan. I topped with the dumpling batter and baked at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then added a milk wash to the dumplings and broiled until brown. The berries thickened well, the dumplings were cooked through, and it was delicious!

SMJ

I had some blueberries and sour cherries languishing in the freezer, so I used those, with 2/3 c sugar, a squeeze of lemon juice, and 2 Tbs cornstarch, and I thought the sweetness and consistency were perfect. I have celiac, and wasn't sure if gluten free dumplings would turn out, but I braved it anyway, and am happy I did! They were tender and chewy and cooked all the way through. Some homemade vanilla frozen yogurt on top makes it an excellent hot summer evening dessert.

Lisa K

Tried this recipe to disastrously messy but delicious results. I’m not sure if it’s because I used too many blackberries (hard to measure six cups exactly) but it bubbled over onto the cooktop and the resulting mess was a total pain to clean. It was so bad that it looked like a crime scene, with all that red/purple blackberry liquid spilling everywhere! Be warned!

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