This blueberry paj is one of my mother’s recipes and, for me, it belongs to summer. In Sweden and the Swedish-speaking parts of Finland, this kind of cake is called blåbärspaj. It is not quite the same as an American blueberry pie: the soft, tender base is simply pressed into the form instead of being rolled out.
In Finland, fresh blueberries can often be picked in large amounts during summer. Here, they feel a little more special. That makes me look forward to blueberry season and this wonderfully simple summer cake even more. It needs only a few ingredients, comes together quickly and lets the blueberries take center stage.
At a Glance
🕒 Prep time: 15 minutes
⏳ Optional chilling time: 10 minutes
🔥 Baking time: 30 minutes
👩🏼🍳 Difficulty: easy
Ingredients for 1 paj or tarte form, 28 cm diameter
Base
- 210 g plant-based margarine
- 4 tbsp sugar (about 55 g)
- 260 g wheat flour
Filling
- 1 liter blueberries (about 660 g)
- 75 g sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp potato starch
- 1–2 tbsp fine bread crumbs
Also
- some plant-based margarine for the form
- Optional: some fine bread crumbs for the form. This helps the cake come out more easily after baking.
To serve
- vegan vanilla sauce or vegan vanilla ice cream
Instructions
- Rinse the blueberries and let them drain well in a sieve.
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C fan.
- Grease the form. Tip: Place a small piece of baking paper over your fingers, use it to pick up some margarine and rub it over the form. This makes it quick and easy to grease the fluted edges too.
- Mix the margarine and sugar with a hand mixer.
- Gradually add the flour and knead everything by hand into a smooth dough.
- Optional: Chill the dough for about 10 minutes before pressing it into the form. This makes it easier to handle, especially if the margarine was very soft.
- Press the dough evenly into the form with your hands, forming a small edge around the sides.
- Mix the sugar and potato starch in a large bowl.
- Add the blueberries and bread crumbs and gently fold everything together until evenly combined.
- Spread the blueberry mixture evenly over the base.
- Bake the blueberry paj for about 30 minutes, until the edge is lightly golden and the blueberries are visibly juicy and bubbling.
Serving Suggestion
This blueberry paj tastes just as good warm from the oven as it does cold.
For me, vanilla sauce is simply part of blåbärspaj. The cake also tastes good on its own, but with chilled vegan vanilla sauce, it is just perfect.
We always serve the sauce separately, so everyone can take as much as they like.