Yes you saw that right this blueberry crisp recipe has a cardamom topping. Have you even used cardamom before? Or for that matter do you know what it is? Find out below and discover how amazing this spice really is. And you get a yummy recipe out of it too.

Why did I choose cardamom to go in this blueberry crisp? Lets begin by taking a look at cardamom and what type of spice this is.
What is Cardamom?
Hailing from the same plant family as ginger and turmeric, you will come across cardamom in two forms.
There is green cardamom also known as white cardamom when bleached, it is mainly found from India to Malaysia. Green cardamom is the most common and probably the one you will end up using the most, it will be the easiest to buy. It is also the one featured in this recipe.
Then there is also Black cardamom which is also known by many other names including, Indian cardamom and brown cardamom, this variety can be found mainly in Nepal and West Bengal, India. I haven’t personally used this type of cardamom, but it is described as having a smoky flavor profile

What does green cardamom taste like?
You will probably find descriptive words such as citrus or astringent when looking up flavor profiles for cardamom. It does have that fresh zingy smell to eat. The flavor when eating it though takes on a whole different taste profile and one I don’t find easy to describe.
I will say that it has a very unique flavor and one that you may not truly appreciate at first. Especially, if you happen to accidently bite into a whole cardamom pod, which I will admit tastes distinctly of soap. But, give it a chance it is a wonderful spice, one that I find has a wonderful warming effect. Once you start using it you will see how it got the name “The queen of spices”.
In recipes you will find it in a lot of Nordic baking, one of my personal favorites is the Swedish cardamom coffee cake. In Asia and the middle east it is used in a lot of savory dishes. Cardamom works wonderfully in curries. Another popular use for cardamom right now is having it in your latte or tea. I love them all. If you can’t tell already, it has got to be one of my favorite spices.

Why use it in the blueberry crisp recipe
As I said before Cardamom is known for being citrusy, astringent and also warming and spicy. So, what else could be a more perfect compliment to blueberries. Blueberries pair so well with any citrus flavor which is why I also use lemon in this recipe too.
A crisp to me also needs a warming spice element, which is why you usually find cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger in these kinds of recipes. But I felt cardamom would be a lovely change.

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What Tools will you need?
- Mixing bowls
- Wooden spoon or Spatula
- 8×8 Ovenproof dish
- Zester, this is a great tool to have if you don’t already have one, click here
- Lemon juicer, Optional. You can always squeeze the juice out by hand but I find this juicer to be amazing, click here
- Pestle and mortar, this is optional if you are using whole cardamom. I like this one.

The Ingredients for the blueberry crisp recipe
- All purpose white or wholewheat flour. I have found that any four works with this recipe. Which is really nice because that isn’t always the way.
- Rolled oats. Make you don’t use quick oats.
- Butter. I always use unsalted which I know some do not like. But I like to add my own salt to recipes. If you choose to use salted don’t add any additional salt.
- Corn flour, also known as corn starch
- Lemon. You will be using the rind and the juice.
- Vanilla extract. I am a bit of a snob but I never use the artifitial stuff, sorry.
- Sea Salt
- Blueberries. I use frozen berries in this recipe, but you can use fresh if you prefer. If you do use fresh I would suggest adding around a quarter cup of water to the filling. You don’t want a dry filling. Also if you frozen berries have a lot of ice on the I would give them a rinse under some cold waters first to get rid of the ice.
- Sugar. You can use granulated or a cane sugar.
- Buttermilk. I make my own with vinegar and milk. For this recipe it will be you will need 3 tbsp milk and 1 teaspoon white vinegar.
- Cardamom. Now I prefer using the whole pods rather than using the ground cardamom I just find the flavor is soo much better. But it does require more effort as you will need to take the seeds out from the shells and crush them with a pestle and mortar. If you do this and take the time which in reality isn’t long, you wont be disappointed. Trust me.

How to make the blueberry crisp recipe
Preheat your oven to 375 F, 190 C, gas mark 5
I also like to grease my dishes this makes them easier to clean later. So go ahead and grease you 8×8 oven proof dish.
The filling
If you are using frozen blueberries and they have ice crystals on them. Place them into a colander and rinse under cold water to dissolve the ice.
In a large bowl add the blueberries, Corn flour, Sugar, Lemon zest and juice, vanilla and salt. mix well and coat the blueberries.

In a greased 8×8 oven proof dish add the blueberry mixture.
Topping
In a medium large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add all of the topping ingredients. The flour, oats, cubes of butter, buttermilk, salt, cardamom.
If you are using your hands to mix this, you want to rub in the butter. Now I don’t like to mix it so much that it turns to fine breadcrumb texture, like you would for other recipes. Instead, I like to leave a few good sized chunks of butter.

Add this on top of your filling.
Bake for 40 minutes, or until the top is slightly golden and the berry filling is lovely and bubbly.
Enjoy warm with ice cream.


Blueberry Crisp Recipe with a cardamom topping
This is a simple beautiful blueberry crisp recipe. The topping is very special, made with oats and cardamom they are the perfect compliments.
Ingredients
Blueberry filling
- 4 Cups frozen blueberries (See Note below)
- 1/2 Cup granulated or cane sugar
- 2 TBSP Corn flour (corn starch)
- Juice from 1 small lemon
- Zest from 1 small lemon
- 1 TSP vanilla extract
- Pinch sea salt
Topping
- 1 1/2 Cup rolled oats
- 1 Cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 Cup unsalted butter
- 1 tsp freshly ground cardamom seeds
- 3 TBSP buttermilk (See Note below)
- pinch salt
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375 F, 190 C, gas mark 5
I also like to grease my dishes this makes them easier to clean later. So go ahead and grease you 8x8 oven proof dish.
The filling
- If you are using frozen blueberries and they have ice crystals on them. Place them into a colander and rinse under cold water to dissolve the ice.
- In a large bowl add the blueberries, Corn flour, Sugar, Lemon zest and juice, vanilla and salt. mix well and coat the blueberries.
- In a greased 8x8 oven proof dish add the blueberry mixture.
Topping
- In a medium large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add all of the topping ingredients. The flour, oats, cubes of butter, buttermilk, salt, cardamom.
- If you are using your hands to mix this, you want to rub in the butter. Now I don't like to mix it so much that it turns to fine breadcrumb texture, like you would for other recipes. Instead, I like to leave a few good sized chunks of butter.
- Add this on top of your filling.
- Bake for 40 minutes, or until the top is slightly golden and the berry filling is lovely and bubbly.
- Enjoy it warm with vanilla ice cream
Notes
- You can use fresh blueberries but I would recommend adding 1/4 cup of water to the topping mixture.
- To make your own buttermilk for this recipe in a small bowl or just add 3 TBSP milk and 1 tsp of white vinegar. Mix and let that stand for a few minutes before using.
- You can substitute the sugar for something else. for the filling honey might be nice and for the topping you could try coconut sugar. But with any substitution you may need to adjust the quantity.
- I highly recommend using whole cardamom pods and crush the deeds yourself with a pestle and mortar rather than using pre ground cardamom.