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Blueberry Ice Cream with Oat Crumble Topping

Aside from flavor, my favorite part of this dessert is it’s color.  Will you just look at that:

Blueberry Ice Cream with Oat Crumble Topping

Blueberry Ice Cream with Oat Crumble Topping is summer in dessert-form.  It’s like that piping-hot, all-American blueberry crumble, but… cold.  This recipe starts with a base of simmered fresh blueberries flavored with lemon juice and sugar.  The cooking process draws out some of the moisture while concentrating the blueberry flavor.  After a quick strain, the resulting liquid, stained a deep shade of blue-purple, captures the pure essence of blueberry.  This flavor bomb is mixed into a French custard base (see gif below), then churned into a cold, creamy confection.  A final sprinkling of crunchy oat crumbles provides a satisfying contrast in both flavor and texture.

I’m not going to lie, I love making ice cream (and sorbet) at home.  It’s one of my favorite things to do during the summer months.  Here are some of my past favorites:

What about you?  Do you love to make ice cream at home?  If so, please share some of your favorite creations below in the comments!  Continue reading for the recipe.

Blueberries

Blueberry puree swirled into a creamy ice cream base.  I find this quite mesmerizing:

Ice Cream Base Blueberry Ice Cream Scoop and Crumble

Blueberry Ice Cream with Oat Crumble Topping
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Blueberry Ice Cream with Oat Crumble Topping

Servings 6 servings
Author Brandon Matzek

Ingredients

For the ice cream:

  • 4 cups fresh blueberries
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 cup sugar
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups half and half
  • 5 large egg yolks

For the oat crumble topping:

  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
  • 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats (not quick cooking)

Instructions

  1. Place blueberries, 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the blueberries release their juices and begin to cook down (about 20 minutes). You can help this process along a bit by gently mashing the berries each time you stir. Drain blueberry juice into a clean bowl using a fine mesh basket strainer, pressing berries to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Set aside.
  2. Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl and have another strainer ready. Add heavy cream to a medium sized bowl and set aside.
  3. Heat half and half and 1 cup sugar in a different saucepan over low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat once you see steam rising from the surface and the mixture is completely heated through. Meanwhile, whisk 5 egg yolks in a bowl until slightly thickened. Slowly, while whisking, add 1/2 cup of the warm half and half mixture to the yolks. Once the 1/2 cup is incorporated, whisk in the remaining half and half mixture. Return the half and half-yolk mixture to the saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. You will know the custard is thick enough when you see steam rise from the surface and the custard coats the spoon. Strain the custard into the bowl with the heavy cream. Stir to combine.
  4. Add the blueberry juice to the custard mixture and stir. Place the bowl in the ice bath and stir occasionally to cool (be sure not to get any water in your custard mixture). Refrigerate until cold (at least 4 hours, but better overnight). Freeze custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and chill in the freezer for 2 to 3 hours before serving.
  5. Preheat an oven to 350°F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Add flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt to a medium bowl, stirring to combine. Using your hands, quickly work the butter into the flour-sugar mixture. Keep pressing the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles wet sand. Stir in the oats, then transfer the entire mixture to a rimmed baking sheet. Break up any clumps that are larger than 1/2-inch. Bake until the mixture turns golden brown and crisp (30 – 35 minutes), stirring every 10 minutes to ensure even cooking. Let cool before sprinkling over the blueberry ice cream.
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Love your gifs. And oat crumble! I am quiet sad I left my ice cream maker at my parents house I think my mom never uses it. I need to make way up to Canada and retrieve asap or finally buy a Kitchenaid ice cream maker attachment. What ice cream maker do you use?

    • Haha, thanks JS! I have 2 ice cream makers: the KitchenAid Stand Mixer Attachment and a cheapy one from Walmart. They both work very well. You don’t need anything really fancy.

    • Sounds delicious!! I tried it once and it turned out well. Need to do it again 🙂

  9. Top this creation with a little whipped cream and a strawberry on top of that and you have the perfect Fourth of July dessert! Thanks for your wonderful recipes–you make everything look easy to prepare! I may have taught you the basics, but you have by far surpassed me in the risk-taking art of cooking!!! Happy Fourth of July from the East Coast!

    • I’ll definitely need to add whipped cream and strawberries next time. Great idea mom!! Thanks for all the cooking lessons and family recipes. Also for sparking my love for cooking!

  11. I keep seeing all these ice cream recipes that make me want to stop waffling and just go out and buy an ice cream maker…this one might be the one to tip the iceberg (ha. that horrible wordplay was totally unintentional). The COLOR alone. But crumbly topping too? I MUST make this!

    • Thanks Sarah!! Several years ago, an old roommate of mine purchased an ice cream maker. He made peach ice cream once. After that, I started using it and experimenting with ice cream and sorbets. I was surprised at how easy it was to make really good frozen desserts at home!! Definitely make the purchase. That original ice cream maker was like $35 from Walmart, and it lasted many years before. No need to get anything fancy!

    • Thanks Tonie! That recipe is suuuuuper tasty. I just had a friend request that I make it sometime soon 😉

  15. Oh my that color!!! We’ve been on a blueberry kick lately and it doesn’t get any better than a creamy custard base. Definitely adding this to our dessert rotation. 🙂

Trackbacks

  6. […] the recipe is in an unfriendly format.  Also, remember FoodBuzz??  I do miss that.  Last year, I reposted the same Blueberry Ice Cream recipe, reimagined with an Oat Crumble Topping.  My photos are now bright, vibrant and there’s even an animated gif thrown into the mix! […]

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