In many ways, this dessert changed the course of my life and led me here, to sharing recipes on Substack. In high school, I went to a family friend's home, and their daughter, a pastry chef at Levain, made dessert: blueberry crisp with Marcona almonds and topped with corn ice cream. Eating it was a sublime experience — the noise around me softened, as I concentrated on what I was tasting. Every component was in perfect harmony:
Texture + temperature: the crunch of the nuts provided a different–yet–complementary crunch to the crisp topping while the jammy, unctuous, and bubbling-hot blueberries slowly softened the cold, smooth, and rich ice cream on top.
Flavor: the blueberries’ bright and lemony tartness paired so well with the salty-rich nuts, the sweet-caramely crisp topping, and the grassy-milky-sweet flavor of the corn.
I served the crisp in vintage gratin ramekins. I mixed round and oval ramekins because that’s what I had (the round ones were inherited from the previous tenant in our last apartment, and the oval ones I purchased on Ebay). I can’t find the exact ones online, but I found similar ones here!
Every summer since then, I have made a version of this dessert (see collage below, if you zoom in closely you can see these pics go all the way back to 2017), usually late at night and for friends, since I love ending a wonderful evening with an equally wonderful dessert.
Each summer, I make it a bit different as I grow into my practice, learn more, and develop my tastes. Over the years, I have taken notes about what worked and what didn’t. There were years where the crisp was not crisp enough, the ice cream too sticky (I was trying out a new stabilizer), etc.
This is the first recipe I learned to sit with and test over and over and over again. I now do this with all of my recipes here on Substack, making new versions, taking notes, adjusting, and repeating until it’s just right.
This version includes a no-churn ice cream base. It’s my first time making this with a no-churn base, but I wanted the recipe to be accessible, as only a portion of my subscribers have an ice cream machine! (If you are in the market, this is the machine I have, and this is the machine I would buy if mine broke tomorrow). This ice cream has a different flavor profile and texture than the one I have made in the past, but I adore it just the same. Previously, the ice cream amplified the raw-grassy notes in the corn (by allowing the husk to steep along with the kernels and the cob), but this version needs more fat to get a non-icy consistency. So, I added butter and turned it into a buttered corn ice cream. To get as much flavor infused as possible, we toast the kernels in butter first - this also adds a delicious, rich, and almost caramel-y sweetness.
The many summers of varying success have also helped me learn how to bake the crisp perfectly. When baking the crisp directly on top of the blueberries, it gets soggy and the sugar melts into the fruit, making it way too sweet. The method below avoids this completely, leaving you with jammy and tart blueberries, as well as a crunchy crisp topping with just enough softness.
recipe
A few notes before starting:
With a no-churn ice cream, you need to set aside time for it to set up in the freezer. Please plan to make this at least 8 hours before serving.
This recipe makes a bit too much ice cream for the amount of crisp, so feel free to make extra blueberry crisp (I’m happy to increase the amounts for you in the comments) or stir some blueberry jam into the leftover ice cream and pile it into a pint container to enjoy later.
I used Marcona almonds for the crisp (the memories), but this is a total splurge. You can use any kind of almond; just add an extra pinch of flaky salt. With that being said, resident recipe cross-tester Cara loved the Marcona almonds too, and believes you really should use them.
As always, you can find more ingredient information and tips for conversions in my conversion document. If you have any questions, please refer to the document or feel free to leave a comment!
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