The buzzy gossiping of bees, sticky summer temperatures, milk jugs full of berries ready to burst — this is summer to me. Take the family to your favorite blueberry farm this season and then make this ice cream for your next gathering. The sharp tang of fresh blueberries is folded into a creamy cinnamon-buttermilk custard, making for a deeply rich and satisfying treat.
– Recipe by Lisa Archer, Roanoke
Ingredients
For the custard:
1 ½ cups buttermilk
1 ½ cups heavy cream, divided
¾ cup sugar, divided
6 (3”) cinnamon sticks
6 egg yolks
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the blueberries:
½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon
For the crumble
⅔ cup flour
⅔ cup oats
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
Pinch ground nutmeg
8 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into 1” cubes
INSTRUCTIONS
Beforehand: freeze the mixing bowl of your ice cream maker for at least 12 hours. Pour buttermilk, ¾ cup heavy cream and ½ cup sugar into a double boiler and warm over medium heat until sugar dissolves and the mixture is warm but not simmering. Add cinnamon sticks, cover, and remove from heat. Let steep for 2 hours.
After mixture has steeped, remove cinnamon sticks. Place remaining heavy cream in a large bowl in an ice bath. Place double boiler with custard mix over medium heat and heat until steaming. While mixture warms, whisk egg yolks with remaining sugar. While whisking, slowly add a splash of the hot custard mixture to the yolks. Continue to add custard while whisking until you have added about half. Add the yolks to the remaining custard mixture and return to heat. Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain custard into the remaining heavy cream in the ice bath and stir to combine. Whisk in ground cinnamon. Once custard has cooled slightly, transfer to a container and chill overnight.
For the crumble
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine flour, oats, sugar and spices in a medium bowl. Add butter and quickly work into the flour mixture using your fingers. Transfer to a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake until golden brown (about 20 minutes), stirring once halfway through baking.
For the blueberry compote
In a small saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Cook berries until they begin to burst and syrup thickens, 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and chill completely before using.
To make the ice cream
Pour chilled custard into an ice cream mixture and freeze according to instructions. Churn the ice cream until it resembles soft serve and then slowly add the blueberry compote and half the crumble in batches until incorporated (alternatively, you can also fold this in by hand). Transfer ice cream to a storage container and freeze until hardened. Serve with remaining crumble topping.
