BERRY PARFAIT WITH LEMON ICE CREAM AND BUTTER CRUMBS

All the components for this showstopping dessert can easily be made in advance. They are each delicious on their own, but when combined, the flavors blend to create something really amazing. I added the lemon zest to the vanilla ice cream to bring it up a notch. You can choose to skip this step, but I recommend it. 

Serves 8–10

BERRY COMPOTE

• 2 pints (2 550-ml boxes) fresh blueberries, or 2 lbs (1 kg) frozen
• 1 1b (450 g) frozen strawberries
• 1 vanilla bean, cut in half and scraped, or 1 Tbsp vanilla sugar
• ½ cup sugar or sweetener
• juice of ½ lemon
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp cold water

ICE CREAM

• 1 pint dairy vanilla ice cream
• 2 Tbsp lemon zest (optional)

CRUMBLE

• 3 oz (85 g) butter
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 8 whole cinnamon graham crackers (or plain), crushed
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Place all berries, vanilla, sugar, and lemon juice in a medium pot, and bring to a boil. Lower heat and add the dissolved cornstarch. Simmer 10 minutes. Let cool. Take vanilla ice cream out of freezer and defrost for a few minutes. Mix in lemon zest. Return to freezer. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Place all crumble ingredients into a medium bowl, and rub well with your fingers until small, even crumbs are formed. Place the crumbs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

To assemble: Prepare individual parfait glasses. Put a few spoonfuls of blueberry compote into each glass. Add a scoop of lemon ice cream and top with crumble.

(Originally featured in FamilyTable, Issue 645)