Really Good Summer Fruit, Vanilla Ice Cream, + Flaky Salt
It's hot. When the fruit is this good we can do less. Spoon the best summer fruit you can find over a good quality vanilla bean ice cream, and sprinkle with flaky salt.
Really Good Summer Fruit, Vanilla Ice Cream, + Flaky Salt
It’s hot. You’ve been tasked with bringing dessert to the backyard dinner party or bbq. Or maybe you just want a little treat! I’m giving you permission to *not* turn the oven on. Because when the fruit is this good we can do less! I give you: Really Good Summer Fruit, Vanilla Ice Cream, + Flaky Salt.
For as long as I can remember my family has served a version of this for dessert at our Sunday night dinners in the summer. It’s so simple that you might question why I’m taking the time to write this out. But! What if you haven’t had this revelation yet? What if you’re stressing about which dessert you need to bake this weekend for the party? Then you must bring Really Good Summer Fruit, Vanilla Ice Cream, + Flaky Salt.
This dessert is exactly what the title suggests. It’s not totally a recipe. But if savory summer dishes like Caprese can get a recipe, then so can this. Tomato, plus a really good mozz, plus some basil, glugs of olive oil, flaky salt? We love that. Here, it’s all about Vanilla bean ice cream, berries or stone fruit so ripe you want to eat them standing over the sink, and flaky salt. The flaky salt makes it feel a little cheffier. Consider this more of a framework than a recipe. But let me be clear, this is a summer treat that tastes so good you kind of have to close your eyes when you take a bite.
Oh, and if you can’t find the ripest fruit, I’m breaking down how to macerate it, which just means tossing fruit in a little sugar until it softens and becomes sweeter. Macerating is a pretty foolproof (and still no-cook no-bake) path to deliciousness and it scales up easily for a bigger group. I’m also sharing a few products and cooking tips below. Let’s get into it!
A few tips + product recs:
If I’m talking about vanilla ice cream I’m always talking about the Straus Creamery Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Straus is kind of an iconic brand that’s local here in Northern California and I’ll tell anyone who will listen about their ice cream, especially the vanilla bean.
Let’s chat flaky finishing salt. I love Maldon Sea Salt Flakes and Jacobsen Pure Flake Sea Salt. Maldon is an English brand that’s over 100 years old. Their pure flake sea salt adds a truly lovely salty bite with a thinner, more delicate texture for the most delightful crunch whenever you get a bite. Jacobsen is an American brand that harvests their salts from Netart’s Bay on the Oregon coast. I love their pure flake sea salt, it’s similar to maldon but it’s a bit coarser with more of a crunch. Both are fabulous and many grocery stores carry at least one of these brands.
I love drizzling Just Date Syrup over the ice cream and fruit, then topping it all with flaky salt. It’s a whole new level of delicious. It has these brown sugar caramely notes with a more mellow sweetness. Fun fact: I was on the founding team at Enjoy Just Date! Sylvie, the founder is still my dear friend and she has been a huge mentor to me in my culinary career. Her story is really inspiring - read about it and check out their products!
Scaling this recipe is easy for a bigger crowd, especially if you plan to macerate less-than-ripe fruit. If macerating, you can make this a day ahead. Slice however many pounds of fruit you want, sprinkle with sugar, and toss in advance. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Really Good Summer Fruit, Vanilla Ice Cream, + Flaky Salt
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1 quart vanilla bean ice cream
1 ½ lbs ripest summer fruit you can find - nectarines, cherries, strawberries, peaches, blackberries, raspberries, etc
Flaky salt - I love Maldon Sea Salt Flakes and Jacobsen Pure Flake Sea Salt
Optional: few small spoonfuls sugar if you can’t find super ripe fruit, or your preferred sweetener, I love Just Date Syrup
Instructions:
Slice fruit into wedges or halves and transfer to large serving bowl. Set aside.
Optional: macerate the fruit. If fruit is not very ripe, sprinkle few small spoonfuls of sugar over fruit, gently toss to combine with spoon, and let sit for at least 30 minutes to macerate. This will concentrate the sweetness, soften the fruit, and release the liquid, creating a syrupy consistency that coats the fruit and makes it extra luscious over ice cream. This step can be done overnight. Cover and store in fridge until ready to serve. *If you already have really sweet fruit, skip this step!
Just before serving, scoop ice cream into bowls, spoon sliced or macerated fruit over bowls, and top each bowl with few small pinches of flaky salt. I also like to leave a little dish with more flaky salt out for serving. Enjoy!
Very much a fan of no-cook recipes (for both baking and cooking!). Last night I made Ina Garten's Summer Garden Pasta and it was revelatory. I think it would pair perfectly with this dessert!
Recipe if you're curious! https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/summer-garden-pasta
I grew up eating this, too! We made a variation on peach melba with peaches and raspberries. I still make it in the summer but with Strauss ofc.