Delia Smith’s blueberry crumble ice cream is a fromage frais custard base with baked cinnamon crumble pieces folded through and blueberry purée swirled in ribbons. It makes 1.5 litres (2½ pints), needs no ice cream maker, and bakes at 190°C (375°F/Gas 5) for the crumble.
Smith says “the flavour of the blueberries and the added crunch of crumble make this a stunning ice cream.” The recipe first appeared in Sainsbury’s Magazine and uses fromage frais instead of double cream. That swap keeps the texture light without losing richness.
The crumble pieces must be broken to the size of small peas before folding in. Smith is specific: “if they’re any larger, they’re unwieldy to eat, and if they’re too small they disappear.”
Delia Smith Blueberry Crumble Ice Cream
Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy8
servings30
minutes10
minutes280
kcal6
hours40
minutesA custard-based ice cream from Sainsbury’s Magazine, made with fromage frais rather than cream, with baked cinnamon crumble and blueberry purée rippled through. Topped with frosted blueberries for serving.
Ingredients
- For the ice cream base:
275ml (10 fl oz) fromage frais (8% fat)
1 rounded teaspoon cornflour
4 large egg yolks
75g (3 oz) caster sugar
425ml (15 fl oz) milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- For the crumble:
50g (2 oz) light brown sugar
50g (2 oz) butter
75g (3 oz) plain flour
1 level teaspoon cinnamon
- For the blueberry purée:
250g (9 oz) blueberries
50g (2 oz) caster sugar
- For the frosted blueberries:
50g (2 oz) blueberries
1 large egg white
caster sugar, for dipping
Directions
- Make the custard: Whisk the cornflour, egg yolks and sugar together. Heat the milk to just below boiling point and pour it over the egg mixture, whisking as you pour. Return to the pan and heat gently, stirring until it has the consistency of thin custard. Add the vanilla extract, pour into a bowl and allow to cool completely.
- Fold in the fromage frais: Once the custard is cold, fold in the fromage frais.
- Freeze the base: If using an ice cream maker, freeze-churn for 30 to 40 minutes until thickened. Without a machine, pour into a freezer box, freeze for 3 to 4 hours, whisk thoroughly, then return to the freezer for 2 more hours.
- Bake the crumble and purée: Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Rub the brown sugar, butter, flour and cinnamon together into a coarse, lumpy crumble and spread on a baking sheet. Place the blueberries and caster sugar for the purée in a shallow baking dish. Bake the crumble on a high shelf and the blueberries just below for 10 minutes.
- Prepare the components: Sieve the baked blueberries through a nylon sieve to make a purée, discarding the seeds. Chill for 2 hours. Break the cooled crumble into pieces the size of small peas.
- Assemble: Fold the crumble into the ice cream quickly. Stir in the blueberry purée, but not too thoroughly: you want ribbon-like streaks running through the ice cream. Transfer to the freezer box and freeze.
- Make the frosted blueberries: Lightly whisk the egg white. Dip each blueberry first in egg white, then in caster sugar. Leave on greaseproof paper for 2 hours to set. Use to decorate when serving.
Notes
- Move the ice cream to the main fridge an hour before serving. Crumble ice creams need time to soften enough to scoop.
- Smith warns that if the custard looks grainy during heating, don’t worry: it becomes smooth again as it cools.
- This recipe contains raw egg in the frosted blueberry garnish.
- You’ll need a freezer box measuring 25.5 x 15 x 5cm (10 x 6 x 2 inches) with a lid.
FAQs
Why does Smith use fromage frais instead of double cream?
Fromage frais at 8% fat is much lighter than double cream at 48% fat. It gives the ice cream a tangy, yoghurt-like freshness that balances the sweet crumble and blueberry purée. Double cream would make this too heavy, especially with the baked crumble adding its own buttery richness on top.
The custard base already has 4 egg yolks and 425ml of milk for body. Adding fromage frais on top of that gives you enough richness for a smooth scoop. You avoid the dense, cloying texture that an all-cream ice cream can have.
Can I skip the frosted blueberries?
The frosted blueberries are purely a decoration, not part of the ice cream itself. Skip them entirely if you want, and the ice cream loses nothing in terms of flavour or texture. Smith includes them because they look impressive: sugar-crusted berries on top of purple-streaked ice cream.
If you do make them, note that the recipe uses raw egg white for the coating. For anyone avoiding raw egg, a light brush of lemon juice before dipping in sugar achieves a similar frosted look without the egg.
How is this different from the blackcurrant ice cream?
Smith’s blackcurrant ice cream is a far simpler recipe: raw fruit sieved into a sugar syrup, folded with double cream, no custard base, no baking involved at all. This blueberry version is more involved because it has three separate components: custard base, baked crumble and baked purée.
The texture is completely different too. The blackcurrant version is smooth throughout, while this one has the crunch of cinnamon crumble breaking through every spoonful. If you’re choosing between them for a dinner party, the blackcurrant is easier, but this one makes more of a visual impression.
Why bake the blueberries instead of using them raw?
Baking concentrates the blueberry flavour by evaporating some of the water content. Raw blueberries are quite mild compared to blackcurrants or raspberries. They need that extra heat and intensity to stand up against the rich custard and buttery crumble.
The sugar caramelises slightly during baking too, which adds a deeper, jammier sweetness. Sieving the baked berries removes seeds and skins, giving you a clean, smooth purée. That purée swirls through the ice cream in the ribbon-like streaks Smith describes.
What size should the crumble pieces be?
Smith is very specific here: “the size of small peas.” That’s about 5mm across. Larger chunks are hard to eat on a spoon and can feel gritty. Smaller crumbs disappear into the ice cream and you lose the crunch entirely.
Break them by hand, not in a food processor. A processor turns everything to dust in seconds. Gently snap the baked sheet of crumble into pieces, then crumble down any larger bits between your fingertips. Work quickly once you start folding them into the ice cream so it doesn’t melt.
Can I make this with a different fruit?
Smith says “summer fruits make wonderful ice creams” and lists this as one of her crumble ice cream variations. Raspberries would work particularly well because they’re already sharp enough to stand up to the cinnamon crumble. You’d sieve them the same way to remove the seeds.
For a different Delia frozen dessert, her strawberry cheesecake ice cream uses cream cheese and condensed milk instead of custard. It’s sweeter and denser, so it fills a different spot on the dessert table if you’re making several flavours for a party.
