So many foods and drinks taste good in summer, but only a few share its soul. There are all the obvious ones, of course—a ripe peach eaten sink-side, a BLT with tomatoes still warm from the sun, peel-and-eat-shrimp. To that list, I’d like to add the humble fruit crisp (or maybe you call it a crumble). The name is not really that important. The experience of its sweet, slumped fruit, crunchy fragrant topping, and melting vanilla ice cream is.
Structurally, the crisp is a dessert that can and should be made year-round, as long as you rotate the fruit according to the season. Its short, pantry-staple ingredient list (oats, flour, butter, sugar, cinnamon) make the crisp appear deceptively simple, but that’s exactly where people stumble. With such few ingredients, the ratio and cooking method makes a big difference. The amount of crisp topping needs to complement but not overwhelm the fruit. The topping should be golden and crisp, not soggy, which means that it calls for enough fat, but not too much.
But wait, you might think, isn’t half the appeal of a fruit crisp its ease? Isn’t it more of a slapdash-style dessert, the kind you can throw together in a damp bathing suit and bake while you eat burgers off the grill? As with most of life’s beautiful, stylish, or tasty things, effortless is only an illusion. The best crisps may eventually become effortless, but only after you’ve mastered the master recipe. Of course, I am more than a decade into making crisps at a moment’s notice and I have to confess that I have not followed this advice. I’ve experimented, tossing ingredients in a big bowl willy-nilly and letting the heat of the oven do its work. Well, all that practice, intentional or not, has in fact made perfect. Finally, I have a recipe to follow.
Fruitful Alternatives
Fruit Basket
Keep the base recipe the same and swap in peak fruit as the seasons change. Just be sure you have about six cups of whatever fruit you select. Some winning seasonal combinations to try: pear + cranberry, strawberry + rhubarb, triple berry (blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry), stone fruit medley, and classic apple.
Dairy-Free Darling
Desserts can be tricky for dairy-free diets, but a fruit crisp is easily adaptable and tastes just as delightful when you substitute melted coconut oil for the butter in the oat topping. Serve on its own, warm from the oven, or with a scoop of your favorite dairy-free yogurt or ice cream.
Perfect Fruit Crisp Recipe
Yield: 1 9×13-inch pan
Ingredients
Topping:
1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. kosher salt
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
1 ½ sticks (12 Tbsp.) chilled unsalted butter, cubed
Filling:
3 cups blueberries
3 cups sliced peaches
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
Pinch of kosher salt
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Meanwhile, toss fruit with sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt in a glass or ceramic 9×13 baking dish until well coated. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine all the topping ingredients except the butter. Work the cubed, cold butter into the dry topping mix, using your hands, until clumps begin to form.
- Gently sprinkle the crisp topping evenly over the fruit, making sure not to press it down. If you have any leftover topping, you can freeze it in a plastic bag for future fruit crisps.
- Bake the crisp for 30–35 minutes, or until the top is a deep golden brown and the fruit juices are bubbling. Remove from oven, let cool for 15 minutes, and serve with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
Photography by Jivan Davé
