Did you ever think a dessert this gorgeous and fresh-tasting could be made entirely ahead?
I called Renee Muller and told her I had an idea for a dessert based on a dish I saw at an event. I needed her help. What kind of fruit coulis would work? What fruit did she think I should use for a tangy yet satisfying base for the ice cream and crumbs? She suggested some ideas and we hung up. A few days later, I called again to discuss it. She got the hint and told me not to worry, she’s going to make the fruit part for me. I just need to show up with the rest of the dessert. I plan on calling Renee with more ideas in the future. The taste of this is so amazing, you will want to serve this dessert first, before you fill up with the rest of your meal. It’s sweet, tangy, and addictively delicious. The kind of dessert where you lick your spoon and wish for more.
What’s another reason we love this dessert so much?
It’s the dessert you can pull out from the freezer but doesn’t have that freezer feel to it.
Another great aspect of this dessert is the striking presentation. Admit it: you never thought about serving dessert in a soup bowl, did you? Best of all, the soup bowl isn’t used at every meal. So let’s change that, shall we?
Make ahead…check
Delicious…check
Show stopping gorgeous…check
- 1 16 oz bag frozen strawberries
- 1 16 oz bag frozen whole cranberries (we used Dole for all frozen fruit)
- 6 oz frozen whole dark cherries (½ bag)
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup (1 stick) margarine, chilled
- Prepare the fruit coulis. Place all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook semi-covered for 1 ½ hours until sauce reduces and thickens. Keep an eye on the pot as it can easily boil over.
- With a hand blender, blend it a few times, until mostly blended with some chunks left. Let cool. You can place in the fridge for 4-5 days or freeze and defrost before serving.
- Prepare the crumbs. Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Combine ingredients together to form coarse crumbs. Place it on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 15-18 minutes until crumbs are golden at the edges. Let cool and break apart (if it seems like it came together you can mix warm crumbs with a fork to break apart. Then let cool and break apart further). You can freeze the crumbs until ready to be used.
- To assemble, place ½ cup of coulis on ¾ of side of bowl. With a spoon, smooth it out. Place a handful of crumbs on the empty side, overlapping some on the fruit coulis.
- Top with a scoop of ice cream and garnish with some mint leaves, half figs and coconut chips.
- Make ahead: You can prepare balls of ice cream preshaped in the freezer.
- Note: if you are doubling the crumbs divide them on two baking sheets.
See this mango version too!
Can the coulis be served warm with the ice cream on crumbs or not really??
We never tried it. Let us know if you do try it.
Is there something else I can use instead of frozen whole dark cherries? My grocery doesnt seem to carry it.
We only tried it with this fruit combo however we’re sure it would work with any frozen berry combination. You may want to add some lemon juice if the fruit you use isn’t tart.
Will this work with strawberries and rhubarb
We only tried it with this fruit combo however we’re sure it would work with any frozen berry combination. You may want to add some lemon juice if the fruit you use isn’t tart.
Try serving with a scoop of sorbet. So delicious and refreshing!
coulis is delicious however when i baked the crumbs, they became one big mass that i had to chop up with a knife. is it supposed to be that way, or something went wrong?
You do need to break it up with your hands. It shouldn’t be one one big clump. However I’m sure it still tastes delicious!
I tried making the crumbs twice and it was a flop! It was more like one big candy 🙁 it looks like the flour measurement is a bit off
I’m sorry you’re having trouble. Trying to figure out what’s wrong.
What margarine are you using? Did you form crumbs or a dough before placing it on a baking sheet.
I’ve given it some thought and it’s possible if you use very soft margarine it would melt together in the oven. I’ve edited the recipe to say that the margarine needs to be chilled when forming crumbs.
I tried to do a healthy spin on this. Used betterine and coconut sugar. Turned brown and didn’t really crisp so well. Tried again with marge and xylitol. Looked better but still didn’t get the crisp factor. Third time lucky with good old sugar and marge. So moreish. Yum. Can you suggest a way to make these crumbs crispy without sugar?
Lol, I’m sorry there isn’t. Like all things, enjoy it moderation 🙂
hi, is the coulis supposed to be sweet? i am making it now and it doesnt taste sweet!!!
We thought it tasted like fruit roll ups :-. A bit tart and a bit sweet.
The coulis is extremely tart and sour. Is it meant to be that way? Possibly there are supposed to be less cranberries and more of the cherries. Please advise. Thank you!!
A bit tart, not extremely. We used Dole frozen crandberries, its possible a different brand is more tart? You can try recooking it with some sugar and see if that help.
I made this dessert and OMG I can’t stop eating it! I added a lot more sugar (I actually used a mix of honey and maple syrup) bec it came out extremely tart for me. I made the berry sauce in advance and froze it and you can even use it frozen like sorbet with a scoop of ice cream and the crumbs! I found that the crumbs needed a little less margarine to come out crumbly instead of melting to one big sheet that needs to be cracked apart. It was a huge hit on Rosh Hashana and I’m making it again for Sukkos! ????
Any way you can substitute oil for the margarine?
I found that it’s better to break up the crumb while it’s still warm. Otherwise you end up with one hard peice like the other posters mentioned.
This is one of my favorite desserts! A HIGE hit and different from the usual. I can’t seem to find the frozen cranberries in my neighborhood. Should I use that amount of strawberries or more of the cherries? What would you recommend? Thanks so much.
I tried the crumbs twice. The first time I used a whole stick of margarine straight from the freezer so I softened it a bit in the microwave first. The crumbs were literally swimming in oil even k gook them out so I put them back in and they became like a brittle! Super hard when they cooled and not at all crumblike. So the second time I used half a stick of margarine straight from the freezer. Not as bad as the first time but still it’s hard chunks not crumbly…what an I doing wrong?
I can’t find frozen cherries, any clue who sells it in Brooklyn?