BLACKBERRY COBBLER WITH HOMEMADE VANILLA ICE CREAM

When I was young, the long gravel road leading to my family’s lake house was shaded by the most beautiful tree alley lined with moss, wild ferns, and loads of prickly blackberry bushes. We would spend hours picking blackberries with my grandfather, whom we called “Honey,” then return to the house with full baskets and turn on the loud cranking ice cream maker on the porch. Nowadays, we pick blackberries from the fields on my in-laws’ farm, and I can’t help but miss Honey every time I make this blackberry cobbler and hear the crank of an old-fashioned ice cream maker.

1 pound fresh blackberries

¾ cup sugar (more or less depending on sweetness of berries)

¼ cup cornstarch

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

1¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

⅛ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and chilled

¼ cup heavy cream

Makes 8 servings

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the blackberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour the mixture into a greased 9-inch baking dish.

3. To make the dough, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour mixture until it is the texture of coarse meal. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Pour the heavy cream into the well and stir it with a fork until the mixture comes together. Crumble the dough evenly over the top of the blackberry mixture.

4. Bake the cobbler for 40 minutes until the filling begins to bubble around the edges and the topping is golden brown. Let the cobbler cool for 10 minutes, and serve it with homemade vanilla ice cream.

HOMEMADE VANILLA ICE CREAM

3 cups whole milk

1¾ cups sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups half-and-half

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

3 cups heavy cream

Makes 1 gallon

1. To make the ice cream, in a saucepan over a medium-high heat, scald the milk until bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat.

2. Add the sugar and salt, and stir until dissolved. Stir in the half-and-half, vanilla, and heavy cream. Allow the mixture to cool completely.

3. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, cover it, and refrigerate it for at least an hour (overnight is best). Freeze per your ice cream machine’s instructions.