⅓ cup (67 grams) light brown sugar, packed ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened ⅓ cup (30 grams) old-fashioned rolled oatsģ tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes There’s really no better way to soak up this fleeting, delightful season. If you want something a little more over-the-top, serve squares of the cake with a scoop of high-quality vanilla ice cream, lightly sweetened whipped cream - or if you’re feeling extra (basically me, all the time), alongside a pint of Jeni’s Brambleberry Crisp itself. This cake celebrates summer in all its ripe, bountiful glory: The crunchy, just-sweet-enough oat streusel gives way to tender cake and baked berries, with cinnamon and lemon zest adding lovely notes of nuance. Thanks to these pastry experts, I ended up with the streusel-laden cake I envisioned. Allowing the cake to set in the oven a bit before adding the streusel helps to create a sturdier base that won’t immediately swallow the topping. The reason behind this, as I learned from my conversation with cookbook author and food stylist Yossy Arefi (another smart, wonderful pastry person), is that it’s imperative for the cake to have enough structure to support the weight of the streusel. While all the testers ended up tasting fine (there were a lot of them), I was determined to create a cake that looked the part, too.Īfter some deep-dive research, I increased the flour and cut down on the butter in the streusel, and followed the very knowledgeable Rose Levy Beranbaum’s helpful tip to sprinkle on the topping 30 minutes into baking. The whole thing gets showered in an oat streusel, which turned out to be my favorite part of the cake and the bane of my existence during the development process: Iteration after iteration, my streusel kept melting and/or sinking into the cake. Made in an 8-by-8-inch pan, the lemon-kissed sour cream cake is topped with ripe summer berries (I use a combination of raspberries and blackberries) that bake up just jammy enough while retaining some of their structure. This month’s cake is directly inspired by my favorite Jeni’s flavor and doubles as my ode to long, slow (and quiet) Ohio summers. Though I’m constantly vacillating between the two (I’m currently in a Graeter’s phase), I remember falling in love with Jeni’s iconic Brambleberry Crisp flavor the first time I had it years ago: Each pie-like scoop is swirled with the perfect ratio of brambleberry jam and chunks of brown sugar oat streusel. While my friends tended to gravitate toward Jeni’s ’gram-ready vibes and unexpected flavors (goat cheese with red cherries, anyone?), my dad has always been an outspoken Graeter’s devotee, preferring their old-school, no-frills setup and simple, classic options (their cookies and cream can’t be beat, in my opinion). Verdict? An overall good ice cream but not worth the price by any means.Having grown up in Columbus, Ohio, Graeter’s and Jeni’s were always my go-to spots for grabbing a cold, creamy treat on summer nights. This will more than likely be the last Jeni's product I pay for with me own money because I'd rather be using those coupons elsewhere. Being a business major, I just don't understand Jeni's rational for their pricing structure. $6 is even way too high for it when other brands are doing the same business practice and putting out superior products for cheaper. Once again, there's no way I could justify this ice cream or even this brand for that matter at their normal price. That and the oat stuesal was as if someone has forgotten to add the spices to it. Sure blackberries and black currants are something you don't come around every day but the latter makes no appearance at all. The mix-ins don't really make up for it either. I've had better from brand such as Talenti, Graeter's and even The Gelato Fiasco. The main problem here is that unlike the other bases I've had from Jeni's is that the flavor isn't that remarkable. I'd just like there to be more depth of flavor going on with it. The texture is nice, simulating a crunchy oat topping to any normal crisp. While the ingredients lists a various amount of spices involved, all I'm tasting is pure oats. Lastly you get the oat struesal which is pretty lackluster in the flavor department. I know what they taste like but they're just not registering with me. I don't really notice the black currants to be honest. You get the tartness from the blackberries with just a hint of added sweetness to the overall product. The brambleberry sauce is a nice compliment to the vanilla bean base. You can see the specks everywhere and the more intense flavor is definitely noticeable. While the description says this is just a vanilla ice cream, there's no denying that it's a vanilla bean base. This ice cream is dense, rich and one of the smoothest ice creams that I've encountered. Once again, Jeni's proves that they're masters when it comes to a base's texture.
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