Summer Berry Stovetop Crisp
When peak berry season arrives, you have no other option but to make proper use of them—and what better way to showcase the prized jewels than a bright, ripe fruit crisp. The only problem? A proper crisp takes about an hour to bake, and leaving the oven on during the dog days of summer is a hard pass. The solve? Making the crisp entirely on the stovetop so your air conditioner can get some much-needed rest.
The trick to making this dessert an oven-free affair is to make a stovetop streusel. You just combine butter, flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla, then—instead of baking them—you’ll fry them up in a skillet until crunchy. And for the filling, an array of any berries of your choosing can be tossed together. Blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries are ideal candidates, retaining their pristine shape as they cook down. Just avoid using raspberries, which have a tendency to turn to soup as soon as they hit the warm pan. And if you want to use frozen, just increase the amount of cornstarch to 2 tablespoons to account for their slightly more watery texture.
Recipe information
Total Time
45 minutes
Yield
6 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Mix ¾ cup plus 1 Tbsp. (102 g) whole wheat flour, ¾ cup (67 g) old-fashioned oats, ⅔ cup (packed; 133 g) dark brown sugar, 2 tsp. ground cinnamon, and 1¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a medium bowl to combine.
Step 2
Melt 7 Tbsp. unsalted butter in a 9"-diameter cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Drizzle butter over dry ingredients and add 1½ tsp. vanilla extract; mix and squeeze together with your hands to create small clumps. Reserve skillet.
Step 3
Melt remaining 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter in reserved skillet over medium-low heat. Add streusel to pan; reserve bowl. Cook, gently stirring often and breaking up any clumps larger than a marble, until oats are golden and mixture has darkened by a few shades, 8–10 minutes. (Streusel will firm up more as it cools, so don’t worry if it feels a little soft.) Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet or large plate and let cool. Reserve pan.
Step 4
Mix 5 tsp. cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. cold water in a small bowl; set slurry aside.
Step 5
Toss juice of 1 small lemon, 2 lb. mixed fresh berries (such as blueberries, strawberries, and/or blackberries), halved if large, and remaining ½ cup (packed; 100 g) dark brown sugar, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon in reserved bowl. Transfer berries, including any juices in the bottom of the bowl, to reserved pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, just until slightly softened, 5–7 minutes. (Pan will be very full, so stir carefully.) Stir reserved cornstarch slurry if needed, then add to pan. Cook, stirring constantly to combine evenly, until mixture thickens, 30–60 seconds. Let filling cool 5 minutes; scatter streusel over.
Recipe notes
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