Crafting_The_Perfect_Ice_Cream_Sundae_Sundaes_Bar_Dessert_Fiend.png

What should one do with a healthy amount of leftover salted caramel? Eat it by the spoonful (guilty), top an apple with it (apple bathed in caramel > yawn.com apple), OR create an ice cream sundae bar around it? YES. I was into this sundae bar concept because it sounded fun, interactive, pretty low effort and it happened to be Sunday as well. The beauty of it is that it's a no-fail dessert that you can dial up or down as much as you'd like. I decided to dial it up to 11 because that's what I do. I crafted two sundae bars- one for a Game of Thrones viewing party (sundaes and strong adult content go really well together) and one for a family get together (fun for the whole famn damily!) I am pleased to report that both were smashing successes.

Here's the lowdown on how to create the perfect sundae bar:

•Ice Cream: Several pints, several flavors. Definitely get Vanilla and Chocolate at the very least. My personal sundae favorite: Mint Chocolate Chip. Want to make your own? We loved the Vanilla Bean Ice Cream my hubs made. Recipe below.
•Hot Fudge & Caramel Sauce: You've gotta have a hot situation for your ice cream to sit in and get drizzled upon. It's a must for a sundae. Along with Salted Caramel Sauce, I made Hot Fudge Sauce (both recipes below). Feeling lazy? Snag one of these and these. I won't judge.
•Toppings: Chopped roasted peanuts, Mini Chocolate Chips, Mini Butterscotch Chips (mini is my pref, but regular-sized is cool too), Rainbow or Chocolate Sprinkles.
•Baked Good: A Chocolate Chip Cookie or Brownie provide a lovely base or topper to your sundae.
•Whipped Cream: One pint with 4 T sugar should be enough to heavily dollop your finished masterpiece. Beat cream until soft peaks form.
•Maraschino Cherries: Optional. I'm a sucker for these, but some say they are terrible for you <shrugs and pops cherry in mouth>.

Pro Tip: My mom told me when she was a waitress back in the day, her insider tip for making pretty sundaes was to first spread the sauce all along the inside walls of the glass with the back of a spoon. It looks fancier and gives you a better sundae eating experience. She also mentioned that it gives you the illusion of having more sauce than you actually do. Sneaky sneaky. Thanks madre!

Hot Fudge Sauce
Recipe from browneyedbaker.com
Yield: 2 heaping cups

Ingredients
2/3 cup heavy cream
½ cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder Pro Tip: How to know if it's Dutch? If it doesn't say those exact words on the package, look for "processed with Alkali" in the ingredients.
¼ teaspoon sea salt
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, divided in half. Pro Tip: I tried both Ghirardelli & Scharffen Berger and preferred the latter simply because it was richer.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1. In a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream, syrup, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt and half of the chocolate to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low or low (enough to maintain a low simmer), and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate, the butter, and the vanilla extract, stirring until smooth. Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes before using (it will thicken as it cools). Store in a jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. To reheat, microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute until it's pourable but still thick.

Salted Caramel Sauce
Recipe from ringfingertanline.com
Yield: 2 heaping cups

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/4 cups heavy cream, warmed
3 tsp fleur de sel (Pro Tip: I only used 2 tsp which was plenty salty)

Directions
1. Combine the sugar and 1/3 cup water in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. This is the only time you can stir the sugar. If you stir it while it's cooking, it turns to rock candy. Place the saucepan over medium to low heat until the sugars start to dissolve, 5 to 10 minutes. Then turn the heat up to medium-high and cook until the sugar starts to caramelize, 5 to 7 minutes (Pro Tip: this took me more like 9 mins). Do not stir while this is happening. You've got to watch the pot, because it goes from caramel to burnt really quickly. And be careful, the mixture is extremely hot!
2. Turn off the heat and stand back to avoid splattering. Slowly add the cream. Don't panic - the cream will bubble violently, and the caramel will solidify. Just give it more time to liquefy again-trust me!
3. Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes. Pro Tip: if your caramel is too liquidity (mine was 5/6 times I've made this), simmer over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes. It's not a bad idea to do this regardless for 5 mins, just to be safe.
4. Allow the sauce to cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. It will thicken as it sits. Stir in salt. Pro Tip: I transferred mine to a container after 2 hrs, it was cool enough.

Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Recipe from Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book
Yield: 1 quart

Ingredients
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
2 tsp vanilla extract OR 1 vanilla bean, scraped

Directions
1. Whip the eggs and sugar together with a whisk until fluffy (but not firm).
2. Add the rest of the ingredients into the eggs and sugar. Whisk together until well mixed.
3. Place in ice cream maker and follow it's directions to make.
4. Best if stored in a separate flat container

Pro Tip: Make sure your ice cream maker container has been in the freezer for at least 24 hours or else the ice cream won't get cold enough and fully form.

Ice_Cream_Sundae_Bar_Grid_Hot_Fudge_Sauce_Recipe_Salted_Caramel_Sauce_Recipe_Dessert_Fiend.png

Happy 4th of July! Now go do something 'Merican, like make an ice cream sundae....

One of my family's Thanksgiving traditions is to make a crap-load of desserts. I'm talking, at least 7 desserts. Fo real. We don't mess around either, my mom and I team up and we conquer the desserts, one at a time. You should see us in action. We start first thing in the AM, tie on our aprons in sync, cue the Christmas music (it's acceptable this close to December) and it's go-time. She kindly takes on the roll of the reliable sous-pastry-chef and dishwasher while I take on the role of pastry chef diva.

This year, I jetted to Boston first to celebrate Thanksgiving early with my in-laws. They've adapted nicely to my dessert fiendness and happily join in on the dessert making. This year, we made PB Chocolate Chip Bars (see previous blog entry for the recipe), Mini Pecan Pies, Grandma's Special- Pistachio Whipped Cream Angel Food Cake Heath Bar Parfait (there's gotta be a better title for that), Croissant Pudding with Whiskey Sauce, Pumpkin Ice Cream, Vanilla Heath Bar Ice Cream and Apple Crisp. They were all delish, but the standout was, in my humble opinion, the Croissant Pudding! That recipe had me at "croissant." This is basically bread pudding, but better because it's with croissants. I've never made bread pudding before- for some reason, it always seemed very daunting to me. Luckily, it was far from that. Honorable mention goes to my mother-in-law's Apple Crisp. I'm such a sucker for it.

Croissant Pudding with Whiskey Sauce
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients – Pudding
6 large croissants, sliced in half lengthwise
8 large eggs
1 cup granulated white sugar
3 cups cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Ingredients – Sauce
5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup Irish whiskey or bourbon

Directions – Pudding
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13-inch baking pan.
2. Layer the croissants in pan, making sure entire surface is covered, with no space between the slices.
3. Whisk eggs and sugar together, and blend well. Whisk in the cream and vanilla.
4. Slowly pour cream mixture over the croissants, allowing the bread to absorb the liquid. Push down the croissants with the back of a spoon so they absorb more of the liquid.
5. Set baking pan into a larger shallow pan or baking dish, and pour hot tap water into the outer pan, until the level reaches halfway up the side of inner pan.
6. Place on center rack of oven, and bake until pudding is just set, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, and remove the inner pan from outer pan.

Directions – Sauce
1. Beat the egg yolks and sugar in large bowl until pale yellow. Add whiskey and beat until well combined.
2. Transfer mixture to the top of a double boiler, or a heatproof bowl set over simmering water. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium high heat until the mixture is thick and creamy.
3. Whisk just before serving. To serve, place a slick of the pudding (warm or chilled) on a plate, and drop with sauce.

My sister-in-law's husband modified the drizzle recipe or, some would say, he went rogue (he simply used melted vanilla ice cream) but it was darn tasty. I'm definitely making this recipe again.

Next up, Thanksgiving Part Deux at the Thompson household. My mom and I, as I mentioned earlier, did our thing and made 6 of the 7 desserts: PB Chocolate Chip Bars (appetizers), Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake, Classic Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting, Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, Pumpkin Cheesecake and Apple Pie. My hubs made the 7th which was another round of the Vanilla Heath Bar Ice Cream, but this time with a hot fudge swirl. Such a damn showoff. Everyone's favorite, of course, was the husband's dessert (PISH POSH!). Honorable mention goes to the Ginger Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe from All Recipes & Martha Stewart
Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients – Cupcakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup white sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant butterscotch pudding mix
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
4 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients – Frosting
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions – Cupcakes
1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners. Whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, cloves, and crystallized ginger in a bowl; set aside.
2. Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin puree with the last egg. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Directions – Frosting
1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy.
2. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Overall, 'twas a successful dessert Thanksgiving. The only flop we had was that we didn't grease the pan well enough for the chocolate cake so half of it decided not to come out (see below). We tried to patch it together with the frosting, but it was a hot, hot mess. Luckily, it still tasted good and, in my humble opinion, that's all that matters.

Happy Holiday baking friends!

The Perfect Ice Cream Sundae Bar

Thanksgiving Desserts Part One and Deux

Dessert Fiend