Dani’s Sundae Bar
Servings: the world’s your oyster! Go as big or little as you’d like, but this tends to work best when you’re feeding several people so you can buy a variety of ingredients.
Notes:
Lately, I’ve found myself making tiny sundaes. Wee little cups of ice cream, topped off with a bit of seasonal or dried chopped fruit, some toasted and crumbled nuts, finished with a dollop of jam or slick of cream. We have to admit these sundaes are totally inspired by our toddler, who reminds us that one should never skip an opportunity to sneak a little ice cream. Though, we suppose she gets it from her mama - after all, her parents did have an ice cream bar at their wedding.
And, so here you have part deux of this week’s 4th of July game plan: the sundae bar. Hope you love this as much as our actual and inner child did.
You don’t need to go wild with toppings - let the fruit shine!
Essential Components:
Ice cream: we like to offer vanilla, which is a nice canvas, and also serve a wild card flavor depending on what’s available and fun.
Buns: everyone knows the chipwich, but what most don’t know is that an ice cream cookie sandwich is a difficult thing to achieve (we tried many ways - the ice has to be at just the right temperature), while a bun is much more forgiving. We used pretzel slider buns, but another one - say brioche or parker house - would be great here, too.
Jam: we chose strawberry since that’s what we had on hand, but choose a variety that matches or compliments the fruit on the platter.
Assorted berries: July 4th is peak berry season, so it’s easy to make to
Stone fruit: peaches, plums, apricots and the like are all making an appearance right now, as well. Choose whatever looks good.
Chopped nuts: everything needs a little texture. We used pecans, but also recommend some salted peanuts.
Sprinkles: to emulate the fireworks, duh.
Optional:
Fluff: totally gratuitous, totally awesome.
Caramel or hot fudge: no explanation needed.
Cones: again, no explanation needed.
Maraschino cherries: a nice, nostalgic offering. Plus, then you have them on hand for Shirley Temples.
Olive oil and flakey sea salt: for the fancy folk.
Pretzels, crushed nilla wafers, etc.: for a lil added crunch and flavor.
Steps
No real instructions, but a few tips:
Let your ice cream soften a bit before serving.
Cut an large blackberries or strawberries in half or into quarters.
Get yourself a collection of small bowls for serving garnishes, since we’re serving a lot of platters lately!