Tuesday, August 04, 2009

The Ultimate Sundae with Homemade Sauces and Cherry Compote

Boy, I wish I'd thought to make these for dessert after Sunday's burger dinner, what a way to end a meal that would have been! Honestly, I had everything in the fridge to make these without much effort, all store bought stuff of course. But... I watched a Throwdown with Bobby Flay episode and just couldn't resist recreating his winning sundae.

A couple suggestions...

1. Only make all this stuff if you have a bunch of people to feed
2. If you don't feel like going all out like this, skip everything except for the Marshmallow Fluff and the Cherry Compote. The cherries cause they are scary spectacular, and the Fluff cause it's just cool to say you've made Fluff!

Most everything was made exactly as Bobby said to make it, some of them I halved because it was just too much. Do not halve the Cherry Compote recipe and make 1/4 of the Fluff recipe, cause I did halve it, and holy moly that was a lot of Fluff!





Marshmallow Fluff

6 Tbs water
1 ¼ cups light corn syrup
1 vanilla bean seeds
4 large egg whites
pinch salt
pinch cream of tartar


1. In a small saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, bring the water, corn syrup, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla bean to 246° F.

2. In the meantime, in a completely clean, dry mixing bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar until creamy and foamy, about 2 minutes. Still whisking, sprinkle in the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar and continue to whisk until the whites hold very soft peaks, about 2 minutes.

3. While mixing on slow speed, carefully drizzle in the hot syrup. Turn the mixer to high and whisk until thick, fluffy and just warm, about 7 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and whisk in the vanilla seeds.

Butterscotch Sauce

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
½ vanilla bean seeds
2-4 Tbs good quality Scotch
2 tsp salt
½ cup heavy cream

1. Bring sugar, butter and vanilla bean to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat, whisking until combined.

2. Remove pan from the heat. Add the Scotch, return the pan to the heat and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and whisk in the salt and warm cream until smooth.

Hot Fudge Sauce

2/3 cup heavy cream
½ cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
¼ tsp salt
6 oz quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla

1. Bring cream, corn syrup, sugar, cocoa, salt, and half of chocolate to a boil in a 1 to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until chocolate is melted.

2. Reduce heat and cook at a low boil, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Add butter, vanilla, and remaining chocolate and stir until smooth. Serve warm.

Cherry Compote

¾ cup sugar
2 cups cherries, pitted
½ cup water
2 Tbs Kirsch (Cognac)

1. In a saucepan combine sugar, cherries, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to s a simmer and cook until cherries start to breakdown, about 6 minutes.

2. Remove the cherries with a slotted spoon; reserve. Simmer the cooking liquid until reduced and syrupy. Remove from the heat, add the Kirsch and ignite with a long kitchen match until flames subside. Return the cherries to the pan and heat briefly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I don’t have Kirsch and there was no way I was lighting up anything! I just added some Cognac in the first step with everything else.

Top your Ultimate Sundae with chopped nuts of choice for it to be perfect!

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8 comments:

A Bowl Of Mush said...

This looks so delicious, its making my mouth water!

Anonymous said...

A deconstructed sundae! I love it. While the fluff recipe is familiar around these parts (it's only a step or two away from our homemade marshmallows), I am thrilled to see the butterscotch sauce recipe. Especially considering it is all-natural and sounds divine! Plus, I think the whole "sundae bar" idea is such a crowd pleaser: it makes for an impressive display, yet guests actually do a lot of the heavy lifting assembling their own desserts.

Anyway, I found you through Tastespotting and I'm writing to say that if you have any photos that aren't accepted there, I'd love to publish them. Swing by my new site (below); it's a lot of fun. I hope to see you there soon!

Best,
Casey
Editor
www.tastestopping.wordpress.com

Dee said...

your photography is very beautiful! very nice lighting.

i am a photographer and foodie too, though, i have not quite worked out how to take good photos of food yet haha. i am new to food blogging and food photo, even though i have been doing photo since the 5th grade :p

food is a whole different beast though :p

anyways, your food pics are mouth watering! cant wait to check out some of your other posts!

Jennifer said...

Beautiful pics!!! Stunning!
I love this dessert, each aspect of it on its own is great!! Lovely! :D

Memória said...

OH, how I love that everything you made was from scratch! What is the recipe for the ice cream? YUM!!!!!

503 Photography said...

I'm salivating ... this looks so *delicious*! Will you make it for me and send me some in the mail? ; )

Angela [YourEverydayMama] said...

Memoria...sadly I didn't make the ice cream from scratch, an ice cream maker is on my wish list!

503 Photography... when they come up with smellavision and tastavision, I bet that too will be possible. btw, love all your blogs, will have to bookmark for when I have a minute!

Catherine said...

This looks amazing