Fruits of Summer Ice Cream Sundae
My tastes have drastically changed and I am no longer into that overly sweet stuff. I much prefer things which are made sweet by fruit instead of just sugar, and I am in love with coconut milk based ice creams instead of the dairy I used to indulge in all the time. And so recently when I was looking through photos of the ice cream on my blog, I thought, wouldn't it be lovely to create a sundae featuring fruit and herbs?
I had recently made lemon basil ice cream and it was so refreshing that I knew it would be perfect among the other ice creams in the sundae. I also whipped up a batch of raspberry lavender and peach thyme. They were all wonderfully fragrant and just sweet enough, but not overly so.
I spooned them into one of my Grandmother's antique dishes, and topped them off with a bit of fresh raspberry sauce, crunchy pistachios, and a mixture of fruits I happened to have on hand.
It was the most beautiful sundae I had ever layed eyes on...almost too pretty to eat! You may be wondering if I ate this concoction myself or shared, as it was a rather large bowl. I ate every last bite myself! It was too good to share...that bowl at least.
Luckilly I had enough ice cream leftover to share some. Who says ice cream sundaes have to be overly sweet and dripping with gooey sauces? Light and refreshing is so wonderful especially when it is near 100 degrees and you don't want to be feeling heavy.
Fruits of Summer Ice Cream Sundae
makes 5 cups
1 cup full fat coconut milk
2 Tbsp dried lavender, divided
lemon basil ice cream:
Makes 4 cups
3 cups organic full fat coconut milk, chilled
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
3 Tbsp organic lemon zest
3 Tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup agave nectar
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
Combine all ingredients in a blender, and process until well blended. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to package directions (mine takes about an hour, and is still a little soupy like the consistency of a malt, but firms up in the freezer later). Once processed, pour into freezable container with a lid, and place in the freezer for at least a few hours, or overnight to firm up for best results.
Raspberry Sauce:
2 cups fresh raspberries
2 Tbsp agave nectar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Puree all ingredients until smooth.
For assembly:
1/4 cup pistachios (each sundae)
assorted fresh organic fruit (I used raspberries, blackberries, peaches, and strawberries)
fresh basil and thyme leaves
To assemble, scoop 2 scoops of each ice cream into an obling bowl. Top with a bit of raspberry puree, pistachios, fresh fruit, and herbs. Enjoy!
30 Comments
Oh my, I want to have my own spoon and sit down next to you!
This would be a perfect bowl of ice cream to share, it was so large haha!
This is just beautiful! I am in awe! Wonderful! Thank you for sharing your gift of cooking and photography with all of us!
Thank you for your kind comments :)! I love to share with you all!
This is so gorgeous, Amy! It looks like summer art and I bet it tastes unbelievable:)
Thank you :)! I loved how colorful it turned out with all the fruit!
This looks so delicious! Lemon basil and peach thyme sound so perfect for this weather. I really need to utilize my herbs a lot more!
Thank you :)! I wish I had access to more herbs, all I could grow was basil this year. Perfect time to use them when they are at their best ;)!
Wow, Amy, this is visually nonpareil. You have an excellent sense of aesthetics and this definitely shows through for this recipe. Incredibly presentation!
Thanks Viviane :)! It was fun to put together, and then of course enjoy when the photos were all taken ;)!
I was like you, Amy - as a kid, I'd load pretty much every topping I could get my hands on over a bowl of ice cream. We used to sometimes go to Ponderosa and they had their endless sundae bar and I'd go back over and over and over (little bottomless pit!). But now I really want to savor the ice cream or sorbet and don't have much use for toppings. Every now and them I love a nice homemade strawberry or fudge sauce... But this looks incredible and love that you mixed herbal with fruit - inspired...
Funny how kids are with ice cream haha! I agree, it is nice to be able to taste the ice creams and not smother them with sugars. Thank you :)!
I love a great sundae every once in a while! This sounds amazing!
Thanks Autumn :)!
I love fruit with ice cream, it's so yummy and refreshing. I have yet to try coconot based ice creams but I have an ice cream maker on order so this is the perfect chance for me to try this.<br /><br />-Lisa.<br /><a href="http://www.sweet2eatbaking.com/" rel="nofollow">Sweet 2 Eat Baking</a>
Thanks Lisa :)! You should definately try them...they are so good I never use dairy anymore!
I'm a vanilla girl, but I'd love to top it with your raspberry sauce :) And I'd pile on the fruit, too!
Your sundae is so beautiful and rich in color! I love coconut based ice creams too. You should enter the vegan ice cream sundae challenge! :D http://www.sweetlyraw.com/2012/07/summer-dessert-challenge.html
Thanks Heather! I checked out your link, and I am definately going to enter the challenge! It sounds like a lot of fun! In fact, I have some ice cream churning right now :)!
What a gorgeous sundae!! I want a scoop of the peach thyme ice cream!
Thanks :)! The peach was pretty delicious!
this is absolutely gorgeous! just what i want right now! wow
Thank you :)!
Wow, this is absolutely gorgeous! Beautiful combination of flavors!
Thanks Vicky :)! It made me want to experiment more with herbs and fruit in ice cream in the future!
Amy, I made your Lemon-Basil ice cream about a week ago, and we (my mom and I) just finished it off yesterday, so I will be making more! And this sundae looks divine . . . I may have to make those flavors as well.<br /><br />Just one quick question - I see that you use natural food dyes for your frosting, etc. Could you tell me which brand(s) you use? Thank you!
Glad you liked it :)! You should definately try the other flavors! Honestly the raspberry was my favorite. The brand is India Tree and I got it at Whole Foods.
That is an amazing looking sundae, Amy. Now I just have to figure out which flavor of ice cream I want to make first hehe
Thanks Janet :)! They are all good, but I have to say the raspberry was my favorite :)!
I love your progression of pictures from the perfect plated dish to just leftover melted custard and a used spoon. Very creative!