Margarita Ice Cream Sundae

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  This sweet treat was inspired by last year’s post .. you may remember a special tequila tasting dinner we went to where they served …

This!  Deconstructed Cadillac Margarita with Lemon Lime ice cream, Tequila Sabayon, Grand Marnier macerated Blood Orange and Salted Toffee Touille.

And I’ve daydreamed of it off and on all year long … it was that good.

My sundae version has lemon cake saturated with orange tequila syrup, fresh lemon sorbet (lemon ice cream would also work), lime zested whipped cream and chocolate nutty salty toffee.  And here’s the thing … I looked at my schedule this week and realized that I wouldn’t have time to make my own toffee, sorbet and lemon cake, so I stopped by a few favorite local places and totally lucked out.

Glazed lemon cake from Bread Bakery.

I was thinking of going with a regular butter pound cake and am glad I checked with Bread.  It doesn’t get any lemonier (is that a word? well … it should be) than this.

Even though the cake is absolutely packed with flavor, I thought I’d give it a boozy soak of tequila orange juice sugar syrup. Simple syrup is right.  Boil, reduce to half, let cool …

… pour.  The cake soaks it all in, moist almost to the point of pudding texture which is a nice touch.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory knows a thing or two or fifty about toffees.  This is their milk chocolate English Toffee with nuts.  (And P.S. you can order this from their online shop.)  The saltiness is in reference to margarita rim salt.  A little crunch, and bits of chocolate with the citrus … divine pairing.

Lemon sorbet from Cream Bean Berry.  I stopped in looking for lemon ice cream and was handed a sample of this fresh, sweet-tart sorbet.  It tasted like …. let it sit out for 5 minutes to melt a bit, add tequila and you have the perfect fresh instant frozen margarita ever.  Cream Bean is an artisan creamery with local seasonal ingredients, I’m not sure how often they make this flavor but I really lucked out when I got the last pint of the day.  It really brightened up my sundae with a pop-zing of icy tartness.

Why mess with perfection?  Alton Brown’s whipped cream recipe … 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 cup heavy whipping cream … the secret is to chill the metal bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes before whipping.  Works like a charm every time.

Assembling a sundae is a very personal thing, so I say layer as you like.  I spooned a huge amount of whipped cream on the bottom, added the soaked cake, with a big scoop of sorbet, sprinkling of toffee, more whipped cream, lime zest, more toffee.  Layer it on and on.  With a cherry on top!

Buen provecho!!

xoAmy

Yum

Margarita Ice Cream Sundae

Print recipe

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup tequila
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 4 pieces lemon cake (or pound cake)
• 1 metal mixing bowl (chilled in fridge for 15 minutes)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 Tblsp sugar
• 4 large scoops lemon sorbet or ice cream
• 1 large salty English Toffee bar (crumbled)
• zest of 1 lime
• 4 cherries
• 4 orange slices

Note

Makes: 4 sundaes

 

Directions

Step 1

For the simple syrup, combine sugar, tequila and orange juice in a saucepan. At medium heat, stir until the sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium high. Stir at a low boil until it reduces to half, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Step 2

Place the cake slices in a bowl. Pour the cooled simple syrup over them until just saturated and set aside. You may have leftover syrup ... save and use for margaritas, it's delicious.

Step 3

In the chilled metal bowl, add 2 tablespoons sugar and heavy cream. Blend on high until the cream whips and forms stiff peaks.

Step 4

These are best served in large margarita glasses. To assemble, place a large spoonful of whipped cream in the bottom. Then 1 slice cake and 1 large scoop of lemon sorbet. Add another large dollop of cream with a sprinkling of crumbled toffee and lime zest. Top with a cherry and garnish the side of the glass with an orange wedge. Serve immediately.