If you're new to the world of throwing elegant dinner parties for friends and family, you may be struggling with how to prepare an elegant dessert without spending hours in the kitchen. Many people mistakenly thinking that desserts need to be elaborate affairs featuring layers of rich chocolate or otherwise labor-intensive, but truly elegant desserts add finishing touch on a great meal rather than overshadow them -- and many people don't want to finish a good meal with something heavy and overly sweet. However, you'll want to provide your guests with something more than just a plain bowl of vanilla ice cream. Following are three ways to dress up that plain bowl of ice cream to make it worthy of being the grande finale of even the most elegant dinner party.
Cover it With Fresh Fruit
Ripe fruit makes an excellent topping for vanilla ice cream, particularly if it's locally sourced and in season. Apricots, cherries, peaches, pears, and all sorts of berries are just a few of the options for turning a plain bowl of vanilla ice cream into a great summertime dessert. For an extra accent of elegance, soak the fruit overnight in a sweet dessert wine such as Sauterne or poach the fruit in the wine just prior to serving.
Make a Maple Syrup Sundae
For an upscale spin on the traditional chocolate or strawberry sundae, drizzle a thick maple syrup over vanilla ice cream before sprinkling toasted walnuts, chestnuts, or almonds over it and topping with whipped cream flavored with cinnamon. This provides warm flavor notes that are particularly fitting for chilly autumn and winter evenings.
Serve it With Sauterne
Even though it's widely believed that wine and ice cream don't make a good pairing, Sauterne wine has a slightly sweet, rich flavor profile as well as a velvety mouthfeel that complements vanilla ice cream well, even if you choose not to embellish it with other flavors. In fact, a scoop of top quality vanilla ice cream paired with a chilled glass of Sauterne may be just the right closing act for your dinner party.
Sauterne wine comes from the Bordeaux region in France and is a bold, sweet wine perfect for pairing with a variety of desserts. One of the few white wines that holds up well to the aging process, Sauterne can be enjoyed after decades in the cellar or as a young wine.
Share30 August 2017
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