Last week my son and daughter saw an enticing picture of an ice cream sundae being served in Las Vegas and IMMEDIATELY asked if they could have that ice cream. The picture they saw was of a giant "King Kong Sundae" made with 24 scoops of ice cream, over 14 toppings including cookies, candies, cupcakes, nuts, fruit, whipped cream and glowing lit sparklers. This memorable sundae draws applause when brought to the table, so it’s no wonder it caught their eye! My initial response was, “Sure, someday we can make a sundae like that,” then after a few more seconds of thought, I changed my response to, “You know what? We can make that tonight!” We had an assortment of ingredients on hand that would make an impressive family-sized sundae similar to the picture that captured their attention. Not that one would make such an indulgent treat every day, but on special occasions ...
I started by pulling out the toppings. Mini chocolate morsels, candy, pecans, bananas, strawberries, chocolate syrup and Reddi-wip® – all staples in my house. We also had marshmallows on hand for the summer s’mores that are still waiting to happen. I toasted the marshmallows under the broiler for fun.
And finally a few finishing touches ... a variety of sprinkles left over from birthday cakes past, along with sugar cones (one of my son’s additions to the grocery cart on our last trip to the store).
Once the toppings were ready, I started scooping the ice cream. I usually have a few different flavors of ice cream in my freezer, and they became the base of the sundae. The kids couldn’t wait to add the toppings.
The sprinkles were the runaway favorite, but they each wanted to be sure they added a little bit of everything. In the end it was a masterpiece! A photo-worthy sundae decorated by two preschoolers. Ice cream, whipped cream, drizzles of chocolate and sprinkles galore.
Making the outrageous sundae was a great end to an otherwise typical Tuesday. Although simple enough to make any day, this over-the-top sundae was special enough to be made again to celebrate a birthday, the end of a sports season or a holiday. My daughter has started calling the white bowl we used “the sundae bowl” so we will definitely be making the treat again in our house!
Lea Anne Dea is a Culinary Manager for ConAgra Foods.
Photography by Amanda Vuu, a Development Chef for ConAgra Foods.
