Memorial Day Desserts
Before we fire up the grill or head to the beach, it is important to remember that Memorial Day is a celebration of all those who gave their lives to preserve the freedoms we have today. Let’s take time to remember this as we we enjoy getting together with friends and family.
Memorial Day is coming and the siren song of the barbecue calls. The steaks, burgers, hot dogs, pulled pork, ribs, are all so good. As are the slaw and potato salad. Yum! But it is the sweet ending that I look forward to and there is no better way to kick off the summer than with the classic summer dessert – ice cream. And if it comes in sundae form, even better.
One dessert I truly love is apple pie. Apple pie is as American as it can get. Apple Pie a la mode could meet the criteria for great Memorial Day Desserts, but it just doesn’t seem summery enough. There is an easy way to fix this! Changing the whole concept of apple pie a la mode into the form of an ice cream sundae injects a whole bunch of summer feeling right into the dessert. It is a bit of a culinary deconstruction that, when rebuilt, takes apple pie a la mode to a new level. Layer by layer the apple pie a la mode is transformed into a tower of apple and ice cream decadence.
Here is how to transform apple pie a la mode into a sundae or, as I call it, Salted Caramel-Apple Knickerbocker Glory! What is a Knickerbocker Glory? A very tall sundae, of course. How do I know this? You might say I wrote the book on them.
The sundae layers for this transformation include classic vanilla ice cream made from a custard base. A tangy apple compote, cooked on the stove (or on the grill), goes nicely with the rich ice cream. With cinnamon and nutmeg flavors plus a shot (or 2) of apple brandy to give it added flavor it really sings apple pie. To bring more apple essence, an apple cream made from apple butter whipping cream is another layer. The sundae would fall flat with caramel – salted caramel to be more precise. The sauce brings all the parts together. And the crust you ask! Some short bread cookies will do just fine! Each layer is piled on top of each other in a tall glass. Don’t for get the long spoons! These sundaes may go down in history as one of the best Memorial Day desserts ever! And if you want, your guests can do all the work. Set the ingredients out like it is a buffet and Memorial Day Dessert just got easy!
Here are the recipes for each layer.
I hope you enjoy!
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!
Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!
What are some of your favorite Memorial Day desserts? Let us know all about it in the comments or on Facebook.
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