Chill Out

WORDS AND IMAGES EMMA GALLOWAY

I love ice cream, whether in a cone, in a bowl or eaten straight from the tub with a spoon. It’s the perfect easy summer treat. It’s also nice to take said ice cream and add fun stuff to it for a simple and always winning dessert. I’m not gonna lie, I love a good ol’ banana split, but it’s also nice to play around with other fruit as well. So long as the elements of cool creamy ice cream, something fresh and flavourful and something with a bit of crunch are there, you can’t really go wrong.

CARAMELISED PINEAPPLE + LIME SUNDAE WITH COCONUT MACAROONS

Macaroons are traditionally shaped into cookies before baking, but for these I thought it would be nice to cook the mixture in one piece and then break it up into random shards to serve. If preferred, shape into small cookies before baking.

SERVES 4

1 litre of your favourite vanilla ice cream (I use Little Island dairy-free) ½ large pineapple 1 tbsp coconut oil 2–3 tbsp raw caster sugar 1 lime

COCONUT MACAROON

1 cup shredded or desiccated coconut ¼ cup raw caster sugar 1 large free-range egg white

Preheat oven to 160°C. Line a tray with baking paper. Zest the lime and reserve. Remove the hard core of your pineapple and finely dice (you need about 2 cups diced). Heat a large frying pan over high heat, add coconut oil and diced pineapple and cook, stirring occasionally until charred in places and tender (3–5 minutes). Add sugar, to taste. (If your pineapple isn’t super sweet and flavourful, you might need to add a touch more. Taste and adjust as needed.) Squeeze the juice of half the lime over the pineapple and stir to combine. You should have a lovely syrup around the fruit. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.

To make the coconut macaroons, combine coconut, sugar, egg white and reserved lime zest in a small bowl. Transfer mixture to the lined tray and, using the back of a spoon, spread out to form a thin, flat rectangle of macaroon mixture. Bake for 10–12 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Break into random shards before serving. To serve, place a couple of scoops of ice cream in the bottom of your glass, top with a spoonful of pineapple, more ice cream and another spoonful of pineapple and a little of its syrup. Serve with shards of coconut macaroon (or if you prefer, break the macaroon up into small pieces and layer throughout the sundae).

BLACK PEPPER-ROASTED STRAWBERRY SUNDAES WITH MAPLE CACAO NIBS

This is a lovely one to prepare in advance as both the roasted strawberries and caramelised cacao nibs store well. I’ve used vanilla ice cream but, of course, chocolate would be another great alternative!

SERVES 4

1 litre of your favourite vanilla ice cream (I use Little Island dairy-free) 500g fresh strawberries, hulled 1 tbsp maple syrup freshly ground black pepper

MAPLE CACAO NIBS

½ cup cacao nibs (available at Vetro and Herbal Dispensary) 2 tbsp maple syrup pinch fine salt

Preheat oven to 200°C. Cut strawberries in half and transfer to an ovenproof dish. Drizzle over maple and add a few generous grinds of black pepper – how little or much is up to you, or simply leave off if it’s not your thing. Roast 20–25 minutes or until berries are tender and a lovely thick syrup surrounds them. Remove from oven and set aside until cool. These can be prepared up to two days in advance and stored in a lidded container in the fridge (where the colour actually becomes richer).

Combine cacao nibs, maple syrup and a pinch of fine salt in a small frying pan over medium-high heat and cook 3–4 minutes, stirring constantly, until the maple starts to caramelise. Transfer to a plate and allow to cool, where they will harden further. These can also be prepared in advance and stored in a lidded jar at room temperature for up to a week. To serve, scoop ice cream into glasses, top with roasted strawberries and a little of their syrup and scatter with cacao nibs.

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Emma Galloway mydarlinglemonthyme.com | @mydarlinglemonthyme

Emma Galloway is a former chef, food photographer and creator of the multi-award winning food blog My Darling Lemon Thyme. She is the author of three cookbooks, her latest book Every Day was released in April 2021. She lives in Raglan with her husband and two children.