Triple Strawberry Sundae with Macerated Berries

Triple Strawberry Sundae with Macerated Berries
Jump to Recipe

Several posts back, I mentioned that my dessert tastes are fairly pedestrian. Peanut butter and chocolate, caramel, gummy bears, nothing interesting and certainly nothing challenging. What can I say? I’m basic. I know many of my posts would suggest a more sophisticated sweet tooth. But the truth is my ideal dessert is a gooey brownie with a scoop of ice cream on top. Is it simple and, well, kind of dull? Yes. Do I ever not want one? Hasn’t happened yet. Today’s Triple Strawberry Sundae is basically the summer version of a warm brownie sundae. It features a slice of fresh strawberry cake, topped with a scoop of Roasted Strawberry Ripple Ice Cream and finished with a spoonful of macerated strawberries. Yeah, you could say this dish is a little over-the-top.

Sliced strawberries ready to be folded into the cake

Okay, now I realize I probably should’ve shared this recipe on a Sunday. That’s what a good content creator would do. Or at the very least, what an organized content creator would do. But honestly, I can’t think of a day more in need of a sundae’s assistance than a Monday. Mondays are, well, they’re just awful. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that.

Butter, sugar, and eggs whipped into a creamy batter
Dry ingredients for the cake sifted together in a large bowl

But it is true that the sundae was in fact typically enjoyed on Sundays. The sundae was first introduced as an alternative to the ice cream soda. An ice cream soda is essentially a float. It’s comprised of ice cream, syrup, and some kind of soda. But the sale of soda on Sundays was prohibited in a number of US states in the late 19th century. Soda was deemed too frivolous to be consumed on a holy day. But not wanting to miss out on the post-church rush, soda fountain operators began serving the “soda-less soda”, which was essentially ice cream and syrup. Sound familiar?

Strawberries ready to folded into the cake batter

But enough about sundaes of years gone by. Let’s talk about today’s Triple Strawberry Sundae. Now, this may look like a slightly intimidating dessert but it’s really not. Each component is fairly simple to make, but the ice cream does take some time. So if you’re on a tight dessert timeline, this most certainly is not the dessert for you. But if you’re fine with taking a more meandering approach to dessert, welcome home – this is the treat you’ve been waiting for.

Strawberries sliced and dusted with sugar ready for the oven

First, let’s tackle the cake. If the recipe below looks familiar that’s because it is. This is the same pound cake I used for my Margarita Meringue Pound Cake. But instead of lime zest, this cake is chock full of fresh strawberries. Now, the berries do, um, compromise the integrity of the cake a little bit, so make sure you butter the heck out of your loaf pan. Oh! And line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper to ensure your cake comes out intact. You won’t regret taking the extra five minutes, trust me.

Whisking heavy cream into the strawberry ice cream base

Next, let’s talk ice cream. The base of this ice cream is a simple strawberry ice cream. I used dehydrated strawberries to flavor my usual vanilla ice cream base. But if you don’t have access to dehydrated strawberries, a vanilla base with a roasted strawberry swirl still sounds like a damn good ice cream to me. And speaking of that roasted strawberry swirl, let’s roast some strawberries.

Roasted Strawberry Ripple Ice Cream

I love roasting strawberries because it gives them such depth and a slightly more complex sweetness. Strawberries are capable of such a broad range of flavors and textures, and the difference between the roasted berries and say the macerated berries really highlights that. Once the berries have the opportunity to cool, give them a blitz and make sure you thoroughly chill the puree. This goes for any ripple for any ice cream. Make sure whatever mix-ins you add to ice cream are cold. When your ice cream is freshly churned, it is very susceptible to melting, so do everything you can not to encourage it. From there it’s time to ripple your ice cream. Make sure you work quickly. And make sure the vessel you’re storing your ice cream in is good and cold. Again, let’s limit the melt, shall we?

Triple Strawberry Sundae with Macerated Berries

And finally, we have the easiest component – the macerated berries. All this recipe entails is slicing and stirring, that’s pretty much it. And it’s only two ingredients, three if you’re keen to add a little liqueur. Macerated Berries are just berries and sugar that over time become glossy and juicy and saucy. It’s, well, it’s not magic, it’s science but it feels like magic. This is the fresh berry equivalent to the sundae’s syrup and it’s the perfect finisher for our Triple Strawberry Sundae.

So that’s everything you need to know about this Triple Strawberry Sundae. Fully loaded, stacked, and over-the-top, this summer delight is a bit much in the best possible way. This sundae delivers all the joy of the ice cream truck classic but with a seasonal fresh spin. The perfect way to give strawberry season the send-off it deserves.

Enjoy!

Triple Strawberry Sundae with Macerated Berries

Triple Strawberry Sundae with Macerated Berries

This stacked Triple Strawberry Sundae features a slice of fresh strawberry cake topped with a scoop of Roasted Strawberry Ripple Ice Cream and finished with a spoonful of macerated berries.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Chilling Time 6 hours
Course Dessert
Servings 6

Equipment

  • 1 Loaf pan
  • 1 Ice Cream Maker
  • 1 hand mixer or stand mixer
  • 1 Food Processor

Ingredients
  

Strawberry Cake

  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ¾ tsp kosher salt
  • ¼ cup + 2 tbsp buttermilk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup fresh strawberries hulled and quartered

Roasted Strawberry Ripple Ice Cream

  • 2 pints strawberries hulled and halved
  • ½ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar divided
  • cup milk I used 2%
  • 22g (0.7oz) freeze-dried strawberries blitzed into a powder
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • cups heavy cream

Macerated Berries

  • ½ pint strawberries hulled and quartered
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar

Instructions
 

For the Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line a loaf pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
  • In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, fully integrating the first egg before adding the second. Set the mixture aside.
    ½ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup granulated sugar, 2 large eggs
  • Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the salt, baking powder, and baking soda and whisk to combine. Add a third of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat until fully integrated. Add half of the buttermilk and mix until fully incorporated. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and buttermilk. Stir in the vanilla extract.
    1½ cups all-purpose flour, ¼ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp baking soda, ¾ tsp kosher salt, ¼ cup + 2 tbsp buttermilk, 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Fold the strawberries into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the surface with an offset spatula. Transfer the cake to the oven and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick can be inserted in the center and removed cleanly.
    1 cup fresh strawberries
  • Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove the cake and let cool completely before slicing.

For the Ice Cream

  • While the cake is in the oven, arrange the strawberries on a medium-sized baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle the berries with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and place them in the oven alongside the cake. Roast the berries for 45 minutes. Take the berries out of the oven and set them aside to cool.
    2 pints strawberries, ½ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • Once the berries are cool, place them in a food processor and blitz until smooth. Transfer the berry mixture to a bowl and chill until ready to use.
  • In a small saucepan whisk to combine the milk and freeze-dried strawberries. Place the saucepan over medium heat. Heat the mixture until it's hot to the touch but not boiling.
    1½ cup milk, 22g (0.7oz) freeze-dried strawberries
  • While the milk is heating up, place the yolks, the remaining sugar, and the salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. Ladle the hot milk mixture into the yolk mixture to temper the eggs. Pour the yolk mixture into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. ** Transfer the milk mixture to a bowl and chill for 3 hours or overnight.
    ½ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar, 5 large egg yolks, ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • Once the ice cream base is chilled, whisk in the heavy cream. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn for 30 minutes or until the ice cream resembles soft serve. Spoon half of the ice cream into a chilled loaf pan. Add 4-5 spoonfuls of the roasted strawberry puree and, using a knife, cut and swirl the puree into the ice cream. Repeat with the remaining ice cream and puree. Cover the ice cream and freeze for at least 3 hours or overnight.
    1½ cups heavy cream

For the Berries

  • Place the berries and sugar in a bowl and toss to coat. Cover and let the berries sit for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
    ½ pint strawberries, 2 tbsp granulated sugar

To Assemble

  • Place a slice of the strawberry cake on a plate and top with a scoop of the Roasted Strawberry Ripple Ice Cream. Garnish with a spoonful of the macerated berries and serve immediately.

Notes

** I found the finished ice cream base had a bit of a murky color, so I added a little red color gel to make it a little rosier. This is optional, though. 
Keyword cake, strawberries, sundae

You may also like

3 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    So schade das das Rezept nicht auch in Gramm Angaben ist, es sieht traumhaft aus und so schmeckt es ganz ganz sicher!
    Viele Grüße,
    Jesse-Gabriel

  2. The cake looks divine! I’m going to make it with gluten free flour and see how it comes out. I suspect it will be fine. I have never loved, loved strawberries so I’m going to go with vanilla ice cream and just cover it with macerated strawberries. It’s such a good idea! Thank you!