Chocolate Sundaes with Black Sesame and Macadamia Nut Caramel
Chocolate sundaes layered with homemade black sesame and macadamia nut caramel. Ice cream sundaes just got elevated!
Ok, so remember how I was telling you the other day that I’m becoming forgetful and old? These chocolate sundaes have pretty much confirmed that fact for me.
The original version was intended to be prepared with coffee ice cream, not chocolate ice cream. I made a grocery list and somehow, within ten feet of walking out of the grocery store, realized that I had neglected to even glance at my list.
So I went back into the store, stood in front of the freezer section for the next ten minutes trying to find coffee ice cream (apparently no one makes it anymore), finally found one, got back in line, and headed out. All proud of myself for catching my mistake and remembering at the last minute.
When I got home and unpacked everything, I glanced at the carton and realized I had bought chocolate ice cream. Apparently, I’m forget and blind.
In retrospect, it ended up being a wonderful mistake because these Chocolate Sundaes are fantastic and even better than my original recipe idea!
As is the case with any sundae, this one is all about the toppings. Specifically, the black sesame and macadamia nut caramel.
If you can’t find black sesame seeds, feel free to use white sesame seeds. However, I love the contrast that black sesame seeds offer in this dessert!
The macadamia nuts and sesame seeds are toasted in the oven and stirred into homemade caramel at the last minute. They add incredible texture to this dessert.
The caramel is spooned generously on top of chocolate ice cream and topped off with toasted coconut flakes. An easy elevated dessert recipe for any of the year!
Chocolate Sundaes with Black Sesame and Macadamia Nut Caramel
Ingredients
Black Sesame and Macadamia Nut Caramel:
- ¼ cup roughly chopped macadamia nuts roughly 2 ounces
- 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds or white sesame seeds
- ¼ cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- ¼ cup (60 mL) heavy cream
- ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
- pinch kosher salt
Sundae Assembly:
- chocolate ice cream store-bought or homemade
- ½ cup toasted coconut flakes
Instructions
- Prepare Caramel: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the center position. Place the macadamia nuts and sesame seeds on a half sheet pan and toast for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
- Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium and cook until the sugar reaches a medium to dark amber color (use a pastry brush to brush the sides of the pan with water to prevent crystallization). Remove from the heat. Carefully pour in the heavy cream and whisk vigorously to combine. Whisk in the butter and pinch of salt.
- Add the toasted macadamia nuts and sesame seeds (reserving some for garnishing the sundaes) to the caramel and stir to coat evenly. Set aside to cool slightly while you assemble the sundaes.
- Sundae Assembly: Once the caramel has cooled, drizzle on top of chocolate ice cream. Garnish with toasted coconut flakes as desired.
36 Comments on “Chocolate Sundaes with Black Sesame and Macadamia Nut Caramel”
These sound so dreamy! I have never put sesame seeds in caramel, but I have to give it a try!
Hahaha, I do that all the time. One time, I was making pancakes, and realized I didn’t have any eggs. So I set off to the super market SPECIFICALLY to buy eggs, but walked out with a whole bunch of other stuff and no eggs! I only realized my mistake when I went back home and saw my pancake batter sans eggs 🙁
Your mistake turned out to be one of the most fabulous recipes I have seen today. I want this!!
Beautiful parfaits! Love this flavor combination.
All too often I’ll go to the grocery store for a SPECIFIC INGREDIENT. And come back without it. It makes no sense. Sigh.
I want to lick those parfait cups clean.
Gorgeous! This recipe reminds me of the desserts I had in Hawaii which makes me so happy! Definitely a must-make for when I’m feeling nostalgic 🙂
Ohh and your story about the grocery trip? Story of my life, girl. When I go grocery shopping I go to at least 2 or 3 stores because I’m so forgetful!
Will definitely give this a try. Chocolate and coconut are one of my fave combinations!
YUM! the macadamias are what makes it look soooo good to me. What a genius combo!
This desert looks so Amazing. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I will try to make this and try to share it with my friends tomorrow. 🙂
I am so glad that I don’t have a significant other to share these with right now. If it’s got macadamia nuts in it, I’m sold. Making ’em, and eating ’em both!
Yes, I’ll take both of them please.
Coming right up!
This dessert is gorgeous — and I’m sure it tastes even better than it looks! So original and interesting. I bet I could impress my foodie friends by whipping this one up. 🙂
Oh yes! You could even say a white lie and pretend you made the ice cream. DO IT!
Ummm do that all the time, and then I get home realize my mistake, freak out, cry, throw a temper tantrum and Kevin inevitably hops in the car to pick up my missed item out of pure fear I’ll redirect my anger at myself to him. Ha! Love these! That black sesame and macadamia caramel is making me drool.
I’m pretty sure we might be long lost sisters or something 😉
These look absolutely divine! I love the combination of coconut and chocolate…the sesame macadamia caramel goodness just takes it to another level.
Thank you so much!!
Ummm, on Tuesday I went to the store to buy ingredients for homemade pizza and I forgot yeast and cheese. CHEESE! That’s like the single most important part of pizza. Definitely feeling you on having my brain be somewhere else while I’m grocery shopping. These photo’s are ridiculously gorgeous Laura, as are the parfaits. I’ll take 2 please, one for each hand : )
HAHAHA. This made me laugh out loud. Seriously. Totally sounds like something I would do.
I always forget to buy the most important ingredient and can’t bear to go back to the store – so frustrating! These sundaes are beautiful – I love taking older recipes and revamping them 🙂
I know–it’s totally the worst. Ugh!
Can we just skip breakfast today and move straight to dessert! I’m dying over these sundaes!! Also, grocery shopping without a list = total disaster.
This has nuts and seeds. So, it’s totally healthy. <---- See what I did there? 🙂
Looks delish, sorry about all of your shopping woes. It looks like your ice cream melted a bit:)
How rude! 🙂 It’s not melted–I actually layered it (when the ice cream was softened slightly) and refroze it–so in the pictures, it is actually frozen believe it or not.
I do this all the time. Make a list and then do not even look at, get home and realize I for half the things I really needed! Ugh.
But hey, you never, ever go wrong with chocolate and that caramel sounds incredible!! Oh anI have been looking for black sesame seeds forever. I just cannot find them were I live. I think I just need to order them on Amazon already! These are awesome!
So glad I’m not the only one who does this. Why is it so hard for me to LOOK at the damn list?! I should send you a bag of them! 🙂
That chocolate looks so SMOOTH! And the caramel. I want it! And with teh coconut, so good! pinned
Oh my goodness, Averie. I used the softened ice cream and layered it and then refroze it. And then I had to use like 15 paper towels to get rid of all the smudges and drip marks. It was absurd 🙂
Which is why I changed it into a sundae! HA!
Haagen Daz always has coffee ice cream btw. I’ve been buying it for 40 years. Don’t ask…
Hahaha! They have the best one too–but for some reason I was at Whole Foods and they didn’t carry it.
What a lovely mistake!
This is fantastic! I love when happy mistakes happen. Also, I totally noticed a good coffee ice cream is tough to find these days!
Why is that?! It’s so weird!
These are so seductive and unique! Pinned!!! And again – gorg photos, lady 🙂
OOOh. Seductive. Love that word when it comes to food! Thank you!! 🙂