Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Caramelized Peach Sundaes with Cardamom Gingersnap Topping

Desserts

When I was planning our Indian dinner party menu, I knew I wanted to serve ice cream since it’s been so hot, but I still wanted to have the dessert tie in with the theme of the meal because yes, I’m a big dork like that! I was thinking it would be fun to create my own dessert since the rest of the recipes from our meal were from my awesome 660 Curries cookbook, and finally settled on making peach sundaes with an Indian-inspired crumble topping after a bit of brainstorming!

I started by caramelizing some fresh peaches in a skillet with a little butter and brown sugar and spooned the warm fruit on top of vanilla bean ice cream. Then I topped the sundaes with an oat-based crunchy granola-like mixture that contained crumbled ginger snap cookies, cardamom, cinnamon, coconut, and golden raisins – yum! This was the perfect way to enjoy ripe summer peaches and end our Indian feast! The leftover crumble topping was fabulous on yogurt too and may or may have been pretty addicting to eat just on its own too – I mean the oats and raisins make it a pretty healthy snack, right?

Caramelized Peach Sundaes with Cardamom Gingersnap Topping
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Cardamom Gingersnap Topping:
1 cup oats
1 cup coarsely chopped gingersnap cookies
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup golden raisins

Caramelized Peaches:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
6 peaches, pitted and cut into slices
2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 cups light vanilla bean ice cream

Directions:
To prepare the cardamom gingersnap topping, heat oven to 325˚F. Combine oats, gingersnap cookies, and coconut in a large bowl. Place brown sugar, canola oil, honey, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, and vanilla extra in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until mixture is boiling and sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Pour hot sugar mixture into the bowl with the oats and mix well. Spread topping evenly onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake at 325˚F for 15 to 18 minutes, or until coconut is golden brown, stirring occasionally. Cool completely, about 15 minutes, and stir in raisins.

Meanwhile prepare the caramelized peaches. Heat butter and brown sugar over medium heat in a large skillet until butter has melted. Add in peaches and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until fruit is caramelized. Stir in lemon juice.

To assemble the sundaes, scoop 1/2 cup of ice cream into each bowl and top evenly with caramelized peaches and the desired amount of cardamom gingersnap topping. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 321 calories, 11.8g fat, 3.8g fiber, 4.8g protein per serving (calculated using half the cardamom ginger snap topping since we had some leftover!)
Cost: $1.59 per sundae

Banana Mascarpone Mousse Trifles

I’ve been on quite the popsicle kick lately. This unbearable heat wave means our oven hasn’t been turned on in weeks, so I haven't baked any desserts. My sweet tooth still needs to be satisfied though, and popsicles are just the perfect low calorie refreshing treat! I...

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

It’s been a couple months since we’ve had a lab birthday to celebrate, but I finally got the chance to whip up some cupcakes for our lab manager’s big day this week! I’m usually up pretty late when I undertake a baking project in the middle of the week, but this time...

Caramel Mocha Crunch Cookies

I ran my very first 5K last weekend! After being inspired by the book Born to Run and many runners including my half-marathon champion Dad and bloggers like Shannon and Elina, I decided to try jogging on the treadmill in January on a whim. Even though I’ve always been...

Peanut Butter and Jelly Tart

It’s peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly time! Growing up, my mom always packed me a peanut butter sandwich, raisins, pretzels or chips, and a cookie for lunch, and then I picked up a carton of milk at school. I was such a picky...

Pineapple Ice Cream Sundaes

It’s my birthday tomorrow and I’m turning the big 3-0!  I'm not exactly sure how this happened so quickly, but I’m excited for the future and by the fact that Apolinaras promised to bring home my favorite carrot cake cupcakes from Petsi’s Pies! Speaking of birthdays,...

Mini Sweet Potato Cheesecakes

My loaded sweet potato skins were featured on the Glamour Magazine Health and Fitness blog yesterday, how cool is that? Ever since I started my blog, I feel like I always have something to look forward to in my inbox, whether it’s an email update about a comment, a...

My Mom’s Culinary Arts Program and Chocolate Cake

I’ve been meaning to tell you about the very cool Culinary Arts High School Program my mom runs at Central Campus in Des Moines, Iowa for awhile now, and I figured this would be the perfect opportunity since I won’t be cooking up any recipes to share while we’re on...

Strawberry Cheesecake Filled Yellow Cake

Have you had any baking disasters? I’ve had my fair share, and naturally, they all tend to occur when I’m making a treat to share at a party. One time the pecan crust just fell off the sides of a cheesecake I had made for a lab birthday celebration. Another time a...