Recipe Detail Page

1. For double chocolate ice cream, whisk together 1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream and the cocoa powder in a small saucepan until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium and boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and pour through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Let cool to room temperature, then chill until cold.

2. Add remaining cream to cocoa-flavoured cream, along with vanilla. Whip until stiff peaks form. Fold in condensed milk until well combined.

3. Scrape mixture into a 6-cup (1.5-L) freezer-proof container. Cover tightly and freeze until almost firm, about 3 hours. Fold in chocolate. Freeze until firm.

4. For sour cherry ice cream, pulse cherries and sugar in a food processor until cherries are finely minced. Strain through a fine sieve into a small saucepan, pressing on solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard solids. Bring juice to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and boil, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced to about ⅓ cup (80 mL) and is syrupy, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring more often toward end of cooking time. Let cherry syrup cool to room temperature, then chill until cold.

5. In a large bowl, whip cream and almond extract until stiff peaks form. Fold in condensed milk until well combined. Fold in cherry syrup (either fold it in completely so ice cream is uniformly pink, or just fold in partially for a more swirled effect).

6. Scrape mixture into a 6-cup (1.5-L) freezer-roof container. Cover tightly and freeze until firm.

7. For chocolate-almond sprinkle, preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8-inch (2 L) square pan with foil, leaving an overhang on 2 sides.

8. Pulse chocolate wafers in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add almonds and pulse until almonds are finely chopped.

9. In a medium bowl and using a fork, stir together chocolate wafer mixture, butter and sugar until crumbly and well combined.

10. Press crumb mixture evenly over bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely. When ready to serve, remove baked crumb mixture from pan, using foil to lift it. Crumble mixture into chunks.

11. For chocolate toffee sauce, combine butter, syrup and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until butter has melted, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in cocoa powder until mixture is smooth and no lumps remain.

12. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook, whisking constantly, until sauce comes to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes, continuing to whisk. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla. Let cool to room temperature.

13. For sour cherry sauce, set drained cherries aside and measure 1/2 cup (125 mL) reserved cherry juice. (If using fresh cherries, replace cherry juice with pure cherry juice from a jar and reduce sugar to 2 tbsp/30 mL). Whisk together cherry juice, sugar, cherry liqueur (or additional juice) and cornstarch in a medium saucepan until smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Simmer, whisking constantly, until mixture has thickened and is bubbly and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in reserved cherries, lemon juice and almond extract. Let cool to room temperature.

14. To assemble sundaes, microwave chocolate toffee sauce for 30 seconds to loosen it. In sundae glasses or other fancy dessert dishes, layer chocolate and cherry ice creams with chocolate-almond sprinkle, and chocolate-toffee and cherry sauces. Garnish, if you like, with whipped cream, chocolate curls and/or toasted slivered almonds.