Champagne Sundaes (with toasted pound cake croutons)
This dessert should come with a disclaimer. Not only is it the most delicious dessert I’ve tasted in a very long time, if you happen to whip it up before 5:00pm, you will find yourself eating both servings and a little tipsy before the sun goes down.
This Valentine’s Day dessert is for those of you who want dessert to come together quickly with minimal effort. You can buy all of the ingredients pre-made and assemble the dessert before serving. I used store-bought pound cake and store-bought blood orange sorbet. I cubed the pound cake, sprinkled it with sugar and toasted it in a skillet. I scooped 2 scoops of sorbet, topped with a generous pour of champagne, and then added the pound cake croutons on top. You could add whipped cream, too!
So, spend all your effort this Valentine’s Day on dinner, and take a little help from the store for dessert. If you’d like to use my homemade lemon pound cake or my cream cheese pound cake recipe for croutons, you certainly could.
Do you want a champagne or sparkling wine suggestion? I don’t know if I’ve told you this before, but in graduate school, I lived with a third-generation wine maker who specialized in sparkling wine. She taught me quite a lot about bubbles, and I consider myself very blessed to have tasted the amount of sparkling wines and champagnes that I have in my life. The main thing you want to look for is that a bottle says ‘Methode Champenoise.’ This ensures that it was made in the true method that Champagne is made (the second fermentation is in the bottle, not in large tanks before bottling). In my personal experience, you can hardly go wrong with any bottle that says ‘Methode Champenoise.’ That’s the beauty of the Pinot grape, in my opinion.
For champagne, I recommend Veuve Clicquot Rose.
For a Brut rose sparkling wine, my personal favorite is Handley Cellars.
Others? Gloria Ferrer or Schramsberg Mirabelle.
The brands we buy most frequently are Gloria Ferrer (since we used to be wine club members when we lived in California) and Piper Sonoma. We’re serving Schramsberg at our wedding.
Ok, this concludes your impromptu lesson in sparkling wine. Enjoy this 4-ingredient, sure-to-impress dessert!
- 1 pint fruit sorbet (I used blood orange, but raspberry would be great too)
- 1 cup champagne or sparkling wine
- 2 slices store-bought pound cake
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- optional: whipped cream
- First, begin by cubing the pound cake. Add it to a saute pan, sprinkle the sugar on top, and cook over low heat while stirring occasionally. It is done when the edges are golden brown and the sugar smells caramelized. Remove from heat to cool completely.
- In each serving dish, scoop two slices of sorbet, and top with ½ cup of champagne. Add the pound cake cubes to each and serve.
This is such a great idea and I am a fan of your champagne suggestions:-)
[Reply]
What a perfect Valentines day dessert – and I love the idea of making croutons out of pound cake. I’d never thought of that before.
[Reply]
This is such a lovely idea, I love the idea of all these flavours combining and those crispy little pound cake croutons are just the perfect touch!
[Reply]
Love this!!!
[Reply]
Tipsy by 5pm and there is ice cream involved? I’m in!
[Reply]
I love this in every possible way! LOVE IT!
[Reply]
Wonderful dessert! I love the idea. Have a fantastic week
[Reply]
I second what Cassie said.
Also love the little lesson on sparkling wines — good to know!
[Reply]
Pound Cake croutons? Champagne? Sorbet? You’re killing me with this!
[Reply]
Lovely! This is such a pretty dessert!
[Reply]
I’m astonished! You totally outdid yourself on this one! This dessert is so clever, so romantic, so creative and just perfect for Valentine’s Day! I’d probably have to double the batch because I can see myself eating both servings right around 5:00, so better to be safe than sorry!
Hope you had a great weekend, lady!!
[Reply]
Wow, what a brillaint idea! So perfect and apt for the V-day.
[Reply]
Looks fantastic, and a unique treat.
[Reply]
I absolutely adore champagne, and I feel like this dessert is so romantic and fun! Thanks for the lesson in the bubbly too. Sounds like a great reason to taste test
[Reply]
What a great idea love it! I’ll have to keep those champagnes in mind since I know nothing about wine / champagne despite working on a wine documentary!
[Reply]
Ooohh. This looks yummy (without the wine of course) But this would have been a great New Years dessert as well
[Reply]
I don’t know if I can even LOOK at these without drooling everywhere. Seriously, you’ve topped yourself.
[Reply]
Totally gorgeous!
[Reply]
Dude. Totally doing this by my little lonesome and getting tipsy off of it. NO SHAME. Just deliciousness.
[Reply]
What a gorgeous dessert!
[Reply]
I’m kind of for the getting tipsy before 5pm…is that OK to say?
[Reply]
Very pretty!!!!
[Reply]
I absolutely love this idea. So pretty and easy to toss together on date night.
[Reply]
Um, best Valentine’s Day dessert EVER in the history of the world. Love those pound cake nuggets!
[Reply]
Beautiful Valentine’s dessert. Love the pound cake croutons!
[Reply]
a little tipsy before 5 is okay with me! what a lovely dessert. Those pound cake crouton are genus!
[Reply]
Oh my goodness, I love this! Cant get over the pound cake croutons!
[Reply]
TOASTED PONDCAKE!!!! WOW! I love this! There is this mango sorbet from Trader Joe’s that would be soooooo good in this!
[Reply]
What a cool idea. Definitely trying this…
[Reply]
Who needs Valentine’s Day? I’m making this tonight!
[Reply]
Toasted Pound Cake Croutons – love it.
[Reply]
[...] Dessert for Two – Champagne Sundaes with Toasted Pound Cake Croutons [...]
What a fun idea! I can’t think of any time I’ve had champagne IN my dessert, but you’d better believe I will be trying it now and maybe following your lead by getting a bit tipsy while eating it. Because that’s the fun part. And because it certainly happens, especially when you’re consuming a boozey dessert.
[Reply]
What a beautiful and easy to prepare dessert! So perfect for the V-day. I love adding champagne on my sorbet too.
Nice way to add some booze to a dessert. The pound cake croutons sound awesome. Love that crunch on top. 
[Reply]
As a winemaker myself…I concur with your choice on bubbles. The whole dish sounds amazing.
[Reply]
Loving every-single-thing about this fancy and fun little dessert!
[Reply]
These are so beautiful, and SO easy! Lovely recipe to make for my Valentine. Thanks for sharing, Christina!
[Reply]
its just a perfect dessert on valentines day
thanks for sharing your recommendation on sparkling wine- will look into those!
[Reply]
Toasted Pound Cake Croutons!!! Brilliant!! So trying this..
[Reply]
These is great idea, very creative,look beautiful
[Reply]
Christina, these look heavenly. Love the toasted pound cake croutons!
[Reply]
I almost feel like this dessert is too classy for me!
It’s absolutely gorgeous. And I love that it’s not too heavy or filling–perfect!
[Reply]
Thanks for “Champagne 101″ and a spectacular dessert! My hubby doesn’t care for champagne… hmmm, what to do?
[Reply]
[...] romantic dinner than with some more champagne and ice cream? Or maybe both combined into one! This Champagne Sundae, topped with pound cake croutons, tastes and even looks like the Valentine’s Day happily ever [...]
I’m dying over here! such a great idea!
[Reply]
[...] I’ll raise a glass to Champagne Sundaes with Toasted Pound Cake. Yum! [...]