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!

Yield: 2

Champagne Sundaes (with toasted pound cake croutons)

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Get fancy with this delicious dessert for two.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 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

Instructions

1. 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.
2. 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.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 589Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 252mgCarbohydrates: 95gFiber: 4gSugar: 70gProtein: 5g

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