Caramel Baked Apple Ice Cream Sundaes

*These Caramel Baked Apple Ice Cream Sundaes are an ice cream lover’s dream come true. Vanilla ice cream is adorned with brown sugar and cinnamon baked apples, homemade salted caramel sauce, and whipped cream for the perfect fall dessert.*

Something about a summer vacation and hot weather and running around a new city, exploring every nook and cranny you can find, just requires plenty of stops for ice cream, doesn’t it? Because, as we all know, an important part of being a diligent tourist in a new city is trying as many regional delicacies and local restaurants as you can. And part of that journey – an important part, I might add – is definitely the local ice cream scene!

When I was visiting the East Coast in August, it was HOT. Like, way hotter than it ever gets in San Francisco hot. So, daily stops for an ice cream cone were practically a necessity. I’m happy to report that my brother and I discovered what must be the most delicious ice cream in New York (oh yeah – gotta have a scoop of that coconut ash). And indulging in ice cream after a day at the Cape Cod beaches wasn’t hard at all. Although, to be honest, I can’t say that this obsession with ice cream is solely a summer, warm weather activity. When I lived in Europe for six months, I managed to eat plenty of gelato – even over a Christmas vacation in chilly Rome!

So, now that fall is here and I’m no longer enjoying sweltering NYC, I’m kind of mourning the lack of my daily ice cream treat. Luckily, I created this perfect-for-fall ice cream sundae to make the transition a little easier. This baby is decadent, sweet, cinnamony, slightly salty, and oh so delicious. I know, the recipe appears pretty labor intensive – with baking apples, whipping cream, and, darn it, making a batch of caramel sauce totally from scratch. But bear with me, because I promise you that each step is actually really easy and the results are superb. I love how the apples, coated in brown sugar and cinnamon, appear from the oven perfectly warm and bubbly. The caramel sauce is that amazing combination of sweet and salty. Toasted pecans add just a bit of crunch. And simple vanilla ice cream melts into everything for an incredible fall dessert.

Caramel Baked Apple Ice Cream Sundaes

Servings: 4
Difficulty: Medium
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These Caramel Baked Apple Ice Cream Sundaes are an ice cream lover's dream come true. Vanilla ice cream is adorned with brown sugar and cinnamon baked apples, homemade salted caramel sauce, and whipped cream for the perfect fall dessert.

Ingredients

For Baked Apples:

4 apples
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons butter

For Salted Caramel Sauce:

½ cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon sea salt

For Whipped Cream:

½ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

For Sundaes:

½ cup pecans
1 pint vanilla ice cream, slightly softened

Directions

To bake apples, preheat oven to 400°.
Wash and dry apples. Slice them in half, then remove the cores.
Slice each apple half into small chunks. Transfer to a baking dish.
Sprinkle apples with brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Toss to coat.
Cut butter into a few pieces. Scatter over apple chunks.
Bake apples, stirring a few times, until softened and syrupy, about thirty minutes.
Meanwhile, to make salted caramel sauce, place sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
Let sugar melt, stirring regularly, then cook until it is a dark copper color. This should take about three minutes.
Turn off the heat, then add the butter. It will bubble furiously, but stir until the butter is incorporated into the sugar.
Add the heavy cream and salt. Whisk until a smooth sauce forms.
Set caramel aside and let cool for a while.
Next, place the cream in a bowl and whip it with a whisk until soft peaks form.
Add sugar and vanilla and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
Finally, place the pecans in a dry pan over medium heat.
Toast, stirring regularly, for about five minutes, until fragrant and golden browned.
Let pecans cool for a few minutes, then roughly chop.
To assemble sundaes, divide the baked apples and their sauce among four bowls.
Drizzle each with about one tablespoon of the salted caramel sauce.
Top each bowl with two scoops of vanilla ice cream, then drizzle with remaining caramel.
Sprinkle chopped pecans into the bowls, then finish each with a dollop of whipped cream.

5 thoughts on “Caramel Baked Apple Ice Cream Sundaes”

Sally says:

October 27, 2016 at 11:13 am

OMGoodness, this dessert is making my mouth water!! What a beautiful new food blog, with easy step-by-step instructions on how to re-create the dishes that you have composed! Thanks for giving followers the name of that ice cream shop in NYC. I’m definitely going to add Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream to my next Manhattan itinerary!

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1. Hannah says:
  
  October 27, 2016 at 2:14 pm
  
  Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Aunt Sally! It means so much to me 🙂
  
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Susan Aberg says:

October 27, 2016 at 3:24 pm

This looks fantastic, Hannah! What a wonderful blog and great photos…..now, do you need some samplers to taste-test the recipes? ❤

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1. Hannah says:
  
  October 27, 2016 at 4:58 pm
  
  Thanks, Aunt Susa! Yes, I’m always looking for testers, haha 🙂 perhaps next time we see each other we can do some cooking together.
  
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  1. everythinginlifeisart says:
    
    October 28, 2016 at 9:07 am
    
    I’d love that, Hannah!
    
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