Black-and-White Sundae Bar

By Alison Roman

Black-and-White Sundae Bar
Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott for The New York Times. Prop Stylist: Kalen Kaminski.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(163)
Notes
Read community notes

This is less a recipe for a sundae bar, and more a recipe for for the two sauces that accompany, crunchy bittersweet chocolate (essentially a homemade chocolate shell) and salty tahini caramel. Both can be made and stored for at least a month (for whenever the craving strikes). It’s hard to beat the creamy subtlety of vanilla ice cream to pair with them, but any ice cream of your choosing will work.

Featured in: Alison Roman’s Seder Table

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 12 servings

    For the Crunchy Chocolate Sauce

    • 8ounces bittersweet chocolate, 60 to 72 percent, chopped (about 1 cup)
    • 1cup coconut oil
    • Kosher salt

    For the Tahini Caramel

    • 1cup granulated sugar
    • ⅔cup tahini
    • Kosher salt

    For Serving

    • 2pints vanilla ice cream
    • Halvah, crumbled
    • Cocoa nibs, chopped chocolate, toasted sesame seeds
    • Flaky sea salt
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the chocolate sauce: Combine chocolate and coconut oil in a medium bowl, and place over a small pot of barely simmering water.

  2. Step 2

    Melt, stirring occasionally, until no lumps remain and you’ve got an impossibly shiny, chocolaty sauce. (Alternatively, microwave in 30-second increments until the sauce is shiny and no lumps remain.) Season with salt and set aside.

  3. Step 3

    Make the tahini caramel: Heat half the sugar in a medium pot over medium. Once the sugar starts to melt and liquefy, gently stir the sugar using a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula until it’s a nice golden-brown color, 2 to 4 minutes. (You want this to happen slowly to prevent risk of burning.)

  4. Step 4

    Scatter remaining sugar on top and cook until all the sugar is totally liquified and a dark amber color, like good maple syrup, 2 to 3 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Slowly add in ⅔ cup water, taking care not to add it all at once or the sugar will seize. Then, add the tahini, mixing to blend well. Bring the whole thing to as simmer, season with salt and remove from heat.

  6. Step 6

    To serve, pour sauces (both will be spoonable or pourable at room temperature, no need to warm) over scoops of ice cream to suit your wants, needs, desires. Top with any combination of crumbled halvah, cocoa nibs, chopped chocolate, toasted sesame seeds, flaky salt or anything you might want on your ice cream at this moment.

Ratings

4 out of 5
163 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Linda

A cup of coconut oil?? Melissa Clark's recipe for "Chocolate Shell Ice Cream Topping" calls for two tablespoons per seven ounces chocolate.

Betty Burns

Non-dairy ice cream, and you’re all set!

RoLo

There are usually 2 kinds of coconut oil, virgin and "refined" (both of which would work in this recipe). The Refined coconut oil has no taste.

Heidi

I could not do the caramel sauce I spent an hour and could not melt the sugar without it burning sorry -something is not right here with the instructions. I am an experienced home cook for 30 years- I know what I am doing and have great pans etc -this is just a weird recipe

Amanda

since this is a meat meal, it should have a non-dairy, kosher for Passover dessert. that's why flourless chocolate cake is so popular

RoLo

Coconut oil is the most accessible ingredient that would liquify and solidify this way. If you don't like cooking/eating it after trying, you can actually use the rest of the jar as a moisturizer for really dry spots (elbows, heels, etc.) :)

Thomas Burke

I have not made this, but I enjoyed a similar sundae many years ago. There were Bridgeman's ice cream parlors in Minneapolis and the Midwest. Bridgeman's version of this sundae was the "Turtle Sundae" with hot chocolate, caramel (or butterscotch), topped with salted pecans. One could chose from numerous ice creams, but my go-to flavor was Butter Brickle, which was vanilla ice cream containing crushed Heath bars. Thanks for the memories.

kswl

I made this version of magic shell and there is WAY too much coconut oil in it—-by a factor of four! Check out other recipes online.... any one of them will give you a much better result than this very oily, Uber- calorie “treat.”

Kath

We LOVED the chocolate sauce. The mouth-feel! Flavor! Crunch! Don’t forget the flaky salt! Used good quality, coconut-tasting coconut oil. Made a second batch and gave to friends as a spirit-lifter during times of self-isolation/quarantine. Have not yet made the the tahini caramel, but will.

Anabel

Tahini caramel is delicious! Reminds me of these little sesame candies from Chinese supermarkets. Seasoned aggressively with kosher salt.

Flâneuse

So awful. The cup of coconut oil is insane and totally ruins the dish.

Erin

I could not stop eating the tahini caramel sauce. It's so very, very good. I have always burnt caramel in the past, but these instructions really worked for me. I kept an eye on it at all times and the flame on the low side of medium. Highly recommend. Didn't make the chocolate sauce

Allison

I made this today in preparation for friends for dinner. The tahini caramel sauce is delicious. I thought I had messed it up because there were some clumps but nothing that a little stirring didn’t solve. The chocolate sauce is equally delicious but does seem thin. I made Melissa Clark’s recipe for halvah derived from Michael Solomonov and that is amazing and easy !

Kath

Crunchy chocolate sauce so easy and yummy. Don't forget the flaked salt. Made excellent gift for friends during Covid/Quarantine.

Kath

We LOVED the chocolate sauce. The mouth-feel! Flavor! Crunch! Don’t forget the flaky salt! Used good quality, coconut-tasting coconut oil. Made a second batch and gave to friends as a spirit-lifter during times of self-isolation/quarantine. Have not yet made the the tahini caramel, but will.

iteachforshoes

How do you store these if you don’t use them all up?

kswl

I made this version of magic shell and there is WAY too much coconut oil in it—-by a factor of four! Check out other recipes online.... any one of them will give you a much better result than this very oily, Uber- calorie “treat.”

Thomas Burke

I have not made this, but I enjoyed a similar sundae many years ago. There were Bridgeman's ice cream parlors in Minneapolis and the Midwest. Bridgeman's version of this sundae was the "Turtle Sundae" with hot chocolate, caramel (or butterscotch), topped with salted pecans. One could chose from numerous ice creams, but my go-to flavor was Butter Brickle, which was vanilla ice cream containing crushed Heath bars. Thanks for the memories.

Elizabeth

YUM. The chocolate sauce worked perfectly! And the tahini caramel was delicious. I have tons left over and am wondering about leftover storage... assuming I need to refrigerate the caramel, but maybe not the chocolate sauce? Do I need to refrigerate it if the components didn’t require refrigeration? Also wondering if I do refrigerate it, how I’d melt it again when I want morrrrrre. Thanks!

RoLo

I haven't made the caramel, but think it's unlikely you need to refrigerate (as you pointed out, none of the components for either sauce required refrigeration)… I've made a few chocolate sauces like this one. You don't need to refrigerate, but even without refrigerating, it's going to re-solidify to at least some extent. You just melt it down again in the makeshift double boiler, like how you made it in the first place. You can also gently microwave, but there's more chance of burning that way.

Patty

Did you make it with a cup of coconut oil - that much?

Heidi

I could not do the caramel sauce I spent an hour and could not melt the sugar without it burning sorry -something is not right here with the instructions. I am an experienced home cook for 30 years- I know what I am doing and have great pans etc -this is just a weird recipe

Marux

Same. I struggled with the caramel sauce. Finally got it to work but got a bunch of clumps. Also I just felt the tahini flavour was too strong. I might cut down on the amount of tahini next time.

Joan

Does it have to be coconut oil?

RoLo

Coconut oil is the most accessible ingredient that would liquify and solidify this way. If you don't like cooking/eating it after trying, you can actually use the rest of the jar as a moisturizer for really dry spots (elbows, heels, etc.) :)

Magpie

Does the coconut oil impart any flavour to the chocolate?

RoLo

There are usually 2 kinds of coconut oil, virgin and "refined" (both of which would work in this recipe). The Refined coconut oil has no taste.

Amanda

since this is a meat meal, it should have a non-dairy, kosher for Passover dessert. that's why flourless chocolate cake is so popular

Betty Burns

Non-dairy ice cream, and you’re all set!

Magpie

Does the coconut oil change the flavour of the chocolate in any way?

Marux

It depends on what type you use - unrefined vs. refined. Unrefined (technically the healthier version) has a stronger flavour. I found when i used this in the chocolate sauce i could definitely taste the oil. So, i amended the recipe - for 4.4 ounces of 70% dark chocolate I only used a tablespoon of unrefined coconut oil (no idea why her recipe says 2 cups - that seems excessive to me). Added a sprinkle of salt and it was delicious with ice cream!!!

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