Whenever I think of Valentine’s, the first thing that comes to mind are strawberries. What I adore about strawberries as an ingredient is that they add a bright red color, pleasant sweetness, and some tartness to contrast rich, creamy flavors and textures. However, and these have been rising in popularity especially over the past few years, white strawberries(or pink strawberries) have been more common in the grocery stores. They’re also called pineberries, because they apparently have pineapple-like notes. Which is kind of true, I guess? The color contrast of the red strawberries and white-pink pineberries screams Valentine’s, and that was why I had to make a cute dessert that featured both of them! A dessert perfect for a romantic setting, in my opinion, is an ice cream sundae. Mostly because I spent most of my life(literally the first 26 Valentine’s Days) single, so I would celebrate Single’s Awareness Day instead, and ice cream would be the one thing that I could count on. Friends can backstab, romantic partners can cheat, but ice cream stays with you forever. Trust me, I was 30 lbs overweight as a child due to an ice cream addiction, so I can speak from experience on all counts. Anyways, for this sundae, I wanted to pair the berries with a tangy ingredient, so I figured using goat’s milk would work with that, while to add some fragrant and sweet notes, I used tonka beans, which taste like an almond and vanilla bean had a baby. The end result was a cute Valentine’s Day themed sundae with a lot of fun textures and components!

For the components, we have a goat milk-tonka bean gelato, tonka bean whip, tonka bean meringue kisses, roasted strawberry jam, and fresh strawberries/pineberries. Before anyone raises a red flag at the large amount of tonka bean components(apparently if you eat 30 tonka beans, that’s not good for your health), we are not even using an entire gram of grated tonka bean across the entire dessert, and that’s for 2 servings. So no, this sundae won’t kill you(unless you are lactose intolerant, in which case is might semi-kill you, since even though goat’s milk lacks lactose(say that several times in a row), the ice cream does contain heavy cream and is garnished with whipped cream. The ice cream tastes almost like coconut, with this nutty, rich flavor to it, while the goat milk tempers the sweetness so it’s not too cloying. The roasted jam tastes like a better version of a strawberry preserve, because by cooking down the red fruit in sugar, the flavors really intensify so you’re left with a tender strawberry jam that is reminiscent of the strawberry sauce you’d find at an ice cream bar, but honestly better. You can actually taste the fruit in this jam instead of the sugar. I also added the meringue kisses for crunch, since otherwise you have mostly soft textures throughout the other components(whip, ice cream, jam, and fresh berries). There is definitely some time needed to prepare this recipe in advanced(ice cream and roasted jam need to chill down and meringue kisses need hours to dehydrate in the oven), but it was a lot of fun to make, and that ice cream alone is worth making, especially for a sundae or even a plated dessert in the future!

Makes 2 portions:
For the roasted strawberry jam:
8oz strawberries hulled and halved
1oz sugar
.5oz olive oil
a pinch of salt

Toss the strawberries in the other ingredients. Place on a nonstick, ovenproof pan. Roast at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes. Cool completely before using.

For the tonka bean-goat milk gelato:
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup granulated sugar
8oz goat milk
2oz heavy cream
.1g finely grated tonka bean
a pinch of salt

In a bowl, whisk egg yolks, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. In a pot, bring goat milk, cream, tonka, and salt to a simmer. Pour half of the mixture over the eggs and whisk. Then transfer everything back into the pot and whisk everything on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until everything comes up to just a simmer. Pass through a sieve to remove any lumps and allow the ice cream base to cool down before churning in an ice cream maker. Keep the ice cream in the freezer until time to serve.

For the tonka meringue kisses:
1 egg white
3 tbsp granulated sugar
.1g finely grated tonka bean
a pinch of salt

In a bowl, whisk everything together to stiff peaks. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe 1/4 inch by 1/2 inch meringue kisses onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 200 degrees F for 2 hours. Store the meringues in an airtight container until time to assemble.

For the tonka whipped cream:
4oz heavy cream
1 tbsp confectioner’s sugar
a pinch of salt
.1g finely grated tonka bean

In a bowl, whisk everything together to stiff peaks. Transfer to a piping bag.

For garnish:
8 red strawberries, hulled and halved
8 pineberries, hulled and halved
2 tbsp honey
a pinch of salt

Toss the berries in honey and salt. Layer up the sundaes with scoops of ice cream, the roasted jam, fresh berries, meringue kisses, and cream, repeating another time to get a taller sundae!