Read It and Eat It: Midnight Sundae

The wait is nearly over! Midnight Sun is almost here! In honor of this highly anticipated book from #1 bestseller author Stephanie Meyer, I’m here to share with you one way to celebrate: a midnight sundae. What better way to embrace #HotVampireSummer than with an ice cream treat! Inspired by the book cover, this sweet and tart cold dessert will include dark chocolate pomegranate bark, pomegranate salted caramel and vanilla ice cream.

Midnight Sundae

Serves about 2 generous or 3 moderate servings

Chocolate Pomegranate Bark

What You Need:

4 oz of (at least) 65% dark chocolate

¼ cups of pomegranate arils

Cookie sheet or large plate

Wax or parchment paper

Butter knife or offset spatula

Paper towels or napkins

Microwave safe bowl

Directions:

Using a paper towel or napkins, pat dry pomegranate arils much as possible. Note: The arils might not stick to the chocolate if there is too much moisture. Break chocolate into smaller pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl. Heat chocolate in the microwave until melted, stirring chocolate every 20-30 seconds. Cover your cookie sheet or large plate with a piece of parchment or wax paper. Using a butter knife (or offset spatula if you are fancy), spread chocolate at least as thick as a coin. Keep in mind that the thicker the chocolate, the more time it needs to cool. Sprinkle the pomegranate arils onto chocolate and refrigerate bark for at least 30 minutes or until chocolate is set. Chocolate will appear matte when it is set. As the chocolate cools, let’s make the caramel!

Pomegranate Salted Caramel

What You Need:

½ cup of white granulated sugar

3/16 cups of pomegranate juice

1/16 cup of water

4 tablespoons of water or milk

1/2 tablespoon of butter

1/2 tablespoon of kosher or flakey sea salt

1 tablespoon of lemon or lime juice (optional)

Wooden spoon or heat proof spatula

Small sauce pan

Heat proof glass bowl

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, combine the sugar, pomegranate juice, 1/16 cup water and lime or lemon juice. Turn stove on medium heat and stir mixture with a wooden spoon (or heat proof spatula) and stop immediately after sugar has completely dissolved. Once large bubbles begin to form, check for any sugar crystals on the surface of the caramel. Stir crystals in the caramel if you see any. Once the caramel becomes the consistency of maple syrup (around 8-10 min), turn off the heat and add butter. Add 4 tablespoons of water or milk to stop the cooking process. Be careful as caramel is hot and may splatter. Quickly stir in the salt. Pour caramel in a heat proof glass bowl. Allow caramel to cool to room temperature. Note: If caramel cools too much, it may not be pourable. If it is too thick to pour, microwave for roughly 10-15 seconds.

Assembly

What You Need:

1 Pint of Your Favorite Vanilla Ice Cream

Prepared Chocolate Pomegranate Bark

Prepared Pomegranate Caramel

Serving bowl

Directions:

Once caramel is cool, take your chocolate out of the refrigerator. Lift the parchment or wax paper and slightly fold chocolate onto itself to create the desired size of chocolate bark. Scoop 2-3 (or more) of your favorite vanilla ice cream into your bowl. Place a couple shards of chocolate pomegranate bark in between scoops of ice cream. Pour caramel all over. Enjoy!