Sometimes I surprise myself.
My boyfriend and I went to Olive Garden about a month ago for a simple and cheap dinner. We were having a great time and great conversation with each other. We were telling each more about our stories of life and while he sipped on his Strawberry Fizzy Lemonade and I sipped on a glass of Chateau St. Michelle Riesling. Smiles were exchanges; casual flirtatious comments were passed; and inside jokes were being developed. Then it happened! Dead in the middle of our conversation, my eyes shot up at the ceiling as if I were being possessed by some unknown hungry spirit and I came up with a wonderful idea! I thought how cool would it be to create croutons for desserts!! A salad isn’t a salad without croutons, so why not kick desserts up a notch by creating a necessary ingredient that you can add to any dessert for extra flavor and texture!
Immediately I came home and I Google’d dessert croutons and, OF COURSE, it has been done before. Of course other genius foodies, such as myself, would come up with a great idea like dessert croutons. But I found a wonderful dessert crouton recipe that I just had to try. Thank you Martha Stewart! Martha has created wonderful Caramel Brioche Croutons. I thought it was a great idea, but I was skeptical. I thought the caramel would make the bread soggy somehow. Boy was I wrong! The caramel made the cubes of brioche bread crunchy but not hard. Just hard enough to give the bread some texture, so hard but chewy. PERFECT!
So what would go with these croutons? “Ice Cream or yogurt? Ice cream or yogurt? Ice cream or yogurt?”, I kept asking myself. Ice cream won the battle. And of course because peaches are in season it is only right to add some peaches and make a delicious sundae. I must say, I think this is an absolute genius idea.
You must try me when I say, you are going to love me for this one. This is such a great combination of ingredients that is perfect to make for guests, family, and friends. I thought it would be nice to create an ice cream bar and have an ice cream social for a bridal shower, kids birthday party or slumber party, or a girls night over. Can’t you imagine it? Get together three different flavors of ice cream; make about 5 sauces (hot fudge, salted caramel, this peach compote, etc); add some toppings (these croutons, nuts, and sprinkles), and let your party guests go to town! Sounds like a good idea huh? I know. You can thank me later.
It’s later….You’re welcome
Caramel Brioche Croutons recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Magazine
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Peach Sundaes with Caramel Croutons
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- FOR CROUTONS
- 6 tbsp. butter
- 1 c. sugar
- 1/4 c. water
- 4–5 slices brioche bread, toasted and cubed
- FOR PEACH COMPOTE
- 3 c. peaches (frozen or fresh)
- 1 c. sugar
- 1/4 c. water
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. cornstarch
- vanilla ice cream for sundaes
Instructions
- For the croutons
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- 1. In a large pot, melt the butter on medium heat. Once the butter has melted add the sugar, water, and stir until dissolved. Continue to stir until the sugar turns into a light amber color and remove from heat. Add the bread a handful at a time and use a rubber spatula to lightly stir the bread crumbs to make sure they are evenly coated. Turn to the baking sheet and separate so they are not touching. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
- For the peach compote
- 1. In a medium sauce pan on medium heat, add the peaches, water, and sugar and stir so the sugar dissolves. Allow to simmer so the peaches can release their flavor into the compote for about 5-7 minutes. Add the cornstarch and cinnamon and stir to make sure that cornstarch dissolves as well. Simmer for another 5 minutes and the sauce will thicken. Remove from heat and allow to cool before serving.
- Serve the compote and dessert crouton with vanilla ice cream
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
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