Ice Cream Sunday Stacks
Now that I have my own little Easter Bunny there is another level excitement that the holiday brings. There is a reason to paint eggs and have an Easter Egg hunt! I am so excited to watch her with her friends and cousins trying to find each colorful surprise. This year I decided to make some fun treats for the kids. I partnered with Pepperidge Farm using their Puff Pastry Sheets to create these adorable Ice Cream Sundae Stacks.
There are a couple of steps to this recipe but they are super easy to assemble. The chocolate ganache and vanilla cream are decadent enough for the adults. The maraschino cherry layer is a fun and surprising twist. Also, once you take a bite the stack folds down and becomes bite size all the way! You can make these ahead of time and put them in the fridge to set. Or make the fillings a day or two before and assemble day of in order to save time!
Ice Cream Sundae Stacks
ingredients
1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package puff pastry sheets (1 sheet), thawed
¼ cup rainbow sprinkles
maraschino cherries
vanilla cream
2 large egg yolks
¼ c of sugar
1 vanilla bean, cut open and beans scraped out (if none on hand add ½ tsp of vanilla extract)
¾ c heavy cream
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp of cornstarch, plus ½ teaspoon
maraschino cherry buttercream
2 c confectioners’ sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
¼ c of maraschino cherry juice
chocolate ganache cream
4 oz milk chocolate baking bar, chopped
4 oz heavy cream
2-3 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar
instructions
puff pastry
Set the pastry out to thaw. Heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Sprinkle the work surface with the flour. Unfold the thawed pastry sheet on the work surface. Using a large flower-shaped cutter, cut the pastry into 6 (about 4-inch) stars. Place the pastry stars onto the baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Let the pastries cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
vanilla cream
Whisk yolks until smooth. Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add cream in a slow, steady stream. Cook, stirring, until mixture begins to bubble and thicken, about 5 minutes.
Pour 1/3 of cream mixture into yolks, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until thick, 3 minutes. Stir in vanilla.
Pass vanilla cream through a fine sieve into a bowl. Press plastic wrap directly on surface. Refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour.
maraschino cherry buttercream
In a mixer, cream together the butter and powdered sugar on low speed until the powdered sugar and butter is completely combined.
Continue to beat on medium speed until it is creamy.
Add the 1/4 cup Maraschino Cherry juice.
chocolate ganache cream
Pour the cream into a small saucepan and place it over medium-low heat for a 3-4 minutes. Do not let the cream boil. Once it is warmed through. Turn off the flame and remove the cream from the stove.
Scoop the chocolate into the cream. Stir gently to distribute the chocolate through the cream and then let it sit for a few minutes to give the chocolate time to soften and melt.
With a spatula or wooden spoon, stir the ganache. Keep stirring until smooth.
Set aside and let it cool. With a hand mixer add the confectioners’ sugar a little bit at a time until the mixture is thickened and the ganache is fluffy and lighter in color.
ASSEMBLY
Place the vanilla cream, maraschino cherry cream, and chocolate ganache cream into individual pastry bags.
Pipe about a half of a tablespoon of vanilla cream onto one puff pastry flower. Then place another puff pastry flower on top of the vanilla cream. Pipe the maraschino cherry cream on to the flower, then top with another puff pastry flower. Pipe the chocolate ganache layer on top of this puff pastry flower. This will be the top of your stack!
Top with sprinkles and a maraschino cherry
TIPS: When stacking try to match up the petals of your flowers. Press down slightly into cream as you stack. Place them in the fridge for a couple of minutes before serving to help them set!