This Dessert is Amazing!

Pretty much any restaurant you go to in Belgium will have that country’s favorite dessert on the menu. That dessert is Coupe Dame Blanche – the “White Lady Sundae”, and I have never served it to anyone who did not think it was pure heaven.

Coupe Dame Blanche - Perfection!

Dame Blanche takes its name from an 1825 opera called La Dame Blanche by Francois-Adrien Boieldieu. Dames Blanche (white ladies) also hold a place in French and Belgian folklore. They were female spirits / apparitions that you would encounter on the path through the woods (usually on the way home from the pub).

Coupe Dame Blanche is a dessert to die for. It consists of vanilla ice cream topped with a warm chocolate sauce and whipped cream, and it’s actually quite easy to make.

 

INGREDIENTS

  • Two tablespoons unsalted butter

  • One bar of high-quality Belgian dark chocolate

  • 4 to 6 ounces whole milk

  • 9.5 ounces heavy whipping cream (divided)

  • 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

  • Vanilla ice cream

  • Pirouettes, pizzellas, or a cookie for garnish

 

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Add vanilla to eight ounces of whipping cream and whip until it has soft peaks.

  2. Melt butter in a double-boiler (a glass or metal bowl over a saucepan of boiling water works fine)

  3. Break up chocolate bar and add it to the double-boiler. As it melts, gently whisk it until smooth.

  4. Add 1.5 ounces of the heavy cream and whisk in.

  5. Slowly add the milk, a little at a time, whisking in as you go. When the mixture has a liquid consistency with no lumps or thickness, it is ready. Cut off the heat and let it rest in the double boiler. The consistency should be slightly thicker than Hershey’s syrup but not as thick as hot fudge.

  6. Put the ice cream into serving bowls and spoon the warm chocolate sauce over it. Top with whipped cream and garnish with pirouettes, pizzellas, or a cookie of your choice. If you have extra chocolate sauce, serve it at the table in a gravy boat.

Make some Coupe Dame Blanche the next time you have friends over (or just for yourself) and make extra, because there’s never quite enough, and it does re-heat nicely. It also goes well with a nice Belgian Dubbel!

Santé!

Charlie GottenkienyComment