EXAMINATION
For ice cream sundae treats in America we have King Cones and Drumsticks, but the rest of the civilized world has the Cornetto. In Shaun of the Dead, a couple of mates share a pair of Strawberry Cornetto cones which were bought while blissfully not noticing the zombies shuffling down the street. Good thing those Cornettos gave them the energy to fight off the zombies and defend the Winchester pub.
A Strawberry Cornetto is described as being “a crispy baked wafer coated from top to bottom with a chocolatey layer, combined with delicious vanilla-flavour ice cream and strawberry fruit ice, topped with strawberry sauce and white chocolate curls.”
That means we could assemble some from a quick trip to the shop to fetch:
Sugar cones, Magic Shell chocolate topping, strawberry ice or sorbet, vanilla ice cream, strawberry syrup, and white chocolate chips. I will describe how to assemble your own sundae cones, but I will also provide recipes for most of the components.
If you want to make strawberry sorbet, strawberry syrup, and vanilla ice cream all from scratch, the recipes follow. If you just want to buy the constituent parts and assemble, feel free to skip past the recipes and move on to the assembly instructions at the bottom.
Strawberry syrup
Yield: 2/3 cup
Ingredients
1/2 lb fresh strawberries, hulled
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
Apparatus
- Food processor or blender
- Mesh strainer (optional)
- Squeeze bottle
Procedure
- Purée all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender on high speed until blended smooth.
- Use a strainer to remove any seeds or pulpy bits, if desired.
- Store in a squeeze bottle and refrigerate until needed.
Strawberry sorbet
Yield: 1 quart (4 cups)
Ingredients
1/2 lb fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
Juice of a medium lemon
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 cups cold water
Apparatus
- Mixing bowl
- Ice cream or sorbet churn
Procedure
- In a mixing bowl, toss together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Add the corn syrup and water and mash the strawberries well. You can also do this step in food processor or blender but do quick pulses to lightly mix the ingredients.
- Prepare your churn per manufacturer’s instructions.
- Pour the mixture into your churn’s bowl and operate the churn until the sorbet is frozen.
Vanilla ice cream
Yield: 1 quart (4 cups)
Ingredients
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
Apparatus
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Ice cream churn
Procedure
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until light and fluffy. Then whisk in the sugar slowly until completely blended.
- Whisk in the cream and milk until completely blended.
- Prepare your churn per manufacturer’s instructions.
- Pour the mixture into your churn’s bowl and operate the churn until the ice cream is frozen.
Assembly of the Ice Cream Sundae Cones
Components
6 Sugar cones
Magic Shell chocolate topping
strawberry sorbet
vanilla ice cream
strawberry syrup
4 oz white chocolate chips
Apparatus
- Waxed paper
- Adhesive tape and scissors
- Ice cream cone stand (use an egg carton, some champagne flute glasses, or some other contrivance)
Procedure
- Find a contraption that will let you stand your cones upright in your freezer. I think an egg carton would work quite well. If you have fluted glasses that you can easily get the cone in and out of, they could work well also.
- Cut pieces of waxed paper to fit around your sugar cones and provide about 2 inches of clearance above the top of the cones. This will provide a mold for the ice cream crown. Set the wax paper sheets aside for now.
- Using a squeeze bottle, coat the inside of your sugar cones with the chocolate topping. Make sure the bottom of the cone on the inside has a nice well of chocolate. Prop your cones standing up in your freezer and chill until the chocolate is solid.
- Spoon in enough strawberry sorbet into the cone to come up just under the edge of the top of the cone. Return to the freezer until the sorbet is solid.
- Wrap the cones in the waxed paper and tape to keep them on. Spoon in soft vanilla ice cream, almost to the top of the waxed paper.
- Using a squeeze bottle, drizzle on some strawberry syrup and sprinkle white chocolate chips on top. Return to the freezer and allow these to harden up. These will stay fresh in your freezer for about a week.
DISSECTION
These sundae cones are very simple to assemble whether you make all the ingredients yourself or use off-the-shelf treats. On a hot day, especially here in Arizona, these are so wonderful.
POST-MORTEM
I’ve never personally eaten a Strawberry Cornetto, and I know they are quite beloved in the U.K. and elsewhere. Please accept this humble sundae not as a replacement for a treasured treat, but for one crazy yank’s attempt to know such bliss.
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