How can I rev up a scoop of vanilla ice-cream?
Joe, Salford, England
Accessorising ice-cream is often most successful when there’s an element of contrast, whether that’s a tart fruit puree (blackcurrant, say) for old-school ripple vibes, a handful of something crunchy (toasted sesame seeds, nuts, crumbled cookies) or a shattered magic chocolate shell (where you mix equal parts melted chocolate and coconut oil, pour it over your ice-cream, and watch it solidify). And, happily for you, Joe, this is very much vanilla-specific.
“M y No 1 dessert in the world is vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce,” says Jacob Kenedy, chefpatron of Gelupo in London. The chocolate sauce, however, must be made the way his grandfather did it: “Roughly half-and-half melted bitter chocolate and water, plus a tiny bit of…