Recipes Desserts Ice Cream Over-the-Top Ice Cream Sundaes with Homemade Caramel Be the first to rate & review! Fully loaded with creamy fudge, salty pretzels, crunchy toffee, and chewy, bittersweet candied lemon peel, this over-the-top sundae gets drenched in homemade caramel sauce for a grown-up take on a nostalgic childhood treat served at chef Dan Kluger's Loring Place in New York City. Mix up an extra-large batch for ready-made sundaes all summer long. By Dan Kluger Dan Kluger Won Best New Chef at: ABC Kitchen, New York City. Born: 1973; New York City. Experience: Union Square Cafe, Tabla and Core Club, New York City. How he started cooking: “I began my restaurant career in the front of the house at Union Square Cafe and spent my days off in the kitchen learning about cooking. Once I got going, it was hard to leave.” How he got the job at ABC: “I met ABC Kitchen co-owner Jean-Georges Vongerichten at the Union Square farmer’s market at the Berried Treasures stand. We were both shopping, and we started talking, and before I knew it, I was interviewing for the job.” Memorable cooking experience: Preparing the food for his own wedding. “We prepped all the food a couple of days before, then I hired chefs from Tabla to cook at the wedding. [Restaurateur] Danny Meyer was there, Floyd [Cardoz, chef at North End Grill] was there, Mike Romano [chef at Union Square Cafe] was there—so many people I look up to. To have them eating my food was really exciting. I made roast suckling pig, steamed halibut, grilled quail. My mom baked the wedding cake. Floyd couldn’t stay out of the kitchen; he kept trying to help.” Pet peeve: Young cooks who leave good jobs too quickly. “I cooked for Floyd at Tabla for seven years. I learned something even on my last day.” Favorite childhood dish: Stollen, the rich German bread filled with dried fruit. “At Christmas, my mom made tons of stollen. She also made lemon curd. It was the oddest pairing, but since I liked them both so much, I’d always stuff my face. I can remember opening my gifts with a big plate of stollen in front of me.” Cheap eat: Roast pork buns in Chinatown. “I’ll get them pretty much anyplace.” Guilty pleasure: M&M’s. “Plain or pretzel.” Ingredient obsession: “I am definitely obsessed with Sun Gold cherry tomatoes when they’re in season. I use them everywhere: raw in salads, lightly cooked in pastas and just barely warmed in broths and sauces.” Favorite kitchen tool: Microplane. “I use it to grate cheese, citrus, ginger, nuts, chocolate.” Memorable meal: First meal at New York City’s Per Se. “It was my wife, Hannah’s, birthday. I still remember the way everybody—from the back waiter to the host—looked her in her eyes and said ‘Happy Birthday!’” Favorite wine: Black Chicken Zinfandel from Napa’s Robert Biale. “Anyone who knows me well buys a bottle for me as a Christmas gift.” After-hours hangout: 8th Street Winecellar. “They make the best pork sandwich I’ve ever had, with shredded meat and spicy pickled jalapeño mayo.” Fantasy restaurant: “I’d like to do something with conveyor belts, like you see at sushi restaurants, but with a lot of the farm ingredients I use now. It would take a lot of errors out of service.” What he’d be if he weren’t a chef: A furniture maker. “I’m a hands-on guy. I’ve built four or five pieces of furniture in my life.” Favorite cookbook: Think Like a Chef by Tom Colicchio. Twitter heros: “Chef Sean Brock—I find that he’s always saying something interesting. I follow some fashion people too, either to learn something or to stay up on them so when I see them at the restaurant I know what’s going on. I absolutely adore Rachel Roy and Lela Rose. If I see on Twitter that Lela had a show, I can send her a note saying congratulations.” Favorite app: Chefs Feed, which compiles restaurant recommendations from chefs. “When I was in Chicago recently, it was very helpful.” Best food gift: A chitarra, a frame strung with music wire to cut fresh pasta by hand. “Usually, I don’t feel like my parents really apply themselves when it comes to presents. They’ll say, ‘What does he want? Some new underwear? A new shirt? Great.’ But one year a box showed up on my birthday, and it was a chitarra. The New York Times had done a piece on it and my dad thought it would be a cool gift for me. It was mind-blowing.” Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on June 18, 2021 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Active Time: 15 mins Total Time: 30 mins Servings: 4 Ingredients Ice Cream 1 pint vanilla ice cream 8 ounces fudge, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus more for serving 4 large pretzel rods, crushed (about 1/2 cup), plus more for serving ½ cup coarsely chopped chocolate-covered toffee candy bar (such as Heath), plus more for serving 4 teaspoons chopped candied lemon peel, plus more for serving Caramel Sauce ½ cup granulated sugar ¼ cup water 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3 ounces), cubed ½ cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon kosher salt Directions Make the sundaes Scoop ice cream into a large bowl; stir ice cream until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in fudge, pretzels, toffee candy bar, and lemon peel until evenly combined. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 12 hours. Make the caramel sauce Stir together sugar and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium, stirring constantly, just until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute and 30 seconds. Continue to cook, without stirring, until sugar mixture turns amber in color, 7 to 10 minutes. Gently swirl pan once, and carefully whisk in butter cubes. Remove from heat; gradually whisk in cream, vanilla, and salt. Let cool about 15 minutes. To serve, scoop ice cream evenly into 4 bowls. Drizzle each with about 2 tablespoons caramel sauce; reserve remaining sauce for another use. Garnish sundaes with additional fudge, pretzels, toffee candy bar, and lemon peel. Make Ahead Caramel sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 2 weeks. Microwave in 15-second intervals to loosen before using. Note Find candied lemon peel online at nuts.com. Rate it Print