Recipe: Don’t Do Dessert? O Tama Carey’s Chocolate and Kithul Sundae Will Change That

O Tama Carey never used to care for sweets.

“The thought of making a sundae would never have crossed my mind. It wasn’t even something I’d ever eaten,” writes the chef in her second cookbook, Lankan Filling.

That changed when Carey became obsessed with pairing chocolate and cardamom. During that phase, she discovered that kithul, a Sri Lankan treacle with smoky, savoury depth, was a “fine” addition.

“I needed a conduit, and the classic chocolate fudge sundae made sense,” she says. “I imposed this flavour combination on it and added coconut too – as we are Sri Lankan after all.”

The result is a dessert that balances sweetness with spice and texture – creamy ice-cream, salty peanuts, toasted coconut and ribbons of glossy, cardamom-laced chocolate sauce. “this dessert now suits me just fine”.

O Tama Carey’s cardamom, chocolate and kithul fudge sundae

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Chocolate sauce
100g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa), chopped
130ml pouring (single/light) cream, plus 30ml extra
70g condensed milk
3g ground cardamom
Salt flakes

For the sundaes
120g whole raw skinned peanuts
Salt flakes
80g coconut flakes
150ml cold coconut cream
Good-quality vanilla ice-cream or gelato (1 large scoop per person)
At least 120ml kithul (Sri Lankan treacle), to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Spread the peanuts on a tray lined with baking paper and toast for 10–12 minutes, until evenly golden. Remove from the oven, season with a little salt and set aside to cool.

Once cool, lightly crush the peanuts with a mortar and pestle.
Toast the coconut flakes in the same oven for 7–9 minutes, shaking the tray occasionally to ensure even colour. Set aside to cool.

Whip the coconut cream in a stand mixer to soft peaks. Chill until ready to serve.

Gently melt the chocolate and 130ml cream together in a metal bowl set over a double boiler, whisking until smooth. In a separate small saucepan, warm the condensed milk and remaining 30ml cream together. Combine the two mixtures, then whisk in the cardamom and a pinch of salt.

Serve the sauce just warm or at room temperature. If not using straight away, reheat gently over a double boiler.

A glass coupe is ideal, but any bowl will do. Start with a generous layer of chocolate sauce, coating the base and sides.

Add a scoop of ice-cream, sprinkle over some peanuts, then drizzle with kithul.

Spoon on some whipped coconut cream, followed by more peanuts and toasted coconut. Finish with another drizzle of kithul. Serve immediately.

This is an edited extract of Lankan Filling by O Tama Carey, published by Hardie Grant Books. RRP $55.

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