Back in February, we came home for Presidents’ Day weekend, craving some quiet family time away from the busy cities we live in. We made these amazing sundaes with vanilla ice cream, blood orange compote, crumbled Oreo-style cookies, buttered & salted almonds, and hot fudge.

This sundae was loosely inspired by the creative daily sundaes served up at Caffe Panna in Gramercy Park, a wonderful ice cream shop that I’ve been to a number of times. One of my (Celine’s) favorite self-care routines in New York City was going to Caffe Panna and then walking over to the Strand to find a new book. Though going back for a sundae there is unattainable right now, enjoying a homemade sundae is not.

We find ourselves with a true abundance of that very time we craved, which makes it slightly less enticing (!!). Perhaps cooking with care and joy at home*, combined with taking action, can be a way to honor the amazing restaurants across the country that are products of hard work and creativity. Let the tang of blood oranges, the salty-sweet crispy-crunch of almonds and chocolate cookies, the powerful richness of fudge, and the cozy aesthetic of a sundae in an old jam jar provide the bracing burst of sweetness you may need right now.

In our opinions, a fun ice cream sundae with whatever unique toppings you have on hand is a great idea, given that we all need to limit our trips to the grocery store. However, below are links to the recipes we followed for the sundae’s various components. Assemble as desired!

• Hot fudge from Smitten Kitchen
• Crumbled DIY Oreo cookies from Everyday Annie (no need to make the filling)
• Blood orange compote from NYT Cooking
• Almonds toasted in a skillet with butter and dusted with Maldon salt
• Vanilla ice cream (we bought ours)

*and, dusting off old and neglected cooking blogs…