Why settle for a pint of Ben & Jerry’s when you can get your hands on the most expensive ice cream in America? The dish, which is called the “Bear Extraordinaire,” debuted Wednesday, July 11, at the Baccarat Hotel in New York City and costs a cool $1,500.
With a price tag like that the ice cream better be very impressive, and, ridiculousness aside, this treat doesn’t disappoint.
The base of the dessert is house-made vanilla ice cream, which is created using “imported vanilla beans from Madagascar,” pastry chef Rosario Wakabayashi told CNBC Make It. And that’s just the beginning.
This $1,500 ice cream is the most expensive in America from CNBC.
The delectable dessert is then covered in a white chocolate shell that’s hand-painted with colored cocoa butter, and nestled atop 3 grams of black truffle crumble made up of said truffles, high-end 64 percent Manjari dark chocolate, and, of course, Valrhona Gold cocoa nibs.
Since that’s not quite decadent enough given the lofty sticker price, the shell is then enveloped in a hibiscus champagne sauce with citrus meringue, and is further embellished with intricate fondant butterflies resting on angel hair sugar strands. Additional edible gold and silver leafing add a pricey pop of color.
To eat the ice cream, diners must crack that elaborate egg open with a spoon. “It’s a fun dish,” Wakabayashi adds.
But that’s not all!
Since a fancy sundae can’t just be served in a regular dish, this creation comes in a $1,200 clear Baccarat “Zoo Bear” crystal bowl, which is how the “Bear Extraordinaire” got its name. Said bowl has a porcelain base decorated with a honeycomb motif, and is topped by crystal in the shape of a bear’s face, because why not?
What’s more? Diners who feast on the “Bear Extraordinaire” actually get to keep the figurine, which is individually numbered and signed by the designer. If you’d like the ice cream sans crystal bear, the sundae can be purchased separately for just $300, which seems like a steal in retrospect.
Still, Twitter was not impressed by this over-the-top sundae. Check out some of the best reactions below:
Hot fudge sauce tastes better than gold leaf. Just sayin’
— shafi saxena (@shafithinks) July 11, 2018
#RippedOff https://t.co/ZWNTZT6fgU
— GeorgiaBoy (@GeorgiaBoy4Real) July 11, 2018
This is beyond ridiculous!
— SweetT (@Swim_Harder) July 11, 2018
So, it’s the $1200.00 bear. Got it.
— Raymond D. Sweet (@rd_sweet) July 11, 2018
Gotta love these ‘most expensive’ food items and realizing you can find a much better alternative at a hole in the wall here in NYC for less than 10 bucks
— Jōél 🇩🇴 (@WeAreJoel) July 11, 2018
Y’all stay throwing gold on every damn thing.. why?
— Fenjei (old account deleted) (@FENJEII) July 11, 2018
Tell Us: Would you spend $1,500 on an ice cream sundae?
