strasberry ice creamStrasberries are difficult to get hold of but well worth it. The ice cream recipe I developed was the first ever published on the net.

World's Most Expensive Sundae

golden opulence sundae by Serendipity 3 New YorkPhoto © Serendipity 3

Some years ago the Golden Opulence became famous as the most expensive ice cream sundae ever made in the world.

Served at Serendipity 3 in New York it was a big, luxurious and unique dessert but at a price only affordable by a few people- it cost $1,000.

Serendipity 3 introduced this unique dessert in 2004 to celebrate the restaurant's 50th anniversary. An ice cream sundae made from only the finest things and when you read the list of ingredients you begin to realise just how special an ice cream sundae this is!

Here's the basic list of what the Golden Opulence Sundae by Serendipity 3 comprised ....

  • Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla which they cover in 23 carat edible gold leaf.
  • The sundae has the most expensive chocolate in the world (Amedei Porceleana) drizzled over it and is covered with chunks of Chuao chocolate (very rare and made from cocoa beans harvested by the Caribbean Sea on Venezuela's coast).
  • Other elements include exotic, candied fruits from Paris, truffles, gold dragets and marzipan cherries.
  • The ice cream sundae is topped with a small glass bowl of golden colored caviar - Grand Passion Caviar and sweetened and infused with fresh orange, fresh passion fruit and Armagnac.
  • It doesn't end there either! The whole Golden Opulence Sundae is topped with a gilded sugar flower and served in a Baccarat Harcourt Crystal goblet (which you get to keep after).
  • There are even gold spoons (18 carat) available to eat the sundae with.

    Note: Serendipity 3 - patronized by many wealthy and famous people in recent years but its past is almost as glorious - Marilyn Monroe was a frequent visitor, as well as Andy Warhol and 'First Lady' Jackie O was another regular. She allegedly once tried to buy the restaurant's recipe for their famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate but was refused.
Click here to see some of the delicious sundaes served at Morelli's Gelato Parlor
Go to my sundae gallery to see a range of photographs taken over many years
Read about the origins of the ice cream sundae