This sundae is inspired by our favorite Lebanese singer Fairuz. For her sundae we take pistachio ice cream and layer it with stewed cherries and a creamy chocolate tahini sauce that has been flavored with a hint of cardamom.

1 pint pistachio gelato
Cardamom and Tahini Chocolate Sauce (recipe follows)
Cherry Sauce (recipe follows)
Whipped Cream (about ½ cup heavy cream + 1 tsp confectioners sugar)

Here is how we like to layer our Fairuz Sundae:
Pour a dollop of the Chocolate Tahini Sauce into the bottom of a sundae cup.
Follow with a scoop of pistachio gelato.
Top it with another dollop of the chocolate sauce. Follow with more pistachio gelato.
Pour some cherry sauce over the ice cream.
Top it all with whipped cream and a fresh cherry.

Cardamom and Tahini Chocolate Sauce
3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (about 61% cacao)
½ cup heavy cream
5-7 green cardamom pods
2 tablespoons tahini

Crush the cardamom pods gently open using a mortar and pestle. Empty out the seeds, remove the pods, and crush the seeds gently.
Chop up the chocolate finely.
Combine the chocolate, heavy cream, and cardamom seeds in a small saucepan. Gently whisk as the chocolate melts to combine the ingredients.
Stir in the tahini and keep warm.

This sauce does not keep well in the refrigerator, so make it soon before you will be using it.

For the Cherry Sauce:
2 cups cherries, halved and pitted
2 T honey
¼ cup water

In a small saucepan simmer the cherries with the honey and water until softened. Remove the cherries with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Bring the remaining liquid to a boil and reduce until it is nice and syrupy. Pour the syrup over the cherries. Let it cool to room temperature before serving.