How to Make the Perfect Ice Cream Sundae

Ice cream sundaes are a staple in every ice cream shoppe. You can make them with soft-serve or hard ice cream! Sundaes are so popular because of how incredibly customizable they are. You can go classic with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge or you can be more adventurous and go with mint ice cream and cookie pieces. Whatever your chosen flavors, this is the best method for making a perfect ice cream sundae every time.

Before You Begin

Before you start making your ice cream sundae, there are a few things you need to do:

• Heat your ice cream scoop with warm water. Doing this allows the outer layer of your ice cream to melt just enough to make it shiny. If you use this scoop with it, your ice cream will be perfectly smooth and so pretty.
• Keep your sauce warm. Heating your sauce beforehand will make it a lot more smooth for pouring and pumping. This also gives it a more glossy look on top of your ice cream.

Making Your Sundae

1. The Bowl

To make a sundae you need something to put it in. This makes a big difference is how easy it is to eat as well as how it looks. If you put it in a flimsy plastic container, it will be a lot harder to eat than if you were to put it in a nice paper cup like this one.

2. The Foundation

The best ice cream sundaes have sauce all the way throughout, not just on top. Start by drizzling your chosen sauce on the bottom and sides of your cup. Then scoop your first layer of ice cream. This can be a little as one scoop or as much as three scoops depending on the size of your bowl. What you want is a nice foundation for your sundae.

3. The Middle

It's time for more sauce! Now that you have your first layer of ice cream in the cup, drizzle another layer of sauce onto it. Then take your topping and sprinkle that on your sauce. This topping can be almost anything: nuts, sprinkles, cookie pieces, or toffee.

4. The Top

After you finish your middle section, add one more scoop of ice cream. This is when your pretty scooping really comes in handy. These are the scoops your customer sees first.

5. The Finishing Touches

On top of your pretty scoop, drizzle another layer of sauce. Follow this up with more of your toppings and one final topper. This can be a cherry, a big cookie, or even a marshmallow.

Bonus Ideas

The great thing about ice cream sundaes is they're so customizable. The perfect ice cream sundae doesn't just need to be vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. Here are some ideas for flavor/topping/sauce combinations.

1. Mint Cookies and Cream

This is a different take on mint chocolate chip. Use mint ice cream as your base. Drizzle on chocolate sauce and Oreo pieces. Use one full cookie as your topper.

2. Raspberry Peanut Butter

Have your PB&J and eat it too! Use raspberry sorbet or frozen yogurt as your base. Heat peanut butter and drizzle it on top with crushed peanuts as a topping. For your topper, you can use a fresh raspberry or a big peanut.

3. Fruit and Granola

This works very well with soft-serve vanilla. Sprinkle granola and fresh fruit and drizzle maple syrup on top. Use a full strawberry as a topper. This is a fun take on fruit and ice cream.

4. Chocolate and Potato Chips

As we've seen from the salted caramel trend, people love sweet and salty together. Incorporate this by using potato chips as a topping. The best way to do this is to use chocolate ice cream, drizzled with chocolate syrup, and sprinkled with crushed potato chips. For the topper, use a full potato chip.

5. Sweetened Condensed Milk

This is a fun take on a classic sundae. Use vanilla ice cream, nuts, and a cherry, but instead of hot fudge, use warm sweetened condensed milk. This creates a decadent treat out of a classic dessert.

Nothing is better than a good ice cream sundae from a classic ice cream shoppe. No matter the flavors you use, you can't go wrong with this method of making the perfect sundae. If you use these flavors, it will set you apart from your competition and your customers will love it!