If you were goingto think of the "big three" ways of ordering ice
cream at your local ice cream parlor, they would almost always include
the ice cream cone, the banana split and the ice cream sundae. The
sundae has been a favourite for such a long time that there are
variations on the story of its creation and myths of how long it has
been along. But when you consider that an ice cream
sundae is really little more than a scoop of your favourite ice cream
with two or three of your favourite toppings on it, people had probably
been making ice cream sundaes for centuries before someone put a name on
it to make the recipe popular.
The original ice cream sundae is the basic variation that has not
changed over the decades. That recipe called for a scoop or two of ice
cream topped with nuts, whipped cream and a cherry. Since
the beginning of the treat, lots of variations have been added including
adding chocolate or caramel syrup, strawberries, chocolate chips or
butterscotch. The varieties of ways you can have a sundae
prepared can mean you might never have to have the same sundae twice.
But for most of us, we have our favourite blend and we stick with it
because the familiarity of those delicious flavors together is what
makes an ice cream sundae so great.
The lore of how we got the ice cream sundae is a fun as the treat
itself. The say that the desert was invented in Two Rivers, Wisconsin
and it was named because it was an ice cream treat that was
deemed acceptable to serve on Sunday. According to the lore of the
history of the sundae, ice cream sodas were considered too "sinful" to
prepare on the day of rest but the sundae was the perfect
refreshing treat to have on a Sunday afternoon.
The spelling of the word "sundae" has its own background story as
well. One theory is that the word was changed to honour a glass dishes
salesman who donated canoe shaped glass bowls to the city of Two Rivers
to be used exclusively for this treat. The y in Sunday was changed to an
e to make the word look like the word "canoe" as a tribute to that gift.
Another theory is that the word was changed to make sure you knew that
when you listed ice cream sundae on your advertisements, you were
talking about the desert and not the day, "Sunday".
1 tablespoon instant espresso mixed with 1 teaspoon water
CARAMEL SAUCE
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
FOR THE SUNDAES
Vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Directions
HOT FUDGE SAUCE:
Melt the chocolate in a small saucepan set in a larger
pan of simmering water; stir until smooth. Meanwhile, in a
medium saucepan, combine the water with the sugar and corn
syrup and bring to a boil over high heat. Whisk in the cocoa
powder, reduce the heat to moderate and cook, stirring,
until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan
from the heat and whisk in the melted chocolate and espresso
dissolved in water.
CARAMEL SAUCE:
In a medium
saucepan, combine the sugar and corn syrup and cook over
moderately high heat, without stirring, until a deep-amber
caramel forms, about 6 minutes. Using a wet pastry brush,
wash down any crystals from the side of the pan. Remove the
pan from the heat and carefully stir in the cream and
butter; the sauce will bubble up. Cook the caramel sauce
over moderate heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
MAKE THE SUNDAES:
Spoon the ice cream into sundae
glasses or bowls. Top with the hot fudge and caramel sauces,
sprinkle with nuts and serve.
