Classic Ice Cream Sundae Recipe

Choose any of the classic ice cream sundae recipes and experience a refreshing treat from childhood. These homemade sundaes are colorful, delicious, and so easy to make.

You will love the delicious taste of these authentic frozen desserts topped with fresh fruit, whipped cream, colorful sauces, and a red maraschino cherry.

Classic Ice Cream Sundae Recipe

©2008 by Don Bell

How to Make a Classic Sundae

You can make a traditional ice cream parlor sundae by serving your homemade ice cream in a bowl or classic tulip glass with either fresh fruit or a fruit preserve, and your favorite fountain syrup or sundae sauce generously drizzled over it.

The ice cream parlor operators liberally drizzled the chosen fountain syrup over a bowl of frozen ice cream and topped it off with a generous dollop of freshly made whipped cream and a big red maraschino cherry.

You'll find a collection of original fountain syrup recipes in the soft drink section on this site that can be used with the classic ice cream sundae recipes whenever they call for flavored syrups.

These are the same syrup recipes that soda fountain operators used when making flavoring syrups for their own refreshing sodas and sundaes.

Simply choose a flavored syrup and drizzle it over your ice cream sundae to enjoy an authentic old time treat.

Most ice cream parlors developed their own sundae combinations to attract customers and some became national favorites.

You can use your imagination to combine favorite ice creams and toppings and invent your own sundae.

Classic Ice Cream Sundae Recipes

The Dispenser's Formulary or Soda Water Guide (1915)

Ice Cream Parlor Sundae Instructions

In serving sundaes, it is important that an appeal should be made to the eye as well to the palate. It is poor policy to slap together a messy concoction. Never let the syrups run over the edge of the sundae glass.

See that the handle of the spoon is not sticky with syrup. Place nuts, cherries, or knobs of whipped cream carefully on the sundae so that the effect may be pleasing.

It's customary to serve a glass of iced water with all sundaes. This should not be omitted; and do not wait for the customer to ask for it.

Many dispensers serve a cracker with the sundae. This is desirable, especially in many neighborhoods, but such service is not absolutely necessary.

A reasonable amount of judgement must be exercised as to the kind of cracker served. With chocolate, coffee, maple, and similar flavors, a salty cracker is very acceptable, but with the fruity flavors and with fresh or crushed fruits a sweet cracker is correct.

Yama Yama

For this homemade cream sundae recipe, place one (No. 12) scoopful of chocolate ice cream into a sundae dish and over it pour one ladleful of crushed pineapple.

Top off with whipped cream, a few pecans and a cherry. Charge 15 cents. —Joseph Casiragh

Arabian

Take a dish full of chocolate ice cream (or a dish of vanilla ice cream with a layer of chocolate syrup over it).

Over this place a spoonful of crushed figs and a large spoonful of whipped cream, putting on each side a Nabisco® wafer. Serve in a sherbet glass with a spoon, topping off with a maraschino cherry.

High School

For this classic ice cream sundae recipe, take three portions of chocolate ice cream (No. 16 disher) and place them in triangular form on a flat ice cream saucer; then place some whipped cream in the center and dust over with finely chopped walnuts, or, if preferred, a maraschino cherry may be used. Price 15 cents.

Peg O' My Heart

Into a footed sundae cup put a small dipperful of vanilla ice cream; cover with marshmallow whip and then add 1/2 ounce chocolate syrup.

Insert slices of banana around the inside of the glass, and top with whipped cream and chopped nuts. Decorate with red and green cherries. Sells for 15 cents. —Bruno Schubet

Canadian Maple Leaf

For this classic ice cream sundae recipe, take a saucer, such as are commonly used for sundaes and around its edge place five macaroons. Place a cone of vanilla ice cream (measured out with a 12 to the quart ice cream disher) in the center of the saucer.

Over the ice cream pour one-half ladleful of pineapple fruit and one ounce of maple syrup. Top off with a small measure of maple sugar. This formula is especially recommended.

The author writes: "We used fifty gallons of maple syrup last season, supplying customers with the Maple Leaf Sundae. Guess that's going some for Canada, the land of the maple leaf." —Harry G. Frame

Strawberry Creme

For this classic ice cream sundae recipe, place a disherful of fresh strawberry ice cream in a sundae dish, pour over it marshmallow sauce, put on a spoonful of nuts and top off with whipped cream and a nice ripe strawberry. The whipped cream may be left out. Price 15 cents.

Fresh Fruit Delight

In a sundae cup place a ladleful of fresh pineapple fruit, add half a ladleful of oranges cut into small slices, then nearly fill the cup with sliced bananas, placing two maraschino cherries, one directly opposite the other and across the top of the contents of the cup. Put a quarter of a dipperful of whipped cream in the center. Sells for 15 cents.

Dessert Francais

Ice cream in sundae glass, chocolate flavor; slice on fresh banana around the edge, sprinkle with chopped nuts, top with whipped cream and maraschino cherry. Price 15 cents.

Tasty Toasty

Into a suitable dish put a dipperful of vanilla ice cream; cover it with maple syrup and then sprinkle over the syrup a spoonful of crunchy cornflakes. —D. J. Fitz-Gerald

Mount Washington

On a sundae dish place a scoopful of chocolate ice cream. Cover with whipped cream, add three maraschino cherries and sprinkle over all a spoonful of walnut meats.

Metropolitan

In any deep sundae glass place vanilla ice cream molded out in an ice cream scoop; pour over the cream 2 ounces of grape juice; then put one large maraschino cherry on top of the cream and a spoonful of crushed walnuts on the side of the dish.

Lone Star

Over a ladleful of ice cream in a sundae glass pour some chocolate syrup and cover with Texas pecans, almonds, and dates chopped together. Price 15 cents.

Roundabout

To make this classic ice cream sundae recipe, put a large measure of ice cream in a tall sundae glass, cover with fresh crushed banana fruit and fill the glass with whipped cream. Place on one side maraschino cherries. Other fruit may be used if desired.

Dreamland Sundae

Into a banana-special dish lay two good sized slices of a peach. In the center place a medium sized scoopful of vanilla ice cream.

Put a spoonful of whipped cream at each side of the ice cream and cover with walnuts and a cherry.

Over the vanilla ice cream put a spoonful of crushed pineapple and top with a red and green cherry.

Serve with two Nabisco® wafers. "A simple dish to prepare and sells readily for 15 cents." —Miss Florence E. Cavanaugh

Broken Hearts

For this classic ice cream sundae recipe, put a slice of brick vanilla ice cream on a 6-inch plate.

Cover the ice cream with fresh, sweetened, and slightly mashed strawberries, and over these put sweetened whipped cream; top off with two whole strawberries and serve with two Nabisco® wafers. Sells for 20 cents. —C. F. Wagner

Sunset

A scoop of vanilla ice cream in a sundae cup. Pour over it a thin grape syrup; top with whipped cream and a fresh strawberry.

Hot Chocolate

Hot, rich chocolate syrup poured over a ladle of plan or nut ice cream. A few chopped nuts may be sprinkled over the top. Price, 10 cents.

Summer Time

To prepare this classic ice cream sundae recipe, cut up one banana in slices and place them around the edge of an ice cream plate.

Add one measure of ice cream in center of the plate; then put a row of fresh strawberry fruit (or cherries) around the cream, put on 1/2 ounce vanilla syrup and 1/2 ounce strawberry syrup and sprinkle a few nuts on top. Price, 20 cents. —L. W. Marshall

U-Wana

In a six-inch dish place a scoop of vanilla ice cream, one of strawberry, and one of chocolate, round-bowl shape. In the center place half a Bartlett pear.

Top off with a teaspoonful of whipped cream, sprinkle a few crushed pecans. Top with a cherry pierced with a toothpick. Price 20 cents.

Fruit Pudding

One-half ounce crushed strawberries, 1/2 ounce crushed peaches, ice cream to fill small glass. Serve with spoon. Charge 15 cents.

Golden Sunset

Into a suitable sundae dish place a scoop of vanilla ice cream; add a ladleful of crushed orange, sprinkle with finely chopped cherries, and top off with a whole cherry. Charge 10 or 15 cents.

Bostonian

For this classic ice cream sundae recipe, place a measure of ice cream in a sundae glass, and over it artistically arrange sliced orange cut in diamond shaped pieces, sliced pineapple, maraschino cherries and English walnut halves. Charge 15 cents.

Frozen Cherry Bon Bon

Spoonful ice cream in 8-ounce stem glass. Almost fill with shaved ice. Add 2 ounces cherry syrup, top with layer of ice cream, and add a maraschino cherry. Price 10 cents.

Decoration

To make this classic ice cream sundae recipe, place in a regular sundae glass equal quantities of strawberry and chocolate ice cream.

Over this, put a ladleful of crushed walnuts and top off with whipped cream and a few fresh strawberries. Charge 15 cents when dispensed with fresh fruit. —Patrick McCole

Cherry Temptation

On a banana split dish place two scoopfuls vanilla ice cream, cover with crushed cherries, top with marshmallow cream and decorate with one red and one green cherry. Charge 15 cents.

Skyscraper

Place two small scoopfuls of vanilla ice cream on a china platter; over the ice cream pour cherry syrup with cherries and place a Nabisco® wafer over the cream; then add a scoopful of strawberry ice cream, placing it on the middle of the Nabisco® wafer.

Place another Nabisco® wafer on top of the strawberry ice cream so that it will balance evenly and top off with whipped cream and a whole cherry. Charge 20 cents. —Sydney Trau

The Flirting Prince

In a highball glass place a scoopful of vanilla ice cream, covered by half an ounce of grape juice.

Add several spoonfuls of chopped bananas and syrup and cover with a layer of strawberry ice cream. Top off with whipped cream and cherries and serve for 15 cents. —R. J. Reynolds

American National

Take two small dishes of marshmallow creme and color (with cake coloring), one red and the other blue.

Then in a fancy sundae dish put a No. 10 ladleful of vanilla ice cream; on one side of the ice cream put a spoonful of red marshmallow creme, and on the other side a spoonful of blue Marshmallow Creme, allowing the ice cream to show in the center of the dish so as to represent the national colors.

Sprinkle a spoonful of ground nut meats on top of the dish and serve.

Merry Countess

One ladle each of vanilla and strawberry ice cream in a sundae dish. A ladle each of crushed pineapple and strawberry. A small quantity of sliced bananas. Top with whipped cream and a red and green cherry. Sells for 15 cents. (Don C. Vann)

Walnut Pineapple

Make a regular sundae with crushed pineapple and top with a spoonful of whole or chopped walnut meats. Price, 10 cents.

The Waldorf Sundae

Put a small scoopful of chocolate ice cream in a sundae dish and over the ice cream put a ladleful of crushed fruit syrup; over the syrup put a ladleful of whipped cream and top with broken pecan or hickory nutmeats.

The syrup is made by cutting up fine one orange, a small bunch of Malaga grapes, a few Maraschino cherries, and a little crushed pineapple.

Mix all together, add enough simple syrup to produce a mixture of about the same density as that of ordinary crushed fruit syrup, and enough of the juice from the Maraschino cherries to give the mixture the desired color; the syrup is then ready to serve.

A fruit bowl filled with this mixture and placed on the service corner at the soda fountain, according to the author, "looks inviting and catches many an order for itself." —Miss Lillian Woods

Also see the authentic Waldorf Sundae Topping recipe that makes any serving of ice cream taste extra special.

Canadian Classic Ice Cream Sundae Recipe

Mom's Recipe Scrapbooks (c. 1920s)

The Dionne Surprise Sundae

In a banana split dish line up 5 scoops of vanilla ice cream representing Annette, Emilie, Yvonne, Cecile, and Marie, and generously top each scoop with whipped cream and a red maraschino cherry.

Next, spoon crushed strawberries along one side of the dish and crushed pineapple along the other side, and serve.

How to Flute Bananas

Several ice cream sundae recipes call for banana slices that can be made to appear extra special by fluting. To flute a banana, simply run the prongs of a fork lengthwise down a peeled banana, then slice banana crosswise for dainty "crinkly-edged rounds."

Throw an Ice Cream Sundae Party

Simply set several containers of frozen ice cream into a large tub filled with crushed ice to prevent the ice cream from melting. There should be enough ice cream available to satisfy all your guests.

Offer the usual ice cream flavors along with a couple of the more unusual old fashioned flavors such as Violet, Spice, and Brown Bread.

Be generous with the ice cream toppings. Have containers of sundae sauces along with pieces of homemade fudge, crushed hard candies, and chopped candied fruit. Offer your guests as many fun topping choices as possible.

And to add to the fun, print out several clasic ice cream sundae recipes and display them to inspire your guests.

Ice Cream Sundae History

Are you a history buff? If so, you might like to read about Ice Cream Sundae History and the scandal associated with the origin of this popular ice cream treat.