Upgrade Your Ice Cream Game With One of These Easy Ice Cream Sauces.
I scream a lot and a lot of that screaming is ice cream related. “Where’s the scoop of ice cream?!” (Crate.) “Who put ice cream in the fridge instead of the freezer??!” (Me) “Are we out of hot fudge???” (Almost always.)
If McDonald’s taught me anything, it’s that a sauce, whether it’s caramel, fruity, or fudge-based, turns a simple scoop of ice cream into ice cream, and ice cream is a little more special, deliberate, and delicious.
You can buy a sauce or multiple sauces at the grocery store, but there are several types of ice cream that can be made with very few ingredients in the comfort of your own kitchen. Also, if you happen to share, serving homemade sauces is one way to earn a few bragging rights if you’re into that sort of thing.
Light hot fudge
Hot fudge is perhaps the most iconic ice cream topping because it’s rich and delicious. This recipe from Food52 requires just four ingredients, two of which are water and salt. The other two are unsweetened chocolate and sweetened condensed milk , which mix and blend to form a thick, rich, sweet enough ice cream topping that can be mixed with vanilla extract, instant espresso powder, chili powder, or whatever you like. other extract or powder you want, although I recommend trying it neat before making any changes.
Ingredients:
- 1 can of 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4-3/4 teaspoon salt, depending on your taste for salty-sweetness
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken into pieces
Combine the first three ingredients in a medium saucepan and place over low heat. Add the chocolate and stir constantly until it melts to form a thick, shiny sauce. If the fondant is too thick for your taste, you can add a little water to thin it out. This makes a fair amount of fudge, but don’t worry, it can be reheated on the stovetop or in the microwave. Just heat slowly and carefully and stir frequently.
Easy Dulce de Leche (with a vegan option!)
Turning a can of sweetened condensed milk into a thick, rich, buttery caramel sauce is my favorite party trick and one of the first cooking hacks I learned from my maternal grandmother.
Take any can of condensed milk ( or sweetened condensed coconut milk if you’re avoiding dairy and/or want your sauce to look like Samoan Girl Scout cookies) and place it on a rack in your instant pot or other electric pressure cooker. Fill the jar with water and cook on high pressure for 35 minutes (if using dairy milk) or 45 minutes (if using coconut oil). Allow the pressure to release naturally and the jar will cool completely before opening it to reveal your golden caramel sauce. (If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can also use a slow cooker, which takes longer but works just as well.)
Chocolate or Peanut Butter Magic Shell
There is something magical about cracking open a sweet candy shell. To make the chocolate shell , you will need seven ounces of coarsely chopped chocolate (any kind of chocolate) and two tablespoons of coconut oil. Combine these two ingredients in a double boiler or saucepan over very low heat, stir until smooth, pour over ice cream and bring to a boil. For the peanut butter shell, mix half a cup of peanut butter with a quarter cup of coconut oil and heat in the microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth. (If you have leftovers, store them in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave before each use.)
Fruit and potato puree
My stepmother changed my life when she served me a bowl of vanilla ice cream and peaches. The peaches weren’t cut into smooth slices or pieces, they were sprinkled with sugar and mashed with a potato masher to make a kind of raw compote. The juices and chunks swirled and mixed with the ice cream instead of falling to the bottom of the bowl. It was very simple but made “ice cream and peaches” more like “fresh peach ice cream”. You can try sprinkling and mashing any fruit, but I think peaches are a good start.