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PARTY: Hot Fudge Sundae Bar (Or Party With Any & All Sundaes)

July 25, 2018 at 7:58 am · Filed under Entertaining, Food Bars, Buffets, DIY, Food Holidays, Ice Cream-Sorbet-Yogurt

Updated July 2026

July 25th is National Hot Fudge Sundae Day (November 11th is National Sundae Day).

How to celebrate? With a DIY hot fudge sundae bar!

Every ice cream flavor works well with fudge sauce, so you can stick with vanilla or offer as many flavors as you like.

You don’t need sundae dishes, although anything glass shows off the dessert better than ceramic bowls.

If you don’t have enough bowls, see if you can borrow some. The bowls can be mixed designs; in fact, trendy restaurants often use mismatched plates, bowls and glasses.

If you don’t have pretty bowls, consider wine glasses. The easiest option is 9-ounce hard plastic party cups.

> The difference between hot fudge and chocolate sauce.

> Sundae bar ingredients.

> Beverage pairings.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of the ice cream sundae.

> The history of hot fudge sauce.

> The history of ice cream.

> The different types of ice cream and frozen desserts: a photo glossary.

> The year’s 50+ ice cream holidays.

> The year’s 8 ice cream drink holidays.
 
Hot Fudge Sauce
[6] Is it hot fudge or chocolate sauce? The answer follows (photo © Sugar Plum Chocolates).
 
 
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOT FUDGE & CHOCOLATE SAUCE

While many people—even those in the industry of making it or developing recipes—use the terms interchangeably, there is a difference.

  • Hot fudge is thicker, richer, and solid, much like actual fudge at room temperature. You need to warm it to pour it; hence, “hot” fudge. And that’s what’s in the photo above: warmed to be pourable.
  • Chocolate sauce is thinner and pourable at room temperature.

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    HOT FUDGE SUNDAE BAR INGREDIENTS

  • Ice cream
  • Fudge sauce, warmed
  • Whipped cream
  • Maraschino cherries or brandied cherries

    •  
    Plus:
     
    Garnishes Of Choice

  • Bananas
  • Berries
  • Brownies, blondies, or pound cake (cubed)
  • Candies: Andes Mints, crushed toffee or brittle, mini peanut butter cups, sprinkles, etc.
  • Chocolate chips or other flavors (butterscotch, mint, peanut, etc.)
  • Cookies or cookie crumbs
  • Nuts
  • Waffles, whole or cubed

    •  
    Preparation

    1. SET out the ingredients plus scoops, spoons, napkins and service plates (to catch drips).

    2. SET the fudge sauce over a tea candle or other burner to keep warm and pourable.

    3. GET ready to Instagram!
     
     
    BEVERAGE PAIRINGS FOR HOT FUDGE & OTHER CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM SUNDAES

  • Non-Alcoholic Beverages: cherry or cream soda, chocolate milk or mocha, cold milk, espresso or macchiato, iced coffee, root beer or cola.
  • Non-Alcoholic-Adults: iced Earl Grey tea, ginger tea, mint tea; sparkling water; Italian soda.
  • Beers: chocolate stout/porter, milk stout, raspberry lambic.
  • Cocktails: chocolate or espresso Martini, White Russian (Kahlúa and cream).
  • Liqueurs: amaretto, Baileys or other Irish cream liqueur, chocolate liqueur, nut liqueur (hazelnut/Frangelico, nocino/green walnut, pistachio, or other nut).
  • Wines: ruby or tawny Port.
    		•    Hot Fudge Sundae
    [1] The classic from the soda fountain (photo © Kelly Cline | iStock Photo).

    Hot Fudge Sundae
    [2] Pretty bowls work fine (photo © The Wholesome Junk Food Cookbook).


    [3] Chocolate on chocolate (photo © Viktor Hanacek | Pic Jumbo).

    Hot Fudge Sundae On A Waffle
    [4] What can beat a sundae built on a blondie, brownie, or waffle (photo © Very Best Baking)?

    Chocolate Stout Float
    [5] Chocolate stout, which makes a great adult ice cream float, can also accompany a hot fudge sundae. See more beverage pairings below (photo © The Nibble).
     
    Hot Fudge Sundae Atop Pound Cake
    [7] Our personal favorite hot fudge sundae is atop a slice of toasted pound cake (photo © The Nibble).
     
     

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Stone Fruit Sangria

    July 25, 2018 at 7:32 am · Filed under Cocktails & Spirits, Recipes, Wine

    Stone Fruit Sangria
    [1] Make sangria with rose and summer’s stone fruits (photo courtesy Saveur).

    San Pellegrino Aranciata Rossa
    [2] We use San Pellegrino’s Aranciata Rossa, a sparkling blood orange soft drink (photo courtesy San Pellegrino).

    		  

    We’re at the height of stone fruit season, so what’s with the apples and pears?

    Make a stone fruit sangria, and make it even more summery with rosé as the base wine.

    What are stone fruits? Here’s the scoop; some of the most popular are apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches and plums.

    The stone fruits season is in the summer. Enjoy them while you can!
     
     
    RECIPE: ROSE SANGRIA WITH STONE FRUITS

    We adapted this recipe from Saveur. You start by making a spiced syrup to sweeten the drink.

  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 1/2 vanilla bean
  • 1-1/2 cups sparkling blood-orange soda*
  • 4 cups rosé wine†
  • 1/2 cup brandy
  • 3 cups roughly-chopped stone fruit, like peaches, plums and nectarines (apples and pears may be used as well)
  • 1 cup halved grapes
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • 3 sprigs mint

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    Preparation

    1. BOIL the honey, cinnamon, vanilla bean and soda in a 4-quart saucepan; let cool.

    2. STIR in the wine and brandy. In a pitcher, layer chopped fruit, grapes, blueberries, and mint. Strain wine mixture over fruit; chill at least 4 hours or up to overnight before serving.
    ________________
    * We used San Pellegrino Aranciata Rossa (blood orange); they also make it in Clementine. If you can’t find it, use another orange-flavored carbonated drink. If you want less sugar, use an unsweetened orange-flavored club soda.

    † One 750ml bottle = 3.175 cups.
     
    WHO INVENTED SANGRIA?

    Here’s the history of sangria, a recipe much older than you might guess.
      

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    How To Make A Super-Easy Ice Cream Or Frozen Yogurt Pie

    July 24, 2018 at 7:35 am · Filed under Cookies-Cake-Pastry, Food Facts - Food History, Recipes, Tip Of The Day

    Updated August 2026

    It’s easy to scoop out ice cream, sorbet, or frozen yogurt for a quick dessert. But it’s almost as easy to turn that frozen pint into a dazzling ice cream pie (photo #1).

    It’s as easy as buying a graham cracker or Oreo crust and a couple of pints of your frozen dessert of choice—ice cream, sorbet, or frozen yogurt.

    In the recipe below, we provide a simple way to make your own crust: It’s just cookies and butter.

    If you want to make your own ice cream or frozen yogurt, we applaud you. We haven’t yet dragged our ice cream maker out of the cabinet.

    National Ice Cream Pie Day is observed on August 18th. National Ice Cream Day is the third Sunday in July. National Pie Day is January 23rd.

    Below:

    > Basic ice cream pie recipe.

    > Variations to create your own recipe.

    > The history of ice cream pie.

    Elsewhere on The Nibble:

    > The history of ice cream cake.

    > The history of ice cream.

    > The history of pie.

    > The year’s 50+ ice cream and frozen dessert holidays.

    > The year’s 30+ pie and cobbler holidays.
     
     
    RECIPE: ICE CREAM OR FROZEN YOGURT PIE

    Using a purchased crust, you can put this together in 10 minutes plus passive time to freeze the pie. Instead of berries, check out the variations below.

    What makes this frozen pie bright and summery is the garnish of mixed berries. You can use stone fruits (nectarines, peaches, etc.) but the berries provide more color and make the pie easier to slice.

    Ingredients For The Crust

  • 1-1/2 cups graham cracker or cookie crumbs
  • 1/4 cup butter*, melted

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    For The Filling

  • 2 pints of ice cream, sorbet, or frozen yogurt
  • Optional: fruit preserves to layer between the crust and the ice cream

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    For The Garnish

  • Mixed berries: blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries

    •  
    Preparation

    1. PREPARE the crust. Crush the graham crackers or other cookies in a plastic bag with a rolling pin. Mix the crumbs with the melted butter and press firmly onto the bottom of the pie plate. Chill for at least 30 minutes before filling.

    2. SOFTEN the ice cream on the counter for 10–15 minutes (sorbet will take less time).

    3. SPREAD the optional layer of preserves atop the pie crust with a spatula, then spread the ice cream.

    4. ADD the fruit before freezing, or reserve it and add it as a fresh garnish just before serving.

    5. FREEZE the pie until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove it from the freezer 10 to 15 minutes before serving, then garnish with fresh berries (if reserved) and slice.

    		  

    Mixed Berry Ice Cream Pie
    [1] A bounty of juicy summer berries is an easy topping for an ice cream pie. The recipe is below (photo © The Nibble).

    Box Of Trader Joe Graham Crackers
    [2] If you want to make your own graham cracker crust, our favorite grahams are from Trader Joe’s. They’re superior in flavor to supermarket brands. One bite will convince you (photo © The New Lighter Life).

    Ice Cream Pie With Oreo Crust
    [3] Just buy an Oreo crust, vanilla ice cream, and cherry pie filling (or make cherry compote). Substitute chocolate ice cream and add some Kirsch to the compote and it becomes a Black Forest ice cream pie. Here’s the recipe (photo © Wild Wild Whisk).
     
    Limoncello Ice Cream Pie
    [4] Limoncello ice cream pie. Here’s the recipe. Serve small glasses of the liqueur to sip (photo © The Nibble).
     
     
    ICE CREAM PIE VARIATIONS

  • Crust: You can create a gluten-free nut or seed crust, or substitute your favorite cookie crumbs—or almost anything else. We once used Corn Flakes and it was a hit!
  • Filling: Add your mix-ins of choice, from chocolate chips and nuts to chopped fresh or frozen fruit. You can also add three or more tablespoons of your favorite liqueur into the softened ice cream.
  • Fruit: The recipe in the photo added the fruit before freezing, and a white frost dusts the fruits. We prefer the look and taste of adding the fruit before serving, but that requires a small amount of extra work at the last moment. The choice is yours.
  • Layers: We created a “surprise” pie by creating two layers: vanilla on top (to better show off the fruit); strawberry on the bottom.

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    Strawberry Sorbet Frozen Pie
    [5] This recipe combines strawberry sorbet and strawberry yogurt, and fresh strawberries (photo © The Nibble).
     
     
    THE HISTORY OF ICE CREAM PIE

    Before the modern ice cream pie was invented, the two components were famously paired together:

  • 1880s: Pie à la Mode. The tradition of putting ice cream on top of pie dates back to the late 19th century in the United States. Stories trace the coining of the term pie à la mode to the 1880s in Duluth, Minnesota, or to a 1930s hotel in New York—origin stories that are disputed, but that cemented the concept that pie and ice cream belonged on the same plate.
  • 1920s: Early Frozen Novelties. The 1922 patenting and commercial success of the Eskimo Pie, an ice cream brick coated in chocolate, helped demonstrate that consumers loved structured, hand-held or sliceable frozen dairy desserts.

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    The Mid-20th Century Boom: The Rise of the Home Freezer

    The modern ice cream pie—ice cream packed into a crust, frozen, sliced, and served like a traditional baked pie—gained popularity in the mid-20th century, as was the case with ice cream cake. Several developments helped make this possible:

  • Technological shifts. Before mechanical freezers became widespread in American homes and restaurants during the 1940s and 1950s, enabling home refrigerators with bigger and better freezer compartments, keeping a frozen dessert solid until dessert time was a logistical challenge.
  • Convenience cooking. As home freezers and store-bought graham cracker or cookie crusts became readily available, home cooks and commercial bakers alike created new frozen desserts. Pressing softened ice cream into a crumb crust, refreezing it, and topping it with fudge, caramel, or fruit became an effortless, no-bake triumph of mid-century convenience cooking.
  • Commercialization. As the concept took off, it transitioned from home kitchens into commercial production. Companies such as the Edwards Baking Company, founded in 1950, eventually helped revolutionize the frozen dessert aisle, bringing mass-produced, sliceable ice cream pies to grocery stores in the 1960s.
  • Regional and local sales. Across the U.S., various diners, university creameries, and roadside stands developed their own signature iterations. Their strawberry or peanut butter ice cream pies, among others, drew customers from miles around.

    •  
    Today, the ice cream pie remains a staple of summer celebrations, potlucks, and diners, celebrated nationally every August 18th and inviting you to quickly assemble your own.

    The modern ice cream cake, with distinct layers of ice cream and cake, became popular around the same time. Tom Carvel, inventor of soft-serve ice cream, developed a frozen cake made with ice cream, fudge, and cookie crunch in the 1950s.

    > Here’s the history of the ice cream cake.

    ________________

    *Unsalted butter is the norm, but you can use salted butter if you like the sweet-and-salty flavor profile.
     
     

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