The Hot Fudge Sundae
Vanilla ice cream under a warm, glossy hot fudge made with butter, unsweetened chocolate and Dutch cocoa, finished with whipped cream, toasted nuts and a cherry.
Two towns claim the sundae. Two Rivers, Wisconsin, says that in 1881 soda fountain owner Ed Berners poured chocolate syrup, until then used only in sodas, over a dish of ice cream for a customer, George Hallauer; the Wisconsin Historical Society tells the town's version, in which the dish sold for a nickel, at first only on Sundays. Ithaca, New York, says that on Sunday, April 3, 1892, Chester Platt of Platt & Colt Pharmacy topped ice cream with cherry syrup and a candied cherry for the Rev. John Scott and called it a "Cherry Sunday"; Ithaca points to a newspaper ad from that week, a store ledger and a clerk's letter (Mental Floss, 2022:). A third theory says Evanston, Illinois, banned Sunday sodas in 1890 and the syrup-only "Sunday soda" was born there. Hot fudge came later: Los Angeles candy maker Clarence Clifton Brown is credited with a hot fudge sundae at C.C. Brown's around 1906, by legend, and the Los Angeles Times was advertising a "Hot Fudge Sundae" at another restaurant by 1914 (search summaries).
🇺🇸 This one is American
Vanilla ice cream under a warm, glossy hot fudge made with butter, unsweetened chocolate and Dutch cocoa, finished with whipped cream, toasted nuts and a cherry.
🇮🇹 The original
Italian gelato is churned slowly from milk with less cream and less air than American ice cream, so it is denser and served a little warmer. See the Fior di Latte Gelato (Italian Milk Gelato) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Chocolate plus cocoa
The bar chocolate and butter give body and shine, and the Dutch cocoa adds deep chocolate flavor without extra fat.
Brought to a boil
Boiling dissolves the sugar fully, so the sauce is glossy and thickens as it cools on the cold ice cream.
Step by step
- Step 1
Chill 6 sundae glasses in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Step 2
Melt the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring, until smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the half-and-half.
- Step 3
Whisk the sugar, cocoa, espresso powder and salt in a small bowl, then whisk them into the pan.
- Step 4
Raise the heat to medium and bring to a boil, whisking, about 3 minutes. Take it off the heat and stir in the vanilla. Let it cool 5 minutes, until warm and thick but still pourable.
- Step 5
Whip the cream with the powdered sugar to soft peaks, about 2 minutes.
- Step 6
Put 2 scoops of ice cream in each chilled glass. Spoon 1/4 cup warm fudge over each.
- Step 7
Top with whipped cream, a spoonful of nuts and a cherry. Serve right away.
The Hot Fudge Sundae
Serves 6 · 6 sundaes (about 1 1/2 cups hot fudge) · 20 min total
Hot fudge
- 4 tbsp (57 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Whipped cream
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, cold
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
Sundaes
- 12 scoops (1/2 cup each) vanilla ice cream (our Philadelphia-Style Vanilla Ice Cream recipe or 10, or store-bought)
- 1/3 cup chopped toasted almonds or peanuts
- 6 maraschino cherries
Method
- Chill 6 sundae glasses in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Melt the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring, until smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the half-and-half.
- Whisk the sugar, cocoa, espresso powder and salt in a small bowl, then whisk them into the pan.
- Raise the heat to medium and bring to a boil, whisking, about 3 minutes. Take it off the heat and stir in the vanilla. Let it cool 5 minutes, until warm and thick but still pourable.
- Whip the cream with the powdered sugar to soft peaks, about 2 minutes.
- Put 2 scoops of ice cream in each chilled glass. Spoon 1/4 cup warm fudge over each.
- Top with whipped cream, a spoonful of nuts and a cherry. Serve right away.
Hot fudge adapted from King Arthur Baking's "Hot Fudge Sauce": (4 tbsp butter, 1 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate, 1/2 cup half-and-half, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa, 1 tsp espresso powder, a pinch of salt, 2 tsp vanilla; brought to a boil; about 1 1/2 cups; keeps 3 weeks refrigerated). The sundae build (two scoops, 1/4 cup fudge, whipped cream, nuts and a cherry) and the 6-sundae portioning are ours. King Arthur Baking. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Make the fudge ahead; King Arthur says it keeps, covered and refrigerated, up to 3 weeks. Rewarm in 15-second microwave bursts.
- The espresso powder deepens the chocolate; it does not taste of coffee.
- Warm, not hot: very hot fudge melts the scoops into soup.
- For the Ithaca original, skip the fudge and use cherry syrup and a candied cherry.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- The sundae was invented in Two Rivers in 1881. Disputed: Two Rivers has local tradition and a state historical marker, but Ithaca has an 1892 newspaper ad, a ledger and a clerk's letter (Mental Floss; The Cornell Daily Sun, 2006).
- It was named "sundae" to avoid offending the church. Folklore: author Anne Cooper Funderburg says the spelling almost certainly changed for that reason (Mental Floss), but it is not documented.
- Blue laws created the sundae. Disputed: the Evanston Sunday-soda theory comes from a former newspaper editor's account (Mental Floss); neither Two Rivers nor Ithaca accepts it.
- C.C. Brown invented hot fudge in 1906. Folklore: the date comes from the shop's own legend; the earliest print use we found mentioned in sources is a 1914 Los Angeles Times ad for a different restaurant (search summaries).
Serve it with
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French Mi-Cuit Chocolate Cake (Pierre Hermé's Five-Ingredient Fondant)
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Every other ice cream
Fior di Latte Gelato (Italian Milk Gelato)
Italy's plainest gelato and the test of every gelateria: mostly milk, a little cream, no eggs, thickened with a spoonful of cornstarch and served softer and warmer than American ice cream.
Sicilian Lemon Granita with Brioche
Lemon juice, zest, sugar and water, frozen and scraped into fine ice the Sicilian way, served for breakfast with a soft brioche for dunking.
French Crème Glacée à la Vanille (Custard Ice Cream)
The French way: a vanilla crème anglaise of milk and six egg yolks, cooked until it coats the spoon, finished with a little cream and churned.
Turkish Dondurma (Stretchy Maraş-Style Ice Cream)
Milk and cream cooked with mastic resin and a starch thickener until it pulls in ribbons, churned, frozen in a loaf and sliced, with cinnamon and pistachios.
Indian Matka Kulfi (Saffron and Almond)
Whole milk boiled down to a third of its volume, sweetened, scented with saffron and cardamom, studded with almonds and frozen still in small clay pots, never churned.
Japanese Matcha Ice Cream
An eggless green tea ice cream that tastes like Japan's, not America's: earthy, sweet and a little bitter, with a generous five tablespoons of matcha.
Mexican Mango Paletas
Ripe mango, a squeeze of lime and a spoonful of sugar blended and frozen on a stick: the fruit paleta that made a Michoacán village famous.
Filipino Ube Ice Cream
Purple yam cooked down with condensed milk into a quick ube halaya, then whisked with coconut milk and churned into a violet, egg-free ice cream.
Philadelphia-Style Vanilla Ice Cream
The American eggless ice cream: cream, milk, sugar and vanilla stirred together cold, chilled and churned, with nothing cooked and nothing to temper.
Classic Vanilla Custard Ice Cream (Jefferson's Recipe, Updated)
The rich American vanilla: a cream-heavy custard with five yolks cooked to 170 to 175°F, the same idea as the recipe Thomas Jefferson wrote out by hand.
Bittersweet Chocolate Ice Cream
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The Classic Banana Split
A banana split lengthwise around scoops of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream, topped with pineapple, strawberry and chocolate sauces, whipped cream, peanuts and cherries.
The Root Beer Float (Black Cow)
Two big scoops of vanilla ice cream in a frosted mug, very cold root beer poured slowly over the top until the foam rises.
Weeknight No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream
No machine and no eggs: cold cream, condensed milk and milk powder whipped glossy in a food processor in about 15 minutes, then left to freeze.
Frozen Custard Concrete with Cookies and Fudge, Inspired by Shake Shack
A rich vanilla frozen custard, churned and frozen firm, then mashed with crushed chocolate sandwich cookies and fudge into a concrete so thick you can turn the cup upside down.
Meatballs of the World
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Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
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Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
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Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
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Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
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