Kick off summer with a vintage ice cream sundae party!

At long, long last, the day we all dreamed about during the bleakness of January, the muck and slush of late February, and the rain drenched weeks of April, has finally arrived. Summer, glorious, gorgeous summer officially started again today and with it comes the season of ice cream treats.

Whether you indulge almost every day or, like me, tend to keep your sweet treats to a minimum, there are few amongst us who do not enjoy partaking in a scrumptious frozen treat every now and then. Even if ice cream isn't your cup of tea, chances are you may like popsicles, frozen yogurt, sherbet, sorbet, Italian ice, or any one of a myriad of different summertime desserts that need to live in the freezer.

I love ice cream through and through! Whether homemade or store bought, so long as it complies with my medically dictated dietary requirements, I'm the first one to turn to ice cream as my dessert of choice on those special days during the summer when I decide I'm going to eat a bit of sugar (a topic I chatted about in this post devoted to Dairy Queen Ice Cream last year).

It struck me recently, that it had been a good long while since the last time I put together a sundae bar (aka, covered the dining room table with various ice creams, toppings and sweet sauces) and that it was high time I remedy that (so now I'm thinking I'll do one for the upcoming Canada Day long weekend). To put me even more in the mood, I went searching for vintage ice cream sundae inspiration and unearthed the charming page of 1950s recipes below.



{It's hard not to start licking your lips and reaching for the nearest parfait glass as you read this page of tasty vintage ice cream sundae recipes! Image source.}



What instantly caught my attention was the recipe for candy-stick ice cream, as it's both gluten and egg-free, which means I can enjoy it (yay!) without having to modify the recipe (most of the sauces are a-ok with me as well). I knew the moment I found it, that this was a vintage recipe page that was both going to be printed out for my own use and shared here with all of you.

There's really is a limitless number toppings, sauces and ice cream flavours that you can include in a sundae bar or simply use when making a sundae or two at home (sans communal ice cream social).

The numbers of guests, your budget, and personal taste will determine which sundae ingredients you opt for, but as a good jumping off point when it comes to possible selections, here are some of my personal faves (on top of the ones featured in today's recipe page), as well as others that are big hits with the ice cream sundae fans in my life.


{Sauces}

-Butterscotch sauce
-Cherry Sauce
-Chocolate sauce
-Coffee/espresso
-Dulce de leche
-Fruit coulis of any type
-Honey
-Hot fudge sauce
-Liqueurs and/or hot buttered rum sauce (for the grown-ups!)
-Maple syrup
-Melted candy bars
-Molasses
-Nutella (lightly thinned and heated up)
-Olive oil
-Peach or apricot sauce
-Peanut butter (again, ensure that no one present has a peanut allergy)
-Raisin sauce
-Raspberry sauce
-Sodas (pops) in case guests want to make ice cream floats
-Strawberry Sauce
-Turtle sauce (chocolate-caramel sauce with pecan pieces)
-Warmed and slightly thinned fruit jams/jellies/preserves
-Whipped cream
-White chocolate sauce


{Toppings/mix-ins}

-Animal crackers (K-Kritters are a great gluten and egg-free version that are available in both regular and chocolate varieties)
-Apple sauce
-Assorted gummy/penny candies
-Breakfast cereals
-Cooked, crumbled candied bacon
-Candy coated sunflower seeds
-Candied citrus peel
-Candied rose petals
-Canned fruit pie fillings (blueberry, cherry, peach, etc)
-Chocolate covered raisins
-Cinnamon and/or pumpkin pie spice
-Coconut/toasted coconut
-Coffee/espresso beans
-Crumbled brownie/cake/cupcakes/doughnut pieces
-Crumbled pie crust
-Crumbled toffee and/or brittle
-Crushed candy bars
-Crushed cookies (amaretti, chocolate chip, gingersnap, graham crackers, Nilla Wafers, oatmeal, Oreos, pecan sandies, shortbread, spice, etc)
-Crushed meringues
-Crushed potato chips and/or pretzels
-Crystallized ginger
-Cubes of Jell-o
-Fresh fruits (assorted berries, figs, mandarin orange segments, pineapple chunks, sliced bananas, etc)
-Fresh herbs (basil, mint, and rosemary wonderful choices)
-Granola
-Gourmet sea salts (I could happily eat vanilla ice cream with dark chocolate sauce and sea salt until the end of time)
-Lemon curd
-M&Ms
-Malted milk balls
-Malted milk powder
-Maraschino cherries
-Marshmallows
-Nuts (almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, etc)
-Peanuts (ensure that no one present has a peanut allergy)
-Peppercorns (black, pink, white, etc)
-Pieces of chocolate (milk, dark, extra dark, sea salt, white, etc)
-Popcorn
-Pralines
-Pumpkin and sunflower seeds
-Sautéed fruits (apples, peaches, pears, etc)
-Sprinkles (jimmies)
-Sugars (turbinado, vanilla infused, etc)
-Waffle cone pieces


In terms of the ice cream (or vegan options, such as coconut, rice or almond milk ice cream) itself, it's always a good idea to start with classic or French vanilla at the very least. Beyond that, banana, cherry or black cherry, chocolate, cookie dough or cookies and cream, hazelnut, lemon, mint, peach, peanut butter, raspberry ripple, and strawberry are all really nice choices that tend to partner well with an array of different toppings.

Ice cream sundae parties are not about small portions or counting calories. They're special, wonderful, and - quite literally - sweet events that bring out one's inner child and always seem to be a huge hit with crowds of all ages. The more people and sundae ingredient options, the better! Though of course, there's nothing wrong with a small scale - or even solo - sundae fete either, and indeed making sundaes with your beloved can be such a charming way to celebrate an important summer event or simply turn any ol' day into something really memorable.

As we begin the warmest season of the year, the prospect of months of sizzling sun and mercury boiling temperatures ahead of us, I hope that you'll all be able to indulge in at least one or two awesome frozen in the weeks to come, and that, no matter what, you all have a summer that is every bit as sweet and fantastic as an ice cream sundae itself!