42 ice cream topping recipes

Homemade hot fudge sauce with unsweetened and semi-sweet chocolate, butter, corn syrup, and vanilla. A thick, glossy ice cream topping ready in 20 minutes.

From-scratch banana cream pie with tea-infused pastry cream, a flaky pate brisee crust, and billowy whipped cream. A bakery-level banana pie that's worth every minute of the effort.

Rich chocolate sauce made from unsweetened chocolate, heavy cream, and dry sherry, boiled to a thick, glossy pour. An elegant ice cream topping that stores in the fridge.

A colonial-era chocolate pie with vanilla cake batter baked under a rich unsweetened chocolate sauce and topped with chopped nuts. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Unusual baked apple and banana casserole with buttery crumble topping that works as a warm fruit side dish or easy dessert with vanilla ice cream.

Fresh bananas and Bartlett pears drizzled with melted vanilla ice cream as a ready-made custard sauce, topped with chopped pecans. No cooking, no custard-making. The ice cream is the sauce.

Two-layer oat crumble cake with a pressed crust bottom, apple filling cooked with cornstarch until glossy, and buttery crumb topping. Bake for an hour and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Light angel food cake topped with vanilla ice cream and fresh blueberries macerated in Grand Marnier for an effortless summer dessert in 10 minutes.

Coconut-rolled vanilla ice cream balls floating in hot cocoa spiked with cream of coconut and optional dark rum. Topped with chocolate sauce and a cherry. A showstopper hot chocolate dessert for 8.

Blackberry cream nut tart with a flaky shortening crust, white chocolate cream cheese filling, boysenberry-glazed blackberries, and a walnut lattice topping.

A moist three-layer carrot cake loaded with freshly grated carrots and warm cinnamon, topped with rich cream cheese icing. Garnish with pecans for the ultimate crowd-pleaser.

A Swiss showstopper: fresh plums caramelized in red wine, kirsch, and honey with pine nuts and pistachios, topped with homemade cinnamon ice cream. Serve warm or cold.

A self-saucing brownie pudding cake that creates its own hot chocolate sauce as it bakes. Cocoa batter topped with brown sugar and hot water transforms into cake on top, gooey pudding underneath. Serve warm with ice cream.

Gingered rhubarb crisp with crystallized ginger folded into tart rhubarb under a buttery crumb topping. Baked until bubbling and golden, served warm with vanilla ice cream.

Dense chocolate brownie baked in a pie pan, smothered with melted caramel, and topped with pecans and chocolate chips. Serve warm with ice cream for the ultimate indulgence.

Old-fashioned strawberry cobbler with a crumbly egg-and-flour topping dotted with butter. Uses fresh or frozen berries and bakes in one pan. Serve warm with ice cream.