Sundae

A sundae is an individual layered dessert of ice cream in one or more flavors, often served in a tall glass. See sundae. It usually comprises a base layer of syrup or crushed fruit, followed by two scoops of ice cream finished with more fruit or syrup, a dry topping like crushed or chopped nuts, and a lavish flourish of whipped cream; it is always crowned with a maraschino cherry with its stem intact. Hot fudge sundaes have heated—usually fudge—sauce. Sundaes may be made more elaborate with layers of fruit instead of syrup, and with different combinations of sauces and decorations. They are often given evocative names, like the Dusty Road, a chocolate sundae sprinkled with malted milk powder; or the All-American Victory sundae in patriotic shades of red, white, and blue that was popular after World War II, composed of vanilla ice cream with a marshmallow topping and both maraschino cherries and fresh blueberries. The Knickerbocker Glory, an idea imported to the United Kingdom from the United States, is presented in a taller glass with chocolate syrup at the base, followed by three scoops of ice cream with alternate layers of various crushed fruits between them. The whole is topped with whipped cream and a maraschino or glacé cherry. An American parfait is similar, though it has no chocolate syrup and its three scoops of ice cream may be separated by either crushed fruit or fruit syrup. It also includes a layer of chopped nuts below the whipped cream. Health-conscious modern versions of the parfait are made with layers of yogurt and granola.