This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Today's recipe is your basic 4-for-1: 4 recipes for the best homemade ice cream toppings and sauces you can imagine. No matter the weather, who doesn't love a warm slice of apple pie à la mode—or just your favorite homemade gluten free ice cream with all the toppings?
Table of Contents
If you're worried about using a candy thermometer, you'll only need it for the marshmallow topping and caramel sauce, not for the butterscotch or hot fudge. And I promise it's all super easy.
Look how beautiful those sauces are. Just look. And each only takes a few truly basic pantry ingredients (sugar, water, egg whites, chocolate, butter).
We start with everyone's favorite: hot fudge sauce. This is not a thin chocolate sauce. This is thick, rich, deep chocolate hot fudge sauce. For chocolate lovers only!
Next, caramel sauce. It's thinner than the caramel you'd use to make, oh I don't know, gluten free Twix candies. It's all about the ingredients in the right proportions. And all of these toppings are safely gluten free, naturally so. Plus, most ice cream is gluten free (with a few exceptions).
Oh, butterscotch sauce, you temptress. Deep, rich butterscotch sauce. Ice cream's best friend.
And last but not least, marshmallow topping. It's not really marshmallow like we use in gluten free rice krispie treats, since there's no gelatin. It's more like marshmallow fluff that we use to make marshmallow cream fudge, but thinner so you can drizzle it on top of that rich hot fudge sauce.
Homemade Ice Cream Toppings & Sauces
Equipment
- Candy thermometer
- Stand mixer for the marshmallow topping only
Ingredients
For Hot Fudge Sauce
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ cup (20 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup (2 ounces) water, measured by weight
- 6 tablespoons (3 fluid ounces) heavy whipping cream, at room temperature
- 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, chopped
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
For Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ cup (2 ounces) water, measured by weight
- 6 tablespoons (3 fluid ounces) heavy whipping cream, at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, chopped
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, (or more to taste)
For Butterscotch Sauce
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, chopped
- ½ cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (6 fluid ounces) heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, (or more to taste)
For Marshmallow Topping
- 2 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup (5.33 fluid ounces) water
- ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
To make Hot Fudge Sauce
- In a medium-size, heavy-bottom saucepan, place the granulated sugar, cream of tartar, cocoa powder, water and heavy whipping cream, and mix to combine well.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue cooking until the mixture thickens and reduces by almost one-quarter (4 to 5 minutes). It will first seem thinner as the sugar melts into the liquid, then eventually thicken.
- Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate, butter and salt, and whisk to combine well.
- Transfer to a heat-safe container with a lid, and allow to cool slightly before serving.
- Store in the refrigerator, and warm in a water bath on the stovetop or in the microwave before serving.
To make Caramel Sauce
- In a medium-size, heavy-bottom saucepan, place the granulated sugar, cream of tartar and water, and mix to combine well.
- Place the saucepan over medium-low heat, and cook until the mixture is beginning to turn amber in color (to ensure that you do not burn the sugar, clip a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan and remove it from the heat when the sugar mixture reaches 300°F).
- Remove the pan from the heat and, whisking constantly, slowly add the cream. The mixture will bubble fiercely.
- Keep stirring until the mixture stops bubbling and is smooth.
- Add the butter and salt, and whisk to combine well. Return the saucepan to medium-low heat, and bring back to a simmer.
- Cook, stirring frequently, until just slightly reduced (about 2 minutes).
- Transfer to a heat-safe container with a lid, and allow to cool slightly before serving.
- Store in the refrigerator, and warm in a water bath on the stovetop or in the microwave before serving.
To make Butterscotch Sauce
- In a medium-size, heavy-bottom saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, and stir until combined.
- Stir in the granulated sugar, and cook over medium-low heat until smooth, stirring frequently. The mixture will clump, and eventually melt after about 3 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and, whisking constantly, add the cream.
- The mixture will bubble quite a lot, and the sugar may seize. It will melt again, though. Continue whisking until the bubbling subsides.
- Return the saucepan to medium heat and, whisking occasionally, bring to a simmer.
- Continue to cook, whisking occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is slightly reduced and coats the back of a spoon.
- Add the vanilla and salt, and whisk to combine.
- Transfer to a heat-safe container with a lid, and allow to cool slightly before serving.
- Store in the refrigerator, and warm in a water bath on the stovetop or in the microwave before serving.
To make Marshmallow Topping
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer, whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
- In a medium saucepan, place the sugar, water, cream of tartar and salt, and whisk together.
- Cook the mixture over medium-high heat until it reaches the softball stage (240°F on an instant read candy thermometer).
- Remove the cooked sugar from the heat.
- With the mixer on low speed(making sure the sugar mixture doesn’t hit the whisk), pour the sugar mixture carefully down the side of the mixer bowl.
- Add the vanilla extract, and increase the mixer speed to high.
- Beat on high speed for 5 to 7 minutes, or until thick, white and glossy, and pours off the beaters slowly.
- Transfer to a container with a lid, and served immediately.
- Store in the refrigerator, and whisk until smooth before serving. After about 2 days, the sugars in the topping will begin to crystallize, affecting texture a bit but not flavor.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How long do you think this will keep in fridge. Would love to make ahead for Christmas gifts.
We LOVE ice cream in our house and these sauces will go perfectly with our nightly treat! And ACK–April 7 cannot come too soon! My 10 year old son is *ecstatic* that you have written this cookbook! I’m going to be a treat-making fool in 2015! Thanks, Nicole!!
Those twix bars look AH-MAY-ZING! Bravo Nicole!
OMG – the twix – CANNOT WAIT! Kit kats too please – every Halloween I cry a little inside when we have to hand those over to my husband and he eats them all!!! I also finally pre-ordered the new book. cannot wait!
But yum to the sauces – I don’t think it’s all that normal, but I love marshmallow on sundaes!!!
Thank you, Nicole…and thank you for the teaser picture of the GF twix copy cat that will be in the new book! I cannot wait!
This is awesome!!! Wondering, do you know of any dairy free substitutes for whipping cream? We are currently living with both, and have been searching for a caramel that we can all enjoy. Thanks for your blog! We love it!
Nichole, you could try coconut cream (it actually comes in its own cans now, so you don’t have to worry about separating the cream from the milk in the other cans). Let us know!
I will try that, and we will let you know how it turns out! Thanks for the suggestion :-)
Do you keep them in the fridge after? And what is the shelf life on these?
Yes! You have made my day, week, year! Thank you Nicole :)