This easy yet elegant sundae features vanilla ice cream, in-season strawberries, and homemade meringue.
Makes4 sundaes
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I have a major sweet tooth, and I love to bake year-round. But my favorite time to enjoy sweet treats is, hands-down, spring and summer. With the influx of seasonal goodies like strawberries, rhubarb, and peaches, my desserts become bright, vibrant, sweet, and juicy. This affinity for fruit-based sweets led me straight to author and chef Abra Berens’ newest cookbook, Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit.
Pulp explores fruit’s place in both sweet and savory cooking, with recipes like Roast Chicken over Blueberries, Cornbread + Lemon and Rum-Plum Clafoutis. But the one that immediately caught my eye was the Strawberry Sundae recipe. With creamy vanilla ice cream, crunchy meringues, sweet strawberry sauce, and flaky salt, this dessert seemed both impressive and approachable.
Why I Love This Strawberry Sundae
The first thing I noticed is that this recipe meets you where you are. While there are instructions for making all three components — ice cream, strawberry sauce, and meringue — from scratch, it’s the combination of ingredients that makes this recipe so special. So if you’re not really a baker, but you love making homemade ice cream, you could buy some vanilla meringues from your local grocery store or bakery. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, like me, then you can buy your favorite vanilla ice cream. I love that if you have a pint of ice cream in the freezer, some meringues in your pantry, and the strawberry sauce in your fridge, you can assemble this showstopping dessert in a matter of minutes — it’s perfect for dinner parties, or for the guest who stops by on short notice.
I grabbed my favorite Van Leeuwen vanilla ice cream, then set out to make my meringues. The meringue “batter” came together quickly and easily in my stand mixer. After the two-hour bake time at 250°F, my meringues were crunchy on the outside and slightly marshmallowy on the inside, albeit a little darker than I prefer.
The strawberry sauce was also so simple to put together. After hulling two pounds of strawberries, I dumped them in the food processor with a tablespoon of sugar and blitzed it until “coarsely chopped,” as instructed. Mine came out looking a little bit like strawberry salsa, but the flavor was spot-on — even with grocery-store strawberries. I can’t wait to try this with tender, fragrant farmers market strawberries in the coming months.
When it was time to assemble, I scooped some of the ice cream into a bowl, drizzled over some strawberry sauce, and topped with some crushed meringue and a pinch of flaky salt. When I took a bite, the salt hit my tongue first and then quickly gave way to the ice cream and strawberries, which evoked memories of my favorite childhood drink, Nesquik Strawberry Milk, in the best way possible. The crunchy meringues gave the perfect textural contrast, and lended a bit more sweetness to balance the salt. This is a truly impressive dessert that just so happens to be gluten-free.
In the headnotes, Abra shares the inspiration behind the recipe: “Through most of June, my favorite dessert is a bowl full of hulled strawberries, splashed with heavy cream, a spoonful of sugar, and a sprinkle of the coarsest salt.” I would say her ode to this combination more than lived up to its inspiration.
If You’re Making This Strawberry Sundae, a Few Tips
In the South, we have only a few weeks to enjoy the fresh, juicy gem that has been deemed the “fruit of love.” Strawberries appear suddenly at farmers’ markets and U-pick farms—and then the really good ones are gone. Be mindful of when they are peaking in your region, and don’t be fooled by the ones that are picked early and hit the market too soon. Unlike some fruits, strawberries don’t get any sweeter after they’ve been harvested. The berries at the grocery store may look plump and ripe with coloring that’s just a shade less than what it should be, but if they were picked too soon (green tips are a giveaway), you will be disappointed by their taste and texture. Although they are delicious when devoured out of hand one by one, strawberries are downright heavenly when baked into our favorite strawberry desserts or paired with other fruits. And while the tart and tangy rhubarb has been one of its longtime partners, strawberries can play well with others, too. From apricots to chocolate to nectarines, these staple strawberry desserts are all delightful.
Photographer: Jen Causey, Prop Stylist: Christine Keely, Food Stylist: Ana Kelly
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Turn the classic layered strawberry cake into a sheet cake with strawberry-studded frosting. Easy to make, easy to transport. Cool completely before icing the cake.
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Photographer: Jen Causey, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle,Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn
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Everything you love about a classic Key lime pie, plus some strawberry for extra sweetness. Use our simple recipe for Slab Pastry Crust (double it and put some in the freezer to use for another dessert). Prepare the strawberry whipped cream the day you plan to serve, and garnish with fresh berries and lime zest.
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Strawberry chunks and angel food cake cubes combine with a vanilla base to turn a classic cake recipe into the next best thing. After you’ve made the ice cream, layer it with the chilled strawberry sauce and cake cubes like a delicious dessert lasagna. Cover and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.
A petite, personal strawberry dessert is always a winner. No sharing means you can keep your chiffon pie all to yourself. Use refrigerated pie crusts for ease and focus your efforts on the delectable chiffon filling.
You can’t go wrong with homemade buttermilk biscuits filled with strawberries and fresh cream. Sanding sugar on top adds a touch more sweetness. Use pure vanilla in the whipped cream to make it extra rich.
We present you with cookies and cream at its finest. Add strawberry jam to the homemade whipped cream to give it a pink hue. This may be a no-bake recipe, but everyone is sure to ooh and aah at this impressive tower.
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Strawberry compote dresses up the classic cream cheese and vanilla birthday cake. The cake layers are sliced crosswise so you can have three layers of juicy filling in between. Made with simple ingredients, like cream cheese and vanilla bean, and topped with fresh strawberry halves, this dessert is to make your crowd feel celebratory.
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We don’t know what’s better about this recipe, the chocolate cookie-crumb crust or the red currant jelly spiked with orange liqueur. French pastry cream and jewel-bright berries update the classic in the best way imaginable.
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The classic strawberry pretzel dessert also gets a refreshing upgrade in this icebox-inspired pie. To be a no-bake dessert, you can use a pre-made pie crust. Sprinkle crushed pretzels on top of the whipped cream for the crunchy, salty kick you expect from pretzel crusts.
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From the outside, it may just look like another vanilla cake. Once you make the first cut, you’ll reveal the pink layers flecked with chopped strawberries. This cake is perfect for both spring and summer celebrations.
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Photographer: Jennifer Causey; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer
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This cake looks as good as it tastes. The strawberry swirl gives a classic pound cake a delicately marbled appearance; we used Marzetti’s strawberry glaze. Cream cheese adds richness to the batter.
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Our spin on this German cake has a tender, fluffy crumb rather than yeasty dough. Strawberries, almonds, and cinnamon sink slightly into the top. Try it with a strong cup of hot coffee.
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The simple homemade crust in these tarts includes a surprise ingredient: chopped pistachios. We cook the crusts in mini fluted tart pans and then fill them with a lemony cream-cheese mixture. Strawberries look perfect atop the tiny tarts, but feel free to add other berries as well.
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We all know and love chocolate-covered strawberries, but how about salted caramel ones? Yes, please! Chop up nuts that you have in your pantry to make the coating even better.
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Strawberry Galette
Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist Heather Chadduck
The freeform nature of a galette puts the emphasis on the juicy, fruity filling. You can absolutely use a refrigerated pie crust, but if you want to make your own, try this Single-Crust Pie Pastry. Serve this rustic dessert with a drizzle of honey.
Joy Howard
This spectacular strawberry dessert comes to life in just 30 minutes and is ready to eat after a night of chilling in the fridge. Use a deep-dish pie plate to allow room for the generous amount of filling. Add dollops of whipped cream topped with strawberries for a pretty presentation.
GREG DuPREE
Delicately sweet mascarpone cheese is whipped up into the dreamiest frosting for this strawberry cake. The real star is the beautiful row of berries in the middle. Here’s how you do it: Working from the outer edge of the frosted bottom layer towards the middle, place whole strawberries with the pointed tops facing up.
Fred Hardy II, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Caleb Clarke
Forget chocolate chip: These sweet cookies are bursting with strawberry and almond flavors. We recommend this recipe any time you have older strawberries that need to be used up. Make these cookies next level by using them for ice cream sandwiches.
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Strawberry-Rhubarb Skillet Coffee Cake
Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis
Coffee cake is breakfast appropriate in our book, but this dessert would be perfect at an outdoor picnic or barbecue too. Pro tip: We recommend soaking the fruit in sugar for 10 minutes to remove excess liquid before mixing it in the batter.
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Mary Clayton Carl Jones
Blending strawberries into the batter results in a super moist and sweet sheet cake, which we top with fluffy marshmallow cream. You can create the adorable edible flowers by cutting marshmallows and arranging the petals around yellow M&Ms.
Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Christine Keely
Sweet and sour, crunchy and salty, this mouthwatering crisp has it all. The oat, almond, and cinnamon streusel browns atop the bubbling rhubarb and strawberry mixture. With a scoop of vanilla ice cream, this is a heavenly dessert.
Strawberry Pound Cake
Jen Causey; Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey; Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood
Is there anything so versatile as a classic pound cake? Go ahead and enjoy a slice of this Strawberry Pound Cake for breakfast, a snack, or dessert—or all three. The scrumptious strawberry-and-sugar glaze seals in the moisture and helps it keep.
We’ve turned your favorite strawberry pretzel salad into a divine dessert. Rhubarb is a vegetable that needs sugar to temper its tangy flavor. Enter the strawberry for rounding out this sweet-and-salty pie.
More Strawberry Inspiration
Photographer: Jen Causey, Prop Stylist: Christine Keely, Food Stylist: Ana Kelly
cheesecake, but hate worrying about water baths and cracked tops, cheesecake bars are THE dessert for you. Where your average cheesecake can be a real labor of love worthy of special occasions only, cheesecake bars are relatively straightforward to make. Take this strawberry version—to make them, we topped a simple graham cracker crust with a creamy cheesecake layer, a sweet pink fruit layer, and then crumbled a cinnamon-spiced streusel on top. The result is a cute, springy dessert that’s remarkable enough to share for holidays and potlucks, but also easy enough to make anytime you’re craving cheesecake. Honestly, the hardest part of these is waiting for them to set up in the fridge, so do your future self a favor and start making a batch now.
Made these? Let us know how it went in the comments below.
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Directions
Crust
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly oil a 9″-by-9″ baking pan with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment, leaving a 2″ overhang on 2 opposite sides. Lightly coat parchment with cooking spray.
Step 2In a medium bowl, mix crushed crackers, butter, granulated sugar, butter, and salt until mixture resembles wet sand and holds together when pressed.
Step 3Scrape mixture into prepared pan. Press into an even layer on bottom of up sides of pan with the back of a spoon or measuring cup.
Step 4Bake crust until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool.
Strawberry Topping
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, cook strawberries, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch, smashing berries with a potato masher or side of a wooden spoon to release juices, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue to boil, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Let cool slightly while preparing cream cheese filling and crumble topping.
Cream Cheese Filling
In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth.
Crumble Topping & Assembly
Step 1In a medium bowl, whisk flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add butter and stir until a crumbly dough forms. Spread cream cheese filling over crust. Carefully dollop strawberry topping over cream cheese filling. Using your hands, crumble topping over.
Step 2Bake bar until puffed and just set in the center, about 35 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour more.
Step 3Using parchment overhang, lift up bar and transfer to a cutting board. Slice into squares and top each slice with a halved strawberry.
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PHOTO: ANDREW BUI; FOOD STYLING: SPENCER RICHARDS
Laura Rege
Recipe Developer
Laura Rege is a Food Stylist and Recipe Developer who regularly contributes recipes and styles videos and photos for Delish. If she isn’t in the Delish kitchens, you’ll most likely find her out on the town looking for the next food trends in the US and on her travels abroad.