Vanilla Ice Cream Toppings

I make more vanilla ice cream than any other ice cream flavor. It's not that I'm afraid to be adventurous - I've tried all kinds of unusual ice cream recipes but I and my family simply find that nothing compares to vanilla ice cream when it's freshly made. Apart from its unique flavor, you can do so much with vanilla ice cream. Add fresh fruit and cream and it tastes great. Put in it an ice cream cone and it's wonderful. Put it into a lavish ice cream sundae and it's fantastic.

I think vanilla ice cream really comes into its own though when it comes to ice cream toppings and sauces. Any topping and any sauce will work with vanilla ice cream in my opinion. You can put chocolate sprinkles, chopped nuts, mini marshmallows or colorful 'hundreds and thousands' on it and it will work. You can opt for rich maple syrup like this Organic, GMP Certified Maple Syrup with a 5 star rating (Amazon store) or toffee sauce or strawberry syrup or chocolate sauce and, again, it tastes and looks great.

So be mindful when you're trying to impress guests with a new ice cream recipe - there are times when only good old fashioned vanilla ice cream will do!

Valentine's Day Ice Cream

Valentine's Day is not an important day for everyone but, for some, it's very special - a day for romance and the opportunity for lovers to declare their love for one another. So it is that on February 14 every year, millions of Valentine's cards and gifts (flowers, chocolates, candy, rings etc) are exchanged as tokens of affection.

But how's this for an idea .... instead of buying something to give to your loved one, why not make something yourself?

It could be anything from a homemade Valentine's card to a photo that you've taken, printed and had specially framed, or, better still why not make your loved one's favorite ice cream and serve it as a surprise!

With an ice cream maker and a little forethought you can come up with a great Valentine's Day treat. Here's what to do ...

1. If you don't already know, then find out your Valentine's favorite ice cream flavor.



2. Also find out how they like it served - simple scoops or a sundae, what toppings, what sauce and whether they like wafers or not.



3. Search on the Net for a homemade ice cream recipe for that flavor and print/download the recipe so you know what ingredients to use.



4. Go shopping for all the ingredients you are going to need including toppings etc if you're going to present your homemade ice cream as a Valentine's sundae.

Don't worry if what you make doesn't turn out as perfect as you would like - the fact that you have gone to such trouble plus the fact that you've done it out of love will be far more important and hopefully have the impact you're looking for!

In need of ideas for ice cream recipes? 2 great favorites are strawberry ice cream and chocolate ice cream - both these recipes are made with a custard or cream base giving you a rich and creamy homemade ice cream.

Interested in history? Read about the history of Valentine's Day

Want to know if you're a true romantic? Take an online Romantic Personality Test