What’s more exciting than a big bowl of ice cream on a hot summer’s day? A big bowl of ice cream, slathered in salted caramel, pimped out in popping candy and glammed up in edible glitter, that’s what. Forget cones and sprinkles, this season is about experimenting with sexy, saucy and completely over-the top-flavour combinations.
Sauces
Venchi Suprema Cocoa Spread with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Why we love it: This spread is truly something special and the one our panel of taste testers returned to over and over. Made with hazelnut, cocoa and olive oil, it's perfectly balanced – rich, sweet, nutty and with an incredibly smooth texture thanks to the olive oil. It's the spread Nutella aspires to be. Two spoons of this will take vanilla ice cream from zero to 60 – that’s if you can keep yourself from eating it directly from the jar. If you like this, Venchi has several other spreads with varying ratios of cocoa, hazelnut and olive oil, a white chocolate spread, and a cream and rum spread.
Where can I buy it? Available online at Venchi for £7.50.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Raspberry Coulis
Why we love it: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Raspberry Coulis is a far cry from some of its sickly sweet counterparts – it strikes the right balance between sweet and sour and pours out over a bowl of ice cream with ease instead of getting stuck in the jar. Finally, the price is fantastic. At £2 there's no reason to not try out this topping.
Where can I buy it? Available online and at Sainsbury’s across the UK for £2.
Fwdge Salted Cocoa Caramel Sea Salt Sauce
Why we love it: This locally-sourced Welsh butter and cream sauce is one to keep in the cupboard for fancy dinner parties. Its flavours are rich and pleasantly bitter, carrying the unmistakable taste of cocoa nibs. Tip: the sauce comes in an attractive jar you'll want to leave out on display, encouraging your guests to reach for more and more...
Where can I buy it? Available online at Discover Delicious for £4.50.
Halen Môn Salted Banoffee Sauce
Why we love it: Halen Môn Salted Banoffee Sauce is a topping with a twist. As it begins to dissolve in your mouth, you'll find it has a rich, buttery, toffee banana flavour and the perfect balance of salt. The texture is thick and fibrous, as though made with freshly mashed bananas – Halen Môn isn't playing around with synthetic flavours here. We'll be adding this sauce – thick enough to be used as a spread – to our toast and using it as a cake filling, too.
Where can I buy it? Available online at Discover Delicious for £4.85.
Arabica Cherry Molasses
Why we love it: This sauce is 100% juice from sour Montmorency cherries grown in the mountainous countryside of Afyon Province, in western Turkey. The cherry juice is reduced to a rich, fruity syrup, creating an impactful, powerful sauce. It's traditionally mixed with ice-cold water for a thirst-quenching summer drink but we're thinking of using it in marinades (perhaps for slow roasted pork shoulder) and sauces (paired with roast duck). However, it's also the perfect accompaniment for high quality, creamy vanilla ice cream. For a more daring combination, scoop over dark chocolate ice cream studded with bittersweet dark chocolate chips.
Where can I buy it? Available online at Arabica Food and Spice for £8.95.
Toppings
Sous Chef Rose Petals
Why we love it: These Sous Chef Rose Petals are guaranteed to add an eye-catching, summery touch to your bowl of ice cream. Sprinkle the edible petals on top of pistachio, chocolate or raspberry ice cream, take a snap for Instagram and tuck in.
Where can I buy it? Available online at Sous Chef for £7.50 for 75g.
Lakeland Freeze Dried Strawberries
Why we love it: These little nuggets of freeze-dried fruit inject a punch of colour and excitement into a bowl of vanilla, chocolate or fruit flavoured ice cream. They're a great alternative to sugary sprinkles or sweets. If you're going all out angelic, these would also be a heavenly addition to sorbet or frozen yogurt.
Where can I buy it? Available online at Lakeland for £3.69.
Heston from Waitrose Popping Candy
Why we love it: Heston from Waitrose Popping Candy is fun, nostalgic and for all the entertainment it provides, worth every penny. It's unsuspecting in appearance and on first glance could be mistaken for everyday ice cream sprinkles. But generous application will set you up with three to five minutes of fizzing-in-the-mouth fun. We reckon it'll complement any ice cream flavour. FYI: despite was it says on the packaging, we found that the candy didn't 'pop' on the ice cream, no matter how long we left it, and only activated once in our mouths.
Where can I buy it? Available online at Waitrose for £3.15.
Cake Angels Zillionaire Sprinkles
Why we love it: These fudgy, chewy, crunchy Zillionaire Sprinkles from Cake Angels are reminiscient of millionaire's shortbread. The little caramel stars, white chocolate baubles and fudgy cubes are incredibly cute sprinkled over your favourite vanilla or chocolate ice cream. At £1.90 a jar there's no need to be sparing with them either. Check out other varieties in the range which include super sours and rhubarb and custard sprinkles.
Where can I buy it? Available online at Cake Angels for £1.90.
ASDA Fudge chunks
Why we love it: These little chunks of fudge from ASDA have a great chewy texture and stay soft even embedded within the coldest ice cream. Mix them into a bowl of banana ice cream with a pinch of sea salt and a drizzle of melted chocolate over the top.
Where can I buy it? Available online at ASDA for £1.50.
Cartwright & Butler Stem Ginger Biscuits
Why we love it: Cartwright & Butler’s gorgeous stem ginger biscuits, with their fragrant, buttery taste and crisp, light snap, add an interesting textural dimension. Crush them up and mix into ice cream – we think they'd pair particularly well with orange, chocolate or berry ice creams. Alternatively, use whole as a garnish in place of a wafer or to create small but elegant ice cream sandwiches.
Where can I buy it? Available online at Cartwright & Butler for £3.49.
Doria Amaretti Biscuits
Why we love it: If you like amaretto or marzipan flavours, add Doria Amaretti Biscuits to ice cream for a fun and grown-up treat. Smash the biscuits with a rolling pin, then sprinkle on top of a favourite chocolate, cherry or vanilla ice cream. You could even finish with a drizzle of chocolate or amaretto liqueur and a dollop of whipped cream.
Where can I buy it? Available online at Amazon from £7.35.
Stir-ins
Flat Brew Espresso Spread
Why we love it: For sweet dessert with an espresso kick, try drizzling this Flat Brew Espresso Spread over your ice cream. The spread combines dark-roasted Arabica coffee beans with cocoa butter, sugar, cream and butter to make a smooth and rich treat. We reckon this spread should be a storecupboard staple. Take a big scoop, stir through high-quality vanilla and embellish with coffee beans for a riff on an affogato. A great option to perk up a tired mind or a tired dessert.
Where can I buy it? Available online at Flat Brew for £5.99.
Scarlett & Mustard Passionfruit & Lemon Curd
Why we love it: You might not think of lemon curd as a traditional ice cream topping, but let us assure you, this is worth a try. Our top choice is the Passionfruit & Lemon Curd, perfect for jazzing up shop-bought ice cream. It has a velvety smooth texture and a well-balanced tart flavour. When swirled into vanilla ice cream, some of us thought it tasted like a Solero.
Where can I buy it? Available online at Scarlett and Mustard for £3.45.
CloudBerry Sea Salted Caramel Spread
Why we love it: Originally used to fill macarons and cakes at Cloudberry Bakery in County Kerry, Ireland, this sea salted caramel spread was so good customers started requesting it in jars. It's an all-natural product made from condensed milk, butter, golden syrup, double cream, muscovado sugar and sea salt flakes. The spread is astonishingly delicious when stirred through ice cream. Top tip: for added opulence, decorate with caramelised pecans or crushed pralines.
Where can I buy it? Available online at Harvey Nichols from £6.95.
Joe and Seph's Toffee Apple and Cinnamon Caramel Sauce
Why we love it: From Joe and Seph’s, the makers of award-winning popcorn, comes an intriguing toffee apple and cinnamon caramel sauce. The company uses all-natural ingredients for its sauce: fresh double cream, tangy apple and warming cinnamon. It's like a mix between a tarte tatin and a cinnamon danish, in a sauce.
Where can I buy it? Available online at Joe & Sephs for £4.99.
Opies Black Cherries with Kirsch
Why we love it: These kirsch-soaked black cherries, dark and intense in flavour, look like opulent jewels crowning a bowl of ice cream or a mild yoghurt. Pour the syrup over the top for an alcoholic kick. Have a jar on standby to create a simple but lavish dessert.
Where can I buy it? Available online at Waitrose for £4.
Tiptree Salted Caramel Spread
Why we love it: Tiptree salted caramel spread tastes heavenly: rich and creamy, sweet and buttery, nostalgic and similar to condensed milk. Mix a generous spoonful or two, of into your most expensive chocolate or vanilla ice cream for a delightful pudding. Tip: if you love this, try Tiptree Banoffee Spread. It has a similar texture to the salted caramel but with an added strong banana flavour.
Where can I buy it? Both available online at Tiptree for £2.49.