If you love old-fashioned soda fountains but don't have one nearby, make a knickerbocker glory sundae at home. It's a glorious striped summertime treat!
If you haven’t heard of it before, a knickerbocker glory sundae is a vibrant and beautiful dessert that feels old fashioned but doesn’t taste like it. This particular ice cream sundae is made of layered fresh fruit, fruit sauce and ice cream. It is perfect for summer—and is an especially fitting recipe for the Fourth of July, since sundaes were invented here in the United States.
Many claim to have first come up with the knickerbocker glory specifically, but ice cream sundaes in general were created as a treat to be enjoyed in states where blue laws prohibited soda fountains from serving soda on Sundays. The name “sundae” was adopted since ice cream with toppings like syrup and a cherry (to replace the soda in ice cream floats) was intended to be enjoyed on Sundays.
Current recipes for knickerbocker glories vary a bit, but one of the oldest recipes from 1915 for an “Original Knickerbocker” calls for layers of ice cream, raspberry, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and rose essence. The most important aspect is that a knickerbocker glory has layers (that look like stripes) in a tall glass.
What is a knickerbocker glory sundae?
The English try to own the invention of the knickerbocker glory sundae. Fortnum and Mason, the upscale London department store, began serving them at its soda fountain in the mid 1950s, and a love of the dessert quickly spread. Mary Berry of The Great British Baking Show even says a bite of a knickerbocker glory brings back childhood memories of her family’s seaside vacations. Today, the Brits make knickerbocker glories with all kinds of fruit, sauces, and toppings like chopped nuts and cookies.
However, the knickerbocker glory sundae was actually inspired by similar sundaes served at soda fountains in New York a few decades earlier. “Knickerbocker” is an old nickname for Manhattan residents descended from early Dutch immigrants to the area, because they wore knickerbockers that were often striped, just like the sundae striped with ice cream, fruit and syrup.
Ingredients for Knickerbocker Glory Sundae
Allison Cebulla for Taste of Home
Sliced strawberries: Fresh strawberries make this sundae exceptional. After you bring them home from the grocery store or the strawberry patch, store fresh strawberries in a Mason jar until you’re ready to enjoy.
Strawberry compote: A compote is a simple fruit sauce made by simmering fruit and sugar together. It has chunks of fruit in a rich syrup and can be spooned onto pancakes or into sundaes like this one. Strawberry compote is very easy to make at home, but you can also pick it up from the store.
Whipped cream: Keep things easy with spray can whipped cream, or make a homemade whipped cream recipe with just three ingredients.
Fan wafers: The knickerbocker glory sundae is garnished with fan wafers, which are triangular butter cookies that are light and crispy. Look for them stocked with gourmet cookies at the grocery store, or make your own cream wafers.
Maraschino cherries: For an extra special touch, try topping the sundaes with imported Luxardo cherries!
Directions
Step 1: Make the layers
Allison Cebulla for Taste of Home
Place 1/4 cup sliced strawberries in the bottoms of two tall sundae glasses. Then, spoon 2 tablespoons strawberry compote over the berries. Layer with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in each glass. Repeat these layers one more time.
Step 2: Garnish and serve
Top each glass with whipped cream, a maraschino cherry and a fan wafer.
Editor’s Tip: Really, you can do as many layers as can fit in your sundae glass. We could fit more strawberry compote on top of the second layer of ice cream, and we like it because it adds more contrast right before the white whipped cream.
Try it with different sauces: Layer some homemade hot fudge, salted caramel or marshmallow sauce in with the strawberries and compote.
Layer in other fruits: Try a knickerbocker glory with blueberry sauce and fresh blueberries or raspberry sauce with fresh raspberries! A mixture of fruit in the sundae is delicious too: Try other fresh fruits like sliced mango, bananas, pineapple, coconut or blackberries.
Use real whipped cream: It takes almost no time to make homemade sweetened whipped cream. Plus, you can add flavorings like vanilla and almond or liqueurs like Kahlua.
How to Store Strawberry Compote
Save any leftover strawberry compote to enjoy with breakfast pancakes or waffles, or to spoon over slices of pound cake. Transfer the strawberry compote to a tightly sealed container. Store it in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also freeze the compote in a sealed freezer container for up to four months.
Knickerbocker Glory Sundae Tips
Allison Cebulla for Taste of Home
How can you make strawberry compote from scratch?
It’s incredibly straightforward to make homemade strawberry compote for your knickerbocker sundae. Hull fresh strawberries, then roughly chop the fruit. Simmer the strawberries in a saucepan with water, sugar and a little lemon juice for brightness and acidity. Let the sauce cool to room temperature, and it’s ready to serve! The compote can be stored in the fridge or the freezer.
Can you make knickerbocker glories in advance?
The knickerbocker sundaes will have the best presentation when you assemble them just before serving. However, you can get all the components prepared in advance so that the sundaes can be prepared and served quickly.
Have the cooled compote waiting in the fridge, as well as the whipped cream. Slice up the strawberries and keep them in a closed container in the fridge up to two days ahead of time. You can even pre-scoop the ice cream onto a small metal tray lined with waxed paper or parchment, then cover the scoops with food wrap and keep in the freezer.
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