What is an ice cream sundae without hot fudge rolling down the sides? A great sauce completes a dessert or dresses up a store-bought treat. These are the five best ice cream sauces for every occasion, from a big get-together to a simple weekend snack.

Chocolate Sauce

There are many different variations to chocolate sauce and hot fudge, but at the core should be the best chocolate you have on hand. Most chocolate sauce recipes use very few other ingredients, so the chocolate has to be the star.

Check out local gourmet shops to find high-end chocolates to make flavorful sauces. You don’t need to buy a lot of it, but it will change the nature of your dessert.

Caramel

Caramel sauces are made with sugar that is cooked until it turns a golden-brown color and then combined with milk or heavy cream to keep it soft. Caramels are rich and sweet, with a truly unique flavor. Salted caramel sauces are a popular choice because the addition of salt actually takes some of the bitterness away from the cooked sugar. While it can be a challenge to learn to make caramel sauce at home, once you master it you will love the results.

Butterscotch

Butterscotch is similar to caramel, but uses slightly different ingredients. A good butterscotch sauce uses brown sugar instead of granulated, and it is not cooked as far as a caramel sauce. Brown sugar still contains molasses to give it the color and unique flavor. This type of sauce uses more butter instead of heavy cream, giving it the rich finish.

Strawberry

Strawberry sauce or macerated strawberries are a popular alternative to chocolate sauces for those who are allergic or just don’t like chocolate.

It’s a big hit on many ice cream sundae bars and on sundaes at ice cream parlors. Whether you like your sauce with big chunks of berry or finely pureed, either one is a great way to top off a cool bowl of ice cream.

Cherry Sauce

For something a little different than your standard strawberry sauce, switch it up and use different fruits. An easy cherry sauce is a great way to incorporate a different type of fruit in a recipe that is super versatile. You can make it with frozen cherries to have an easy, year-round treat, or put together a batch when your cherry tree produces too much fruit.

Any of these sauces would be perfect on your ice cream and frozen desserts, or you can branch out and top your favorite cakes and pies with something special. Each sauce would be just as good on cheesecake as it is spooned over a big bowl of vanilla ice cream. Fruit sauces are perfect over pancakes and waffles, and if you cut back on the sugar you can even combine then with savory dishes. Master a few sauce recipes and your desserts become extraordinary.