For more than 100 years, the banana split has been one of America’s most iconic ice cream treats. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why.
For starters, the colossal luxury treat thought to have been invented by pharmacist David “Doc” Strickler in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in 1904 is 100% shareable, so it offers a pretty good bang for your buck.
Second, it’s got variety. In addition to three favorite flavors of ice cream — strawberry, chocolate and vanilla — the sundae is loaded with three sauces, globs of whipped cream and a maraschino cherry atop each scoop. If you’re a nut lover, you can go for crushed toasted walnuts as a garnish.
And if standing in line at a local ice cream stand doesn’t sound like fun, it’s easy enough to make a traditional banana split ice cream sundae at home using easy-to-find pantry ingredients and grocery store fruit.
The homemade sauces take some planning, but all are extremely simple and can be made ahead of time and reheated just before serving.