The Ardsley
Put a ladleful of vanilla ice cream into a sundae glass. Add one tablespoonful of marshmallow cream, and cover with chocolate syrup. Put slices of banana around the edge of the glass, and decorate with whipped cream and chopped nuts.
A soda-fountain assembly rather than a cooked dish; everything depends on order of work and speed of service.
- LadlefulFountain ladles and dishers varied; something in the region of 2 to 2½ ounces, near a modern #16 scoop, suits the dish. One generous scoop of ice cream fills a sundae glass without crowding the garnishes.
- Marshmallow creamThis is the poured fountain topping, sold today as marshmallow creme or fluff. It sets stiff when cold, so warm the jar briefly in hot water or the tablespoonful will sit on the ice cream as a lump rather than spreading.
- Chocolate syrupFountain chocolate syrup was generally thicker in body than the thin squeeze-bottle syrup now sold. A heavier sauce clings to the marshmallow instead of running straight to the bottom of the glass.
- The bananasSlice them last and press them against the inside of the glass while the ice cream is still soft enough to hold them. Cut ahead of time they brown within minutes, and no amount of whipped cream hides it.
- Whipped creamWhip to soft-to-medium peaks, unsweetened or barely sweetened. The marshmallow and syrup already carry the sugar.
- NutsPeanuts and walnuts were common fountain nuts. Chop them coarse and add at the moment of serving so they stay crisp.
- Yield and serviceOne glass, one person. Build it and take it to the table immediately; the recipe has no margin for a sundae that stands.
This comes from a collection of non-alcoholic drinks and fountain recipes, and it belongs to the moment when the American soda fountain took over social ground the saloon was vacating. Fountains competed on invention and on names, and elaborate sundaes were routinely christened after hotels, clubs, resorts and suburbs, which is the likeliest origin of a title like The Ardsley, even where the individual name cannot be traced. The banana-and-chocolate combination places it squarely in the era after bananas became cheap and reliable in American cities, the same commercial shift that made the banana split possible, an invention generally traced to Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in 1904. Marshmallow cream as a poured topping was likewise a fountain product before it was a pantry staple.