Where have all the floats gone? And no, I’m not talking about flamboyant parade fodder. I’m talking about the ice cream float. When I was a kid in the 90s, I feel like I encountered them far more often. Every diner, dessert counter, or kid-friendly restaurant listed them as an option. But somewhere between the oughts and the 2010s, we lost them. Maybe the thought of ice cream floating in soda was more sugar than the modern stomach could, well, stomach. Or maybe people simply lost interest; the ice cream float has been around since the 1870s, after all. But despite that, here I am with my Peach Melba Float trying to make ice cream floats cool again. And this is going to be a trick considering I don’t have a cool bone in my body. It’s all on you, float!

This recipe is part of a larger dinner party menu you can find on my Substack. The category is It’s Corn!, and it features five courses centered around the miracle that is corn! You can find the recipe booklet and a handy party prep schedule here.

Do you consider ice cream a seasonal treat? I don’t. There is certainly an uptick in my ice cream consumption during the summer months, which we are technically still in. But I can’t think why we would relegate something as delicious as ice cream to one small sliver of the year, particularly the portion that tends to blow right by. Here is a Sweet Corn Blueberry Sundae for the week that most of us return to our respective routines. While it may feel a little exuberant for buttoned-down September, I can’t think of a time when a sundae is more needed. Sure, we’re all interested in putting our best foot forward, nose to the grindstone, and all that jazz. But even the most ambitious of us need joyful reprieves to see us through. This Sweet Corn Blueberry Sundae is that joyful reprieve, so let’s make it!