Food and Recipes Desserts These Sweet Sauces Will Instantly Upgrade Any Dessert By Southern Living Editors Updated on November 2, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Alison Miksch Doctor up your desserts with these all-time favorite dessert sauces for filling, garnishing, topping, and plating your favorite sweet treats. If your pie turned out dry, or your pound cake needs an additional boost of flavor, these rich creams and sweet syrups will turn any dessert into fool-proof delicious dishes. From classic caramel sauce to gourmet-level vanilla creams, these sweet sauces make even the simplest desserts seem sophisticated. Gooey homemade caramel sauce and drizzles of crunchy pecans coated in syrup will turn your dessert into a show-stopping (and ultra-decadent) dish. We also advise keeping a few on standby in your fridge—they make the best ice cream toppings. 01 of 05 Praline Sauce Helen Norman Recipe: Praline Sauce Disclaimer: You'll want to put this classic Southern sauce on everything. 02 of 05 Whiskey Caramel Photo: Brian Woodcock Recipe: Whiskey Caramel What's better than plain ole caramel sauce? Caramel sauce infused with a quarter cup of whiskey, and served on top of sweet Cornbread Pudding. It doesn't get more Southern than that. 03 of 05 Caramel Apple Topping Jennifer R. Davick Recipe: Caramel Apple Topping Served warm over cakes, ice cream, or even brownies, this decadent topping combines fresh apples, butter, and sugar for a rich sauce that tastes just like apple pie filling. 04 of 05 Bourbon Sauce Jennifer Davick Recipe: Bourbon Sauce This Creole classic comes straight from the queen of Creole cuisine herself, Leah Chase. She shared her decadent bread pudding recipe with us once, and we've trusted her ever since—and so should you. We promise, you'll want to pour this buttery, creamy bourbon sauce on everything from here on out. 05 of 05 Vanilla Hard Sauce Photo: Hector Sanchez Recipe: Vanilla Hard Sauce If you've never tasted this butter-based topping, you're in for a sweet treat. Hard sauce is actually a soft, spoonable spread meant to be dolloped onto warm desserts. It holds its form at first, and then melts down for a decadent dessert. This versatile vanilla spread would be good on everything from bread pudding to warm pecan pie. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit