Photos: America’s favorite summertime dessert: ice cream

The secret to making delicious vanilla ice cream is to use both vanilla bean and vanilla extract. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Aug. 13, 2014 2:15 PM PT

Whether hand-cranked of fresh-scooped, ice cream is the center of summertime childhood memories for many Americans.

Craving chocolate? Pour some hot fudge made with a good bittersweet chocolate over vanilla bean ice cream. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Another way to mix chocolate and vanilla is to make stracciatella. After making vanilla ice cream, drizzle in warm chocolate and fold it in as the ice cream sets. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Making ice cream is a classic American pastime. J. Ottmann lithographers created a trade card advertisement for an American Machine Co. ice cream maker in the 1880s. (Transcendental Graphics / Getty Images)

Canadian Don Hedger makes ice cream in his backyard with an antique hand-cranked ice cream maker. In one hand he holds the crank assembly as he lifts freshly made vanilla ice cream from the inner canister. (Vince Talotta / Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Basic vanilla ice cream recipes are easy to embellish. Pictured here is carrot cake ice cream. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Another nontraditional flavor choice? Bitter almond ice cream. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)

For those who want a fruity, refreshing treat, mulberry ice cream does nicely. (Eric Boyd / Los Angeles Times)

Four-year-old Miles Lind enjoys a bright blue scoop of ice cream at Baskin-Robbins in Hollywood. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)