“Spaghetti Ice Cream” is one of the most popular sundae in Germany

If you’ve ever been blown away by a plate of tortellini so perfect that it makes you want to cry, you’ll probably be familiar with wanting pasta for pudding. Normally, that means eschewing the sugary delights of the dessert menu and asking a baffled waiter for more carbs. However, if you happen to be in Germany, this particular craving can be much easier to satisfy.

In addition to the usual selection of scoops and soft serves, German ice cream parlours specialise in a slightly unnerving but seriously delicious “Spaghetti Sundaes”. Dubbed “Spaghettieis”, the dish features wiggly strips of ice cream shaped to look like a bowl of noodles and topped with a tomato-looking sauce. Who says you can’t have the best of both worlds?

Supposedly invented in the 1960s by ice cream entrepreneur Dario Fontanella, the dish has become a popular staple across much of the country. In fact, so significant has Fontanella’s contribution been to the German dessert cannon that he was honoured with the city of Mannheim’s “Bloomaulorden” medal in recognition of his achievement. 

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Discussing the invention of the dish with the Mannheimer Morgen newspaper in 2005, Fontanella said:

“Actually, I just wanted to recreate our (Italy’s) national dish. But the result looked so real that the kids started crying because they thought I had spaghetti and no ice cream.”

In order to make spaghettieis, ordinary vanilla ice cream is extruded through a potato ricer, creating the long, frozen strands that form its base. These squiggles are then typically topped with a squirt of strawberry sauce, creating a dish that, at first glance, appears identical to a bowl of spaghetti and tomato sauce. 

As time has passed, so too has spaghettieis developed into dozens of different forms. In addition to the “traditional” strawberry spaghetti flavour, customers can also get their hands on white chocolate and nut-filled variations – designed to look like spaghetti carbonara. 

Even though the dish may seem slightly disconcerting, there’s no doubt that spaghettieis is now a must-try dessert across much of the country.