U.S. President Gerald R. Ford’s Go-To Dessert Was Surprisingly French originally appeared on Parade.
Yesterday, July 14th, would have been President Gerald R. Ford’s 112th birthday. President Ford was known for being the ultimate wingman, stepping in to lead the United States after Richard Nixon was impeached.
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Ford, who inherited a very broken nation, was only president for 2 1/2 years, but in that time, he and his wife, Betty Ford, hosted 34 state dinners, the fifth most of any president, according to Foreign Policy. Many of President Ford’s dinner menus were holdovers from previous presidents, and somewhat surprisingly, the menus included plenty of French dishes. Eventually, Ford switched out some French foods in favor of American options, but there was one French dessert he kept around: praline glacé (aka praline ice cream).
The official Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library includes family recipes from former First Lady Betty Ford and praline ice cream is one of the 22 dishes. Here’s why it’s such a great dessert, especially on a hot summer day.
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What Makes Praline Glacé, Gerald R. Ford’s Go-To Dessert, So Great?
Ford’s dessert of choice isn’t something you’d automatically associate with an American president, but that element of surprise is part of its charm. This praline ice cream uses a base of vanilla ice cream with candied pecans and caramelized sugar to create a sweet, nutty, and slightly crunchy dessert.
Praline glacé or glace au praliné as it is better known as in French is, in essence, ice cream flavored with pralines, a sugary pecan-based candy. Many French recipes call for making a custard based ice cream as the base of their glace au praliné versions.
But the praline ice cream dessert shared by Betty Ford isn’t something you’d scoop out of a tub. She created her own praline ice cream for her family, starting with softened store-bought vanilla ice cream. This gives the dessert a customized, homemade feel and flavor without having to make the entire dish from scratch. That’s innovation we can get behind.
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How to Make Gerald R. Ford’s Praline Glacé
To make this dessert, start by softening your favorite store-bought vanilla ice cream and set it aside. You can stick it in the fridge for 15 to 30 minutes or set it on the counter for a few minutes to thaw a bit. You want the texture to be soft but not fully melted.
While the ice cream is softening, whip heavy cream with a bit of melted chocolate to create a lightly chocolatey whipped cream. Fold the whipped cream into the softened vanilla ice cream, along with ground toasted hazelnuts and praline paste. You can buy praline paste, use a mix of almond butter mixed with caramel sauce or make a homemade version (like this one from British baker and food content creator, Edd Kimber).
Betty transferred the mixture into forms (a silicone cupcake tin works great!) and let it freeze overnight, but you could also scoop the ice cream mixture into a loaf pan or other small freezer-proof dish and freeze it overnight.
When you’re ready to serve the treat, transfer the ice cream from the molds into individual dishes and top each with whipped cream and hazelnut chocolate candy (feel free to use your favorite nutty chocolate bar). If you froze the mixture in a loaf pan, just scoop out portions and add the garnishes.
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U.S. President Gerald R. Ford’s Go-To Dessert Was Surprisingly French first appeared on Parade on Jul 15, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.