How do I make apple cider floats for a fall party?
Quick answer: Make each float to order. Drizzle caramel inside a cup and add two small scoops of vanilla ice cream, about ½ cup in total. Then slowly pour in ¾ cup chilled pasteurized apple cider and ¼ cup ginger ale. Top it with a little more caramel and a pinch of cinnamon. Keep the cider and ginger ale apart until just before serving. Keep the ice cream in the freezer until you need it, and don't serve or refreeze any that has thawed. Keep the shared pitcher alcohol-free.
What goes in each apple cider float
Each float uses 1 cup of liquid plus about ½ cup of ice cream. That's roughly 12 fluid ounces before you add the caramel and the foam. A 16-ounce cup is a good size to start with because it leaves room at the top. Pour slowly and stop before the cup overflows.
If your cups are smaller, reduce every amount by the same proportion. For example, half the recipe fits an 8-ounce cup: ¼ cup ice cream, ⅜ cup cider, ⅛ cup ginger ale and 1½ teaspoons caramel.
These floats use cold cider that isn't heated, so buy cider that is pasteurized or otherwise treated to kill harmful germs. Check the package label, or ask the farm stand or orchard if you're buying it fresh. FDA guidance on juice safety warns that untreated juice and cider can make children seriously ill. The same check applies to pear cider if you use it as a swap.
Making one float at a time keeps the ice cream cold and the ginger ale fizzy when it reaches the glass. That's why the recipe never mixes ice cream into a pitcher. The scoops will start to melt once the cider goes in, which is normal for a float that's handed over and drunk straight away.
- 2 small scoops (about ½ cup) vanilla ice cream
- ¾ cup chilled pasteurized or otherwise treated apple cider
- ¼ cup ginger ale
- 3 teaspoons caramel sauce: 2 to line the cup and 1 for the top
- A pinch of ground cinnamon
How much to buy for 4, 8 or 12 floats
The batch amounts below are the one-float recipe multiplied. Scoop sizes vary, so treat these as starting amounts. Buy more if you expect seconds or plan to use bigger scoops. These floats are a dessert or treat, not a meal, so plan the rest of your food separately.
With floats as dessert, decide next whether your party covers a mealtime. Add something filling only if guests will expect a meal or it fits your budget. Prices and package sizes vary, so add up the total before you buy. There's more on how to choose a simple party menu.
Count only the people who will actually have a float. Before you shop, decide whether the birthday child, siblings, other people in your household and any adults who stay are included in that number, so nobody gets counted twice or left out.
Not everyone who comes will want a float. Write the number of float drinkers next to your guest list, separately from the number attending. The party guest-list planner helps you add household members and staying adults without counting anyone twice.
| Floats | Vanilla ice cream | Pasteurized apple cider | Ginger ale | Caramel sauce |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | About ½ cup (2 small scoops) | ¾ cup | ¼ cup | 3 teaspoons |
| 4 | 2 cups (8 small scoops) | 3 cups | 1 cup | ¼ cup |
| 8 | 4 cups (16 small scoops) | 6 cups | 2 cups | ½ cup (16 tsp for lining, 8 tsp for tops) |
| 12 | 6 cups (24 small scoops) | 9 cups | 3 cups | ¾ cup |
How many floats does one tub of ice cream make?
Quick answer: A 1.75-quart tub holds 7 cups, which makes roughly 14 floats at about ½ cup each.
Eight floats use about 4 cups, which leaves roughly 3 cups in the tub. For 12 floats, plan on 24 small scoops, or about 6 cups, so one tub just covers it with a little to spare. If you expect seconds or are using larger scoops, buy a second tub.
Worked example: floats for 12 people
Illustrative example: you're making floats for 12 people. That number already includes the birthday child, a sibling and two adults who are staying and want one. No one else is having a float.
Ice cream: 12 × ½ cup = 6 cups, so one 1.75-quart tub (7 cups) is enough, with about 1 cup to spare. Cider: 12 × ¾ cup = 9 cups of pasteurized cider. Ginger ale: 12 × ¼ cup = 3 cups. Caramel: 12 × 3 teaspoons = 36 teaspoons, which is ¾ cup. Cinnamon: a little over 2 teaspoons is enough for sprinkling.
Serve in three rounds of four floats. For each round, take out only that round's eight scoops and combine 3 cups of cider with 1 cup of ginger ale just before you pour. Between rounds, the tub stays in the freezer and the opened cider goes back in the refrigerator. If the leftover cup of ice cream in the tub has thawed by the end, throw it away rather than refreezing it. If a few guests want seconds, buy extra ice cream and cider rather than shrinking everyone's scoops.
How to make and serve the floats
Set things out in the order guests will use them: cups, the tray of scoops, the pitcher, the cinnamon, then the straws and spoons. Clear 16-ounce cups show off the layers and leave room for a full serving.
Leave a clear space for setting a cup down while pouring, put a tray under the pitcher, and keep extra cider where the person refilling can reach it. Decide in advance who will pour and refill. See how to set up a party drink station.
- Set out the cups, straws and long spoons. Keep the ice cream in the freezer until you're ready to scoop it.
- Drizzle 2 teaspoons of caramel in a spiral inside each cup.
- Add two small scoops of vanilla ice cream to each cup.
- Just before serving, combine 3 cups chilled pasteurized cider with 1 cup ginger ale in a pitcher that holds more than 4 cups. A 6-cup pitcher leaves room to stir.
- Pour about 1 cup of the mixture slowly down the inside of each cup, leaving room for the foam. Mix a fresh batch for the next four floats.
- Finish each float with the last teaspoon of caramel and a pinch of cinnamon, then add a paper straw and a long spoon.
Can I mix the floats in a pitcher?
Quick answer: You can mix the cider and ginger ale in a pitcher shortly before serving, but don't put the ice cream in the pitcher.
Make each float in its own cup so every guest gets their scoops and the ginger ale is still fizzy. Mixing only four floats' worth of liquid at a time means the pitcher is used up before the fizz goes flat.
If you'd rather let guests add their own toppings than serve cider, an ice cream sundae bar is a different option. It needs its own bowls, toppings and quantities. You can pre-scoop trays and freeze them overnight, labeled by flavor.
How can I keep the scoops cold while guests serve themselves?
Quick answer: Scoop the ice cream onto a parchment-lined tray ahead of time and keep the tray in the freezer until you serve.
Keep the ice cream in the freezer, or in a closed, shaded cooler packed for frozen food, until guests are ready. Throw away any ice cream that has thawed, as this recipe says. There's more on serving ice cream without it melting too soon.
Take out just one round's worth of scoops at a time instead of leaving a whole tray on the table, and pour the chilled cider over the scoops only when each guest is ready. Keep the rest of the tub in the freezer between rounds, but only put ice cream back if it's still frozen. If scoops or the tub have thawed, don't refreeze them or serve them; throw them away and use fresh frozen stock.
Keep the cider cold too. Food-safety guidance for buffets says to keep cold food at 40°F or below. It also says to throw away perishable food that has been at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or more than 1 hour when it's above 90°F. Put opened cider back in the refrigerator between rounds, and count the time it already spent out when you decide whether it's still fine to pour.
Write down roughly when the cider came out of the fridge, so you can count its time out of the refrigerator afterward. A tray left out all afternoon needs a different decision from one that stayed cold until late. Don't keep thawed ice cream. See what to do with leftover party food.
What can I prepare ahead?
Most of the work can be done before guests arrive. Just keep the liquids away from the ice cream until each drink is made. Ginger ale should be opened and mixed only at serving time.
Since the floats are put together at serving time, do your other jobs earlier, such as setting up the drink area and deciding who handles refills and cleanup. That leaves you free when it's time to make the floats. See which party food you can prepare ahead.
- When shopping: check that the cider (and any pear cider) is pasteurized or otherwise treated.
- Before the party: chill the cider in the refrigerator and set out the cups, straws, long spoons and cinnamon.
- Measure out the caramel for lining the cups, but drizzle it into the cups when you make the floats.
- Scoop the ice cream onto a parchment-lined tray and keep it in the freezer.
- When guests are ready: mix 3 cups cider with 1 cup ginger ale for every four floats and pour it over the scoops.
Dairy-free swaps, flavor changes and adult add-ins
Keep any substitute ingredients separate from the regular floats, with their own cups and serving tools, and label them clearly. Don't assume a product is suitable just because of its name. Read the package labels and ask guests or caregivers which ingredients matter to them.
On each label, name the substitute products you actually used and say where guests can see the package for full details. Check separate trays and tools against what you agreed with families. There's more on what information to put on party food labels.
For a sugar-conscious version, try unsweetened sparkling apple-flavored water with a frozen dessert and topping that suit the guest's needs. 'No sugar added' doesn't mean sugar-free, so check every label before you call the drink sugar-free. Make it as a separate batch and label its ingredients.
When several guests have different needs, check every item for each guest separately, including the float ingredients and serving tools. See how to plan a party for mixed dietary restrictions.
For a different flavor, you can swap some or all of the caramel for maple syrup. You can also replace half the apple cider with nonalcoholic pear cider that is pasteurized or otherwise treated. For eight floats, that's 3 cups apple cider and 3 cups pear cider plus the usual 2 cups ginger ale. Check the ingredients of whatever products you buy.
If you'd prefer apple and caramel as a plated dessert instead of floats, caramel apple slices are another option, made with wrapped caramels or caramel bits. Here's how to make caramel apple slices for a party.
What can I use for a dairy-free float?
Quick answer: An oat-milk or coconut frozen dessert may work, depending on which ingredients the guest needs to avoid.
First, ask the guest or caregiver which ingredients they need to avoid. Then check the labels on both the frozen dessert and the caramel, because the sauce can contain dairy too. Keep the dairy-free version on its own tray with its own scoop so it doesn't mix with the regular ice cream.
What can adults add to their floats?
Quick answer: Adults can add bourbon or salted-caramel whiskey to their own glass, but keep the shared pitcher alcohol-free.
For guests who don't want a float, you could also offer a separate alcohol-free pitcher drink, with labeled water set apart from it. See our mocktail party ideas with pitcher drinks.
Put the bottle on a separate side table marked for adults, and let adults add it to their own drinks. If they're adding a 1-fluid-ounce pour, leave room for it on top of the usual float ingredients. A 16-ounce cup has space for it.
Checklist before you serve
- Agree on who's having a float, and buy ice cream, cider, ginger ale and caramel for that number.
- Check that the cider and any pear cider are pasteurized or otherwise treated.
- Check labels and ask about dietary needs, and set up any dairy-free option on its own labeled tray with its own scoop.
- Chill the cider and have the ice cream scooped onto a tray in the freezer.
- Lay out cups, the pitcher, cinnamon, straws and long spoons in serving order.
- Mix cider and ginger ale four floats at a time, just before pouring.
- If adults are adding alcohol, set it on a separate, marked adult table and keep the shared pitcher alcohol-free.
- Between rounds, put the opened cider back in the refrigerator and return ice cream to the freezer only if it's still frozen. Throw away any thawed ice cream instead of refreezing or serving it.