CHENNAI: When we hear the ice-cream rolling machine at Icekraft, T Nagar, all eyes turn towards the counter. On its other side is the ice-cream specialist who waits to entice us. He first mashes a piece of chocolate brownie on the freezing plate, then breaks and powders a cookie over it. As we wait for him to top it off with a flavoured scoop of ice cream, he pours a deep grey mixture of liquid marshmallow and charcoal over the base.
What comes out, are creamy black ice-cream rolls. They have a mild grainy texture from the charcoal, and just the right amount of sweetness. And with combos like Carbon Casabianca, Black Triple Threat, Black Chocolate Monster, and other customisable freakshakes, the store has made its mark for innovation. “We introduced charcoal ice creams two years back, and because Chennaiites took to our experiments very well, we brought in many unusual flavours like with caramalised popcorn, rice krispies, fried oreos and brownies since then,” shares Rajesh Jain, franchisee owner, Icekraft.
Other ice cream stores like Shmoozie’s Hand Crafted Ice Creams, Pabrai’s, Cream Creations, Padrino, and Amadora, have regular customers for unusual flavours like chai spice, chandan, cotton candy, lemongrass, paan, and jackfruit with rose petals. These flavours are original, and the creators keep them on the menu only if customers come back for more. Shama Adka, owner, Shmoozies shares that a lot of their ideas come from brainstorming and feedback from customers. “We make ice creams from ingredients available in the local market and gardens. For instance, in pecan shortbread ice cream, we chose to add fresh figs instead of dry ones, because customers can reminisce their childhood days of eating figs right from the tree,” says Shama.
Most of these ice creams go quite easy on the palate, and are not a burst of flavours simply thrown together. Anuvrat Pabrai, ice cream maker at Pabrai’s Fresh and Natural Ice Creams, explains that their focus is on replicating the exact taste of a particular ingredient. “In our chandan ice cream for example, both the mouth and nostrils fill up with the aroma of sandalwood. And this experience is sure to make you remember the flavour,” shares Anuvrat. Their ice creams are made from some of the most underrated flavours in the country, and it includes lemongrass, date palm with jaggery, salted caramel, rose petal oil, and their bestseller paan ice cream.
At Cream Creations, it’s not just the flavours which are unusual, but the method too. They make instant ice creams with liquid nitrogen, that are fresh and unusually creamy in texture. Fruits and flavours are added to milk, which is then treated to liquid nitrogen at -196 degree celsius, to make it an ice cream. Abrar Ahmed, founder, Cream Creations, explains, “These ice creams are made only after an order is placed, and they usually don’t have shelf life. It’s exciting because you can create your flavour, and watch it being made. And we’ve had customers go berserk with combinations like rose and lychee, chilli guava, cotton candy with toffee, and more.”
These stores have so much innovation to offer, that one simply can’t walk into them and settle for a chocolate or butterscotch ice cream without tasting a their unusual specialities. Saima Farheen, a food blogger, and regular customer at these stores, shares, “As a child, ice creams were limited to choco bars and cups with just four-five flavours. And today we have a tough time deciding where to head for an ice cream. The best part though, is going wild and choosing from these multitude of flavours that were unimaginable few years back.”
Must try
Black Chocolate Monster from Icekraft
Birthday cake ice cream from Amadora
Paan ice cream and Chai spice from Pabrai’s
Chilli guava and Cotton candy from Cream Creations
Pecan shortbread with fresh fig from Shmoozies