Jeni's - Sweet Potato Eclair

Sweet Potato Eclair - Spiced Sweet Potato Ice Cream with Pastry Flakes and White Chocolate Curls

In the first review of the year, I wrote a post-holiday review of a holiday flavor from the Columbus-based Jeni's brand.  Today, I'll review another that I picked up from that same to Whole Foods, Sweet Potato Eclair.  I have not had a sweet potato flavored ice cream before, so I am very curious.  One of my friends makes a sweet potato dish every Thanksgiving, so this flavor does seem to fit in with the holiday theme.  My friend's dish is quite tasty so I am looking forward to this pint.

Opening the pint shows the bright pinkish orange color of the sweet potato base.  Some of the pastry flakes are visible right away as well.  There's a small side pocket of air on the top which appears accidental but it doesn't look like it is going to affect the flavor of the ice cream.  Digging in, the base ice cream does taste like sweet potatoes.  I don't know why but I'm always surprised by how sweet sweet potatoes are.  I know that 'sweet' is right there in the name but I always expect it to be a more savory flavor.  There is a hint of cinnamon mixed into the base but it is not too strong.  The pastry flakes provide a bit of textural change, but they are still soft.  The white chocolate curls provided a small bit of crunch into the mix.  I isolated on of these curls on my spoon once and it resembled a sprig of coconut in its size and shape.  I am usually indifferent on the inclusion of white chocolate mix-ins -- they don't have a strong or noticeable flavor to me -- but these little curls were cute and provided some crunch into the mix.

This was an unexpectedly delicious pint.  I always forget about how good sweet potatoes can taste.  If you enjoy a sweet potato dish around the holidays and are interested in that flavor in an ice cream, then you should check this out.