Pumphouse Creamery - Door County Sour Cherry

Door County Sour Cherry - Door County Sour Cherries Swirled into Madagascar Vanilla Ice Cream

It has been a while since I had been to the Pumphouse Creamery so I went down and picked up a few seasonal flavors.  The first flavor is called Door County Sour Cherry.  If you are not familiar, Door is the name of a county and peninsula in Wisconsin.  The peninsula juts out into Lake Michigan and separates Green Bay from the rest of the lake.  It is a popular vacation spot for people within reasonable driving distance.  It is particularly well known for having beautiful fall colors this time of year.

What I did not know before researching for this review is that Door County is also known for apples and cherries.  Cherry trees have been abundant since the nineteenth century and they named a local regional airstrip after these trees.  The sour cherry is a variety of cherry which produces a smaller tree with a fruit that is more acidic than the sweet cherry.   The particular type of sour cherry which Door County is famous for is the Montmorency cherry -- a brighter red colored sub-variety of sour cherry which is ideal for pie-making and other desserts.  I found an interesting article about Door County and these cherries here.  This ice cream flavor mixes those cherries with a vanilla base.  Sounds promising.

Removing the lid shows bright red cherries sitting on top of the vanilla base.  It's one of the most beautiful top-of-the-pint displays I have seen yet.  The cherries are coated in their own sauce and some of that sauce has bled into the base a bit.  Digging in, the cherries are quite delicious.  It tastes like really good cherry pie filling.  Don't be scared away by the sour label in the flavor name.  There is a little bit of tartness in the finish of the flavor but not overly so.  There is plenty of vanilla around to balance the cherries.  With clumps of cherries reappearing every so often.  Check out the pictures below, this is a beautiful pint of ice cream.

I really enjoyed this pint of ice cream.  It is an excellent blend of cherry pie-filling and vanilla ice cream.  The closest flavor that I can find in my previous reviews is Häagen-Dazs's Cherry Vanilla flavor -- though it is not a perfect match because Häagen-Dazs uses black cherries while sour cherries are used here.  As much as I enjoyed that flavor, this flavor from Pumphouse is a level or two better than that one.  This feels so fresh and homemade.  Anyone who likes cherry pie à la mode will love this.

Museum of Ice Cream - Sprinkle Pool

Sprinkle Pool - Vanilla Ice Cream with Rainbow Sprinkles

Today, we review the last of the new flavors from the Museum of Ice Cream called Sprinkle Pool.  Museum of Ice Cream is the youthful brand which started off as a museum with interactive exhibits in San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles.  They have partnered with Target to release seven flavors in pints -- available only at Target.  This looks like a colorful yet simple flavor:  vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.

The name of this flavor corresponds to a popular exhibit at their museum where you can jump into a pool of artificial plastic sprinkles as if it was a ball pit.  Amusingly, there were follow-up complaints when the exhibit came to the city of Miami because museum goers were tracking the little pieces of plastic all over town.  The museum has stepped up their post-exhibit clean-up and is always working on a more biodegradable plastic sprinkle for the future.  Maybe this story is actually good publicity?  I'm not sure.  Of course, the sprinkles used in these pints will be edible!

On to the ice cream! after removing the lid and the foil seal, the ice cream looks beautiful.  The vanilla is very white and there are a lot of colorful sprinkles everywhere.  Digging in the ice cream tastes like vanilla.  I don't know what else to say about it.  It isn't bad, but it isn't a super-gourmet vanilla either.  The sprinkles do not provide a lot of their own flavor but there is enough of them that you notice their texture.  When encountered en masse, edible candy sprinkles can have a waxy texture.  I did notice that a bit but it wasn't too bad.

This is a simple pint of ice cream.  The sprinkles add quite a bit of color but not much flavor.  It's basically a colorful version of vanilla.  For a sprinkle-based flavor, I very much preferred McConnell's Sprinkle Cake as it includes more mix-ins like cake pieces and buttery frosting.  Also, as a premium brand at almost twice the price, McConnell's is just better ice cream.  Still, if you are at Target and are in the mood for a simple pint of vanilla with sprinkles and you don't want to buy the sprinkles separately you could pick this up.   But I think the museum exhibit is probably more fun than the ice cream.

Sweet Science - Caramel Apple Cider Crisp

Caramel Apple Cider Crisp - Honeycrisp Apple Cider Ice Cream with a Caramel Swirl and Gluten-Free Streusel

I was a little late picking up the September flavors from the Saint Paul-based Sweet Science brand because I was waiting for their new scoop shop in the Keg & Case Market to open up.  The first September flavor is one I have already reviewed, S'mores.  (It was really good)  The second flavor is called Caramel Apple Cider Crisp.  It looks like a perfect flavor for fall.  It has Minnesotan-cultivated Honeycrisp apples, caramel and a streusel which works well in their popular Berry Crumble flavor.  This looks fun.  Let's check it out.

Opening the pint, the top is a yellow color with some brown from the caramel and streusel visible.  The first spoonful is quite soft! I checked the ingredient list and there is brandy and vodka in there!  That would explain the softness.  Alcohol lowers the freezing point of ice cream.  The flavor is quite apple-y with quite a bit of caramel as well.  Now that I know the ice cream has been 'spiked', I can tell there is a bit of a kick to the flavor as well.  Don't worry, it is not a very boozy pint -- you can feed it to your apple-loving small children with no worry.  I really like the flavor combination.  With the streusel adding nice texture, it tastes like a piece of caramel apple pie and the small amount of alcohol gives it a 'warmth'.  It is all so fresh too.

I really liked this flavor.  It is fairly unique too.  I checked my archives and the only thing similar was a Caramel Apple Pie flavor from Talenti.  I liked this flavor, but this flavor from Sweet Science is a significant improvement upon it.  Enjoy.

Häagen-Dazs - Coffee

Coffee - Coffee Ice Cream

Tomorrow is National Coffee Day!  That gives me an excuse to try a classic oldie but goodie from the Häagen-Dazs line:  Coffee.  It is one of their original flavors and they have not changed the recipe from when they started.  It has only five ingredients:  cream, skim milk, cane sugar, egg yolks and coffee.  They get their coffee from Brazil.  Without further ado, let's check it out!

Removing the lid and the protective plastic label shows the coffee base is a beautiful tan color -- perhaps even a taupe.  Unsurprisingly, it is the color of a cup of coffee with cream and sugar.  Digging in, the coffee flavor is pretty good.  It is flavorful -- though not too strong -- and not at all bitter.  It is simple, yet it works.  I checked with a friend who is more than a coffee drinker than I am and they liked it.  Good coffee flavor.

This is a classic old implementation of a coffee flavor which has held up pretty well.  That says quite a bit considering how much coffee drinking has changed since the early days of the Häagen-Dazs brand.  It is quite simple and the flavor is not too strong.  Coffee junkies may be interested in something which is stronger or more exotic.  Myself, I like a bit of chocolate with my coffee.  But for a simple four-dollar pint of coffee ice cream, you can't go wrong with Häagen-Dazs.

McConnells's - Wild Berry Chip

Wild Berry Chip - Ice Cream Infused with Wildberry Jam with Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

Today is the final pint of my recent five-pint shipment from McConnell's.  It is called Wild Berry Chip.  Unlike the previous pints in this shipment, this is part of their standard lineup of flavors and is not a limited or seasonal release.  It must be a recent addition, though, as I do not remember this flavor from my previous orders.  I checked the ingredient list to see which berries are wild berries.  It turns out that they use raspberries and marionberries.  This is only my second pint to feature marionberries.  You can read more about the marionberry in that previous review (also from McConnell's.

Cracking open the pint, I see the expected purplish pink color of the raspberry-marionberry base.  You can also see lots of berry seeds too.  If you look closer, you can tell that the color of the base is not homogeneous.  Some parts are a little whiter than others.  The berry jam appears to be swirled into the sweet cream and then it not fully mixed.  Don't worry, as you can see below there is still plenty of berry in each spoonful, but this is a little bit of variability as to the strength of the flavor.  The berry is quite good.  It is a little bit on the tart side, but not overly so, plus the seeds give it an aura of earthy authenticity.  As I scoop further, I quickly encounter the chocolate chips.  These chips are small and flake shape and have a bit of crispy-crunchiness to them.  The chocolate flavor is good and goes well with the berries.

This is an excellent combination of berries and chocolate chips.  There are lots of good raspberry chocolate chip flavors around -- including Graeter's signature Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip.  This McConnell's pint has a few twists to distinguish itself, though.  The inclusion of marionberries into the mix creates a unique berry flavor and also the small chucks and seeds give this pint a natural and earthy vibe.  And of course, McConnell's does a great job of tastefully balancing the flavors.  Fans of raspberries, marionberries and chocolate who have access to McConnell's will want to check this one out.

Milkjam Creamery - Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake - Strawberry Sherbet with Vanilla Wafer Ice Cream

Today is another flavor from the Minneapolis-based Milkjam Creamery.   It is called Strawberry Shortcake.  Flavors based on strawberry shortcake are not uncommon -- I reviewed one a limited batch flavor from Ben & Jerry's a while back.  Strawberry is a strong and often very sweet flavor so it is common to cut it with cream cheese, rhubarb, sour cream or shortcake.  The combination here is a bit different.  The strawberry is delivered in the form of a sherbet (lower dairy, but not non-dairy like a sorbet) and the shortcake is delivered as vanilla wafers.  Sounds interesting.  Let's give it a whirl.

Removing the lid shows a lot.  I see a marbling of two bases -- the pink strawberry sherbet base and the vanilla wafer base.  Plus, I see a large hunk of a vanilla wafer on top as well.  It looks more breadish than the usual vanilla wafter.  Digging in, the texture is very soft, and smooth as is normal for Milkjam Creamery, but it is still creamy like ice cream.  The strawberry sherbet is a bit more tart than the usual strawberry but it is quite delicious.  The vanilla wafers are as soft and bready as they look.  A bit surprising but it works very well.  It reminded me a bit of the ladyfinger mix-ins in Milkjam's Turkish Tiramisu flavor.

This is a unique and delicious strawberry-themed pint.  Swirling sherbet with ice cream is a great idea and should be done more often.  'Strawberry shortcake' is a very loose inspiration -- it is a slightly tart strawberry and the bready mix-ins are soft -- but this is still a very good pint of ice cream.  Strawberry fans should check this out.

McConnell's - Sprinkle Cake

Sprinkle Cake - Ice Cream made with Sheet Cake Pieces, Frosting & Rainbow Sprinkles

The fourth pint of my recent McConnell's shipment is called Sprinkle Cake.  This is a bit of a change from McConnnell's.  They are an old brand which specializes in classic flavors.  I don't immediately associate them with sugary cake mix-ins and rainbow sprinkles.  Let's check it out.


Removing the lid and the extra paper wrap (McConnell's has an extra paper seal between the lid and the ice cream now) shows that the base ice cream is a bright white color and many of the brightly colored sprinkles can be seen right away as well.  In the first spoonful, I taste the flavor of white cake.  It is sweet, but not overly so.  Then I encountered some of the cake pieces.  I spoke too soon about the 'white' cake.  These pieces are rainbow colored as well, but it just coloring.  This is definitely a white cake flavor and not a yellow cake flavor.  Yellow cake has a different flavor because of the egg yolks.  The cake pieces are pretty small so it keeps the ice cream looking very white.  Every so often, I will run into a bit of frosting.  The frosting is not as sweet as some frosting mix-ins are.  It has a more buttery texture to it.  This works really well blending into the ice cream and complements the cake pieces quite well.  The rainbow sprinkles provide quite a bit of color, but it is the delicious cake flavor which dominates here.

This is an excellent sheet-cake themed ice cream flavor.  It looks gorgeous.  McConnell's did a great job here.  It tastes like a really good cake and it is not too sweet -- many cake-flavored ice creams make the mistake of being too sugary sweet.  This would be the perfect ice cream for someone's birthday.