Talenti - Pumpkin Pie (Layers)

 

Pumpkin Pie (Layers) - Layers of Pumpkin Gelato, Pie Crust Pieces, Brown Sugar Sauce, Pumpkin Gelato (2) and Pie Crust Pieces (2)

Talenti Gelato has released a new Layers flavor for the Holidays called Pumpkin Pie.  This is a little confusing for me because I have already reviewed a flavor from them called Pumpkin Pie.  Today's flavor is a "layers" flavor while the older pint was a regular flavor.  Both contain pumpkin-spice flavored gelato and pie crust pieces.  Today's layers pint adds brown sugar sauce into the mix.  Checking their website, it looks like the old flavor is being retired and replaced by this one.  Anyhow, even though it has the same name, I think it deserves a new review.  I added the parenthetical "(Layers)" to the flavor title to avoid confusion.  I believe I bought this at the Target in the Midway neighborhood of Saint Paul.  Because it is a brand new seasonal flavor, I expect it's availability to become more widespread as we go further into the fall.

On to the ice cream!  Like all of the other layers pints, I see only the top gelato layer when opening the pint.  It's the same orange color as the non-layers pint.  Little specks of what I presume are spices (cinnamon and nutmeg) can be seen.  Next I cut out a slice of the pint so that I can see the layers.  The pie crust pieces are almost color as the pumpkin base and the brown sugar sauce forms a central darker brown syrupy layer in the middle.  Digging in the pumpkin gelato is flavorful and delicious and spice level is noticeable but relatively mild.  It's like a slice of pumpkin pie.  Occasionally, I get a little bit of the brown sugar sauce into my spoon and it has a mildly sweet, earthy brown sugar flavor to -- similar to pecan pie with the pecans.  It added a little bit to my overall enjoyment, but it did not take over.  This is still primarily a pumpkin pint.

This is a solid implementation of a pumpkin pie flavor from Talenti Gelato.  For the most part, it is very close to the previous non-layered implementation.  The fact that the pie crust pieces are the same color as the pumpkin sort of adds to that impression -- those two ingredients do not appear as visually distinct so whether this is layered or non-layered is not as significant.  The main addition here is the brown sugar sauce which I liked but played a supporting role.  It's quite good though and I do like this implementation a bit better than the previous one.  So, enjoy if you are looking for a mildly-spiced pumpkin flavor for the holidays.  As mentioned in the previous review, for spicier Pumpkin flavors, try Jeni's or Sweet Science.