Friday, December 30, 2022

Van Leeuwen King Cake Ice Cream


[New for Very Late 2022] Oh Van Leeuwen, you had to sneak in three more flavors before 2022 ended, didn't you? And the timing is fairly impressive too. We've got champagne flavor to celebrate New Years, Red Velvet for Valentine's day, and we've got this for Mardi Gras (Feb 21).

Van Leeuwen King Cake Ice Cream
sweet cream ice cream with yellow, green and purple swirls
and cinnamon blondie cake pieces

I definitely expected to see at least one swirl really pop out at me...

Wait, those are the "swirls"?

But wait, it gets worse! I take my first bite and I'm hit with the same cinnamon fireball flavor that I got from their caramel sticky bun flavor. What's up with that? Granted it's not as intense as it was there, but it's very reminiscent. Why would they do this? I've had several King Cakes over the years and the first thing that comes to mind is the sweet icing flavor. I never think a strong cinnamon flavor, let alone spicy cinnamon. What were they thinking?

Does this make sense to anyone? Is this some regional thing? Or some new fad? What have they done? I bought this pint trying to give Van Leeuwen a chance to redeem themselves a bit by giving me a straight forward sweet flavor, but instead they've zigged way left and given me something unexpected... and honestly, kind of unwelcomed.

I think I would be more forgiving if the swirls were actual swirls rather than dollops of sweetness. I get not wanting to go overboard on food dye for coloring, but I was definitely expecting some pizazz here. Instead, I got something that reminds me of fruitcake...

Ok, maybe I'll be less bitter tomorrow, but don't count on it. At least the cake pieces weren't dried out rocks of flour, so that's a positive right?

On Second Scoop: oh man, it seemed even more overwhelming the second time. I tasted nothing but fireballs when I went in for a second scooping. I think I'm all done with this one.

Verdict?  opposite of what I expected
Buy Again?  nope

click for nutrition facts


10 comments:

  1. They just seem to keep striking out

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  2. Real q: have you ever enjoyed a Van Leeuwen flavor? I’ve tried a couple after reading your reviews, and have thought that they’re fine. Then again, you are MUCH deeper into ice cream than I am! But at what point do you acknowledge that their style isn’t suited to your preferences?

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  3. I haven't tried their King Cake yet, but they have a third new flavor too - Red Velvet Cake for Valentine's Day. It was...okay. I might just be biased against it, though. I loved Ben & Jerry's Red Velvet and pretty much just wanted it to be that, and it wasn't. Their Marzipan flavor has been my favorite so far. Well, that and their weird ones.

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  4. @Anon1: no need for this to be this spicy

    @Anon2: So this marks the 15th flavor I've tried from them and I would argue that I enjoyed the first (faux) pint the most. I don't think that it's a bad product overall, but I do question a few tactics. One, while I enjoy new flavors, I don't love the constant short lived nature of their flavor rotation. Two, do you have the same problem with the dried out mix-ins that I almost always seem to? Three, I often question how they dial in their flavors. I often feel like with a bit of tweaking, they could really be something special. That said, I keep telling myself to try them less, but then they come out with something and I go "hey, maybe this is the pint that will convert me to a true fan".

    @Allie: thank you for the info, I have updated the post!

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  5. I keep wanting to like them, but seems like I always get an icy pint (thank you local Walmart). The flavors aren't worth going into my local dumpy Walmart, either.

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  6. This is literally my favorite ice cream ever…. Who hurt you? 🤪

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    Replies
    1. Loved this flavor too!!! Very rich & creamy, I'll buy more as soon as I can find it!

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  7. to each their own! thanks for sharing that you enjoyed it, always good to get varying opinions. are you a big fan of van leeuwen in general or just this one flavor?

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  8. I had to Google this flavor to see if it was just me. But the "swirls" in mine were just rock-hard bits of colored sugar. I just ate about 5 bites and I actually feel unwell.... regrettably 5 bites too many

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    Replies
    1. It tasted like they crushed root beer dum dums in it

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