Summer is almost here, and nothing suits hot days and nights better than ice cream. As such, novelty ice cream products, like ice cream cakes and ice cream sandwiches, can be both a fun and lucrative addition to your menu during this time of year.
Ice Cream Cakes
If anything can make a cake more delicious, it’s ice cream. And as Sherry Stoppelbein, owner of Hot Shot Bakery n’ Café in St. Augustine, FL, adds, “Most all bakeries have a resale freezer, so it’s such a normal opportunity.”
Ice cream cakes are a natural extension of special occasion cakes and offer you the ability to meet yet another one of your customers’ needs. In addition, the possibilities for ice cream cakes are seemingly endless, as they can incorporate a variety of interesting ice cream flavors as well as everything from fresh fruit to cookies to meringue and more. Because of the countless options and time it takes for an ice cream cake to set, Stoppelbein offers ice cream cakes by special order only.
“They’re on display with a sign and, of course, by word of mouth,” she says. “We offer a fabulous ice cream brand and we have people walking in off the street for specific items.”
Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ice cream sandwiches are another popular frozen treat. And while most people aren’t strangers to ice cream sandwiches, they may be close-minded about the ingredients that can be used to make them—especially for the “bread.” At Sublime Doughnuts in Atlanta, GA, they’re working to change the notion that cookies are the only option.
“We sell ice cream donut sandwiches,” says Kamal Grant, owner, head baker, and donut master at Sublime Doughnuts. “We call them ‘burgers’ since they’re more filling than a sandwich.”
Among the ice cream donut sandwiches offered at Sublime Doughnuts are:
- Strawberry: Yeast raised donut with strawberry ice cream, fresh strawberries, and white chocolate icing
- Oreo: Chocolate yeast raised donut with Oreo ice cream, vanilla fondant, and crushed Oreos
- Caramel: Yeast raised donut with salted caramel ice cream, toffee, and caramel icing
- Elvis: Yeast raised donut with maple bacon ice cream, caramelized bananas, and peanut butter icing
Ice cream sandwiches remain on the menu at Sublime Doughnuts all year long, and they’re heavily advertised through social media.
“They add more complexity to our offerings,” Grant said. “We just try to come up with fun, happy food.”
