Some might mourn the loss of their childhood. Hearing the merry bells of an ice cream truck once granted full licence to gallivant off toward it like a wild horse on a hot day, no questions asked.
Adulthood does not technically disallow such behaviour, though stern looks might be cast at any grown-ups pushing the little ones out of the way for a 99. Fortunately, there is a satiating solution. Anya Hindmarch doing Branston Pickle gelato? Come off it. This is the summer Mr Whippy’s got his groove back.
Nothing hits like soft serve. Its simplicity is everything good in the world: restorative, affirming, not completely bank balance-destroying. It is this comforting familiarity that chefs are tapping into, albeit offering ices a little finer in design than the originals gathered from vans on London’s burnished commons.
Among the most considered is Tom Booton’s at his newly eponymous grill at The Dorchester (53 Park Lane, W1K 1QA, dorchestercollection.com). In the luxurious trappings of one of the capital’s most opulent dining rooms, Booton’s £15 selections are jazzed-up and sophisticated, with flavours such as coffee and hazelnuts or fresh strawberries — and he is also one of the few to make his own from start to finish: whipping up a Mr Whippy is much harder than some might suppose. “It’s our biggest selling dessert by a long way. Soft serve ice cream brings nostalgia, it’s fun and playful, and obviously perfect for the summer,” he says. “We’re selling around 200 a week at the moment. I think people really like a light option after multiple courses, something easy and smooth.”
It took Booton three months to master the recipe after buying a soft serve machine. He was, he concedes, a little “naive” in thinking it was merely a case of putting cream and sugar into a device, pulling a lever and watching magic unfold. “Once you’ve got it, it’s easy, but it took ages to get the recipe right,” he says. “We bought the machine and I thought, ‘oh, chuck it all in and out comes [soft serve].’ But there’s an art to it — to capture that texture and flavour isn’t straightforward. It was worth the effort, though. Who doesn’t love a Mr Whippy?”
Well, quite. Today, these upmarket 99s are flavoured and texturised any which way with various fruits, nuts and sauces. And they’re found at all the big names: Fallow (52 Haymarket, SW1Y 4RP, fallowrestaurant.com) where the hit is sourdough infused with white chocolate; Bentley’s (11-15 Swallow Street, W1B 4DG, bentleys.org) — proprietor Richard Corrigan says they make their own too, with flavours including salted caramel and popcorn — and Story Cellar, Tom Sellers’ recent hot ticket in Seven Dials, where, at present, its almond and dill is doing the rounds.
And then there’s Rambutan (10 Stoney Street, SE1 9AD, rambutanlondon.com), Cynthia Shanmugalingam’s colourful homage to Sri Lankan cooking in Borough. She says ice cream brings memories of childhood.
“Ice cream is a nod to Sri Lankan culture,” Shanmugalingam explains. “It’s a dessert that affords us the chance to relive our childhoods, and I think it’s so joyful, such a nice way to end a meal.
“It’s the only dessert we serve. And it’s important. We have a bi-weekly ice cream meeting with [the ice cream maker] Soft & Swirly to discuss flavours. We come up with recipes, focusing on seasonality, but sometimes keep things classic. Either way, we sell about 350 a week.”
Is fancy soft serve a fleeting note of whimsy in a tumultuous Britain? It looks as though it might just harbour staying power. The sandwich shop Sons + Daughters (Unit 119a, Coal Drops Yard, N1C 4DQ, sonsanddaughterslondon.com), in King’s Cross and Borough Market, was early to what is now a riot of a trend.
“A soft serve machine was pretty much top of the shopping list when we opened,” says co-founder James Ramsden.
“We’ve mixed it up on a pretty regular basis, generally trying to keep it interesting while remembering we’re in a pretty PG-13 environment. A sweetcorn and jalapeño soft serve might sound lush, but probably doesn’t work for the myriad kids that invade King’s Cross on a weekend.”
Mind you, it doesn’t mean they won’t treat the parents. “I just remembered we did a pina colada one,” grins Ramsden. “That needs to make a comeback.”
It probably does. Soft serve? It’s this year’s hottest — or should that be coolest? — pudding.
