Soon after introducing their rotational flavors for the month of May, Blue Bell also announced their newest creation. Cake-based offerings like Caramel Turtle Cheesecake and Birthday Cake seem to be common practice from this particular brand, but few have sounded as sensational as Italian Cream Cake. This latest release is comprised of a creamy vanilla ice cream with pieces of delicious Italian cream cake, shredded coconut, roasted pecans and a smooth cream cheese icing swirl.
According to Wayne Hugo, general sales manager for Blue Bell, “We’ve created a flavor that not only has all the ingredients of an Italian cream cake in each bite, but there are actual cake pieces in the ice cream too…We have had lots of success with flavors inspired by cakes so we figured we might just be onto something.” Although I’ve never personally seen this served at a wedding, apparently this is a very popular dessert for couples tying the knot in the Southern parts of the country and comes loaded with all the ingredients included in Blue Bell's lengthy description.
Most of their flavors revolving around cake tend to have more calories than others, so it comes as no surprise that Italian Cream Cake contains 200 calories per serving. The creamy vanilla ice cream scoops out of the half-gallon carton easily and shows off the absurd amount of actual cake pieces with each layer I remove. Although I’ve had Blue Bell’s vanilla ice cream before, it always serves as a suitable foundation to build upon when creating a new flavor and this is no exception. The smooth, fluffy consistency is only overshadowed by the classic, straightforward taste. A portion of the sweetness can be attributed to the cream cheese swirl, which ends up playing a pivotal part in the overall taste of this base. Although it isn’t the thick, standard sauce you’d find in a super-premium pint, this swirl provides some additional sweetness as well as a slightly different texture when involved in a bite.
In typical Blue Bell fashion, the actual squares of Italian Cream Cake are added in high amounts. These pieces are soft, chewy, bursting with coconut cake flavoring and each bite finishes with the unique texture of coconut pulp that’s left behind. The last and final component comes in the form of the roasted pecans littered about. Although nuts don’t do much for me in ice cream, these add a certain amount of authenticity. Blue Bell’s recent trend of releasing new, cake-based flavors has been very fruitful thus far and one I hope continues over the future months.
Where I Found It: Ingles Markets
Grade: A
