Cornucopia

A couple weeks ago, Shadae sent me a couple drool-worthy instagram stories from Brooklyn-based Malai Ice Cream, and I realized I had recently biked right on by. Intrigued by the idea of South-Asian inspired ice cream (love me some aromatics!!!), I promised myself as soon as I was unemployed I would make a journey out to Caroll Gardens (note: 20 minutes on bike is not really a “journey”) and sample some.

The flavors looked incredible — I wanted to try them all. Unfortunately (and extremely reasonably!) they are not letting people sample flavors right now, so I had to roll the dice with what I got. I went with a “split” scoop (which I’m typically against unless they’re very distinct and complimentary flavors) of sweet corn saffron, and sweet roti & ghee. I panicked about what kind of cone to get — the scooper suggested I get the blue corn cone, because corn goes with corn.

This ice cream is certainly a visual feast! Very pleasing colors and textures; I loved how the blue of the cone really stood out. It was also very strong and crisp, although unfortunately flavor-wise, it didn’t add anything to the mix, and it wasn’t perfectly rolled, so I had some leakage out the side and bottom. That was kind of a bummer; I get that places want to handcraft the whole experience, but I would have appreciated having a cone type that translated easily to a simple waffle or sugar cone, since I like having just a consistent, crunchy vehicle for my ice cream. (I promise this is not turning into a cone-review blog!)

The ice cream itself was quite good; both flavors were sweet and interesting. I love sweet corn with my whole heart, and I thought the bright, crisp flavor came through, although, disappointingly, I could only barely taste hints of saffron; I think it could have been a delightful juxtaposition to the corn’s sweetness. The roti & ghee flavor had a great texture and was very good; I would have liked to have it on its own, I think, and be able to have just focused on it; the “split scoop” really seemed just like two big scoops, which is a bit too much ice cream for me, so I was already a bit full by the time I got to it! I think I’ll return to my policy of “only one flavor at a time” so I can give it all due attention and appreciation.

Sometime soon I’ll return and try some of the other flavors! The fig on fig is particularly compelling, as is the pineapple pink peppercorn!

4 spoons and a sad sniff trying to find the saffron