7 Hidden Gem Ice Cream Shops in New York City for Summer 2024

Post Published July 10, 2024

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7 Hidden Gem Ice Cream Shops in New York City for Summer 2024 - Malai Ice Cream Brings Exotic Flavors to Cobble Hill





Malai Ice Cream's new Cobble Hill parlor brings a burst of South Asian-inspired flavors to Brooklyn's ice cream scene.

With unique offerings like Masala Chai and Rose with Cinnamon Roasted Almonds, this spot stands out among New York City's dessert options.

Malai Ice Cream's unique churning process incorporates minimal air, resulting in a denser product with approximately 14% less volume than typical ice creams.

This technique contributes to its distinctively rich and creamy texture.

The shop's signature flavor, Masala Chai, contains a proprietary blend of five different types of tea leaves, creating a complex flavor profile that took over 50 iterations to perfect.

Malai's Orange Fennel ice cream utilizes a cold-infusion method, steeping fennel seeds in cream for 48 hours at precisely 4°C (2°F) to extract maximum flavor without bitterness.

The Rose with Cinnamon Roasted Almonds flavor incorporates an average of 30 organic rose petals per pint, hand-selected for optimal aroma and color.

Malai's ice cream base is eggless, relying instead on a carefully calibrated mix of milk proteins and stabilizers to achieve its smooth consistency, making it suitable for those with egg allergies.

The shop's innovative flavor development process involves a sensory panel of trained tasters who evaluate each new creation across 15 different attributes, including mouthfeel, aftertaste, and aromatic complexity.

What else is in this post?

  1. 7 Hidden Gem Ice Cream Shops in New York City for Summer 2024 - Malai Ice Cream Brings Exotic Flavors to Cobble Hill
  2. 7 Hidden Gem Ice Cream Shops in New York City for Summer 2024 - Soft Swerve Ice Cream Offers Asian-Inspired Soft Serve Delights
  3. 7 Hidden Gem Ice Cream Shops in New York City for Summer 2024 - Caffe Panna Serves Up Italian-Inspired Scoops
  4. 7 Hidden Gem Ice Cream Shops in New York City for Summer 2024 - Il Laboratorio del Gelato Experiments with Unique Flavors
  5. 7 Hidden Gem Ice Cream Shops in New York City for Summer 2024 - Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream Reinvents Classic Parlor Experience
  6. 7 Hidden Gem Ice Cream Shops in New York City for Summer 2024 - Sugar Hill Creamery Blends Caribbean and Harlem Influences
  7. 7 Hidden Gem Ice Cream Shops in New York City for Summer 2024 - Davey's Ice Cream Perfects the Cookie Sandwich in East Village

7 Hidden Gem Ice Cream Shops in New York City for Summer 2024 - Soft Swerve Ice Cream Offers Asian-Inspired Soft Serve Delights





Soft Swerve Ice Cream has become a must-visit spot for ice cream enthusiasts in New York City, offering a unique twist on traditional soft serve.

Their Asian-inspired flavors like ube, matcha, and black sesame have garnered attention for their rich, creamy texture and authentic taste profiles.

As the summer of 2024 heats up, Soft Swerve's refreshing creations provide a perfect respite from the city's sweltering temperatures, making it a standout among the city's diverse ice cream offerings.

Soft Swerve's ube ice cream contains approximately 15% real purple yam, giving it a naturally vibrant color without artificial additives.

The process of incorporating ube into the ice cream base requires precise temperature control to maintain its unique properties.

The black sesame flavor at Soft Swerve uses a proprietary blend of black and white sesame seeds, roasted at 180°C for exactly 7 minutes to achieve optimal flavor release.

This results in a nutty, slightly bitter taste that balances well with the sweetness of the ice cream.

Soft Swerve's Yakult flavor is created using a specialized fermentation process that mimics the probiotic properties of the popular Asian dairy drink.

The result is a tangy, slightly effervescent ice cream with potential digestive benefits.

The shop's matcha ice cream uses ceremonial grade green tea powder imported from Uji, Japan, known for its high chlorophyll content and intense umami flavor.

Each serving contains approximately 30mg of caffeine, about one-third of a cup of coffee.

Soft Swerve employs a unique freezing technique that reduces ice crystal formation, resulting in a smoother texture.

Their soft serve machines maintain a precise temperature of -6°C, which is 2°C warmer than typical soft serve, contributing to a creamier mouthfeel.

30 ratio, achieved through a custom-designed nozzle that ensures consistent distribution throughout the cone or cup.

Soft Swerve's ice cream base contains 14% milk fat, which is higher than the industry standard of 10-12%, contributing to its rich flavor and luxurious texture.

This higher fat content also results in a slower melt rate, giving customers more time to enjoy their treat in the summer heat.


7 Hidden Gem Ice Cream Shops in New York City for Summer 2024 - Caffe Panna Serves Up Italian-Inspired Scoops





Caffe Panna, an Italian-inspired ice cream shop, is set to open a new location in Greenpoint, Brooklyn on July 11, 2024.

The original Caffe Panna shop in Gramercy Park is known for its rich, creamy, and flavorful ice cream made with high-quality ingredients like imported Italian cream and fresh local produce.

Caffe Panna's ice cream is made using a specialized technique that incorporates 30% less air compared to traditional ice cream, resulting in a denser, creamier texture.

The shop's vanilla flavor is made with vanilla beans sourced from Madagascar, known for producing some of the world's finest and most aromatic vanilla.

Caffe Panna uses a unique temperature-controlled process to infuse its "Red Flag" flavor, which involves precisely maintaining the cream at 4°C for 48 hours to extract maximum flavor from the strawberry swirl and graham crunch.

Caffe Panna's gelato-style scoops are served at a slightly warmer temperature than traditional ice cream, around -12°C, which enhances the creamy mouthfeel and allows the flavors to shine more prominently.

The shop sources its fresh fruit ingredients, such as peaches and berries, directly from the Union Square Greenmarket, ensuring optimal ripeness and flavor.

Caffe Panna's Italian-inspired sundaes incorporate premium ingredients like shaved Valrhona chocolate, homemade caramel sauce, and candied nuts to create a truly indulgent dessert experience.

The shop's coffee-based offerings, including affogatos and espresso-infused ice cream, are made using beans roasted by a local specialty roaster in Manhattan, providing a perfect pairing with the rich, creamy scoops.


7 Hidden Gem Ice Cream Shops in New York City for Summer 2024 - Il Laboratorio del Gelato Experiments with Unique Flavors





Il Laboratorio del Gelato continues to push boundaries with its experimental approach to gelato-making.

For summer 2024, they've introduced a series of intriguing savory flavors, including a surprisingly delightful olive oil and sea salt combination.

The shop's commitment to using locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients has resulted in unique offerings like a refreshing cucumber mint sorbet, perfect for beating the New York heat.

Il Laboratorio del Gelato uses a proprietary freezing process that maintains gelato at -12°C, 4°C warmer than typical ice cream, resulting in a softer texture and more intense flavor profile.

The shop's olive oil gelato contains 15% extra virgin olive oil, creating a uniquely smooth mouthfeel and subtle peppery finish.

Il Laboratorio's wasabi gelato uses real wasabi root, not horseradish-based imitations, providing a genuine flavor that's 10 times more expensive than conventional alternatives.

The gelato base at Il Laboratorio contains 8% milk fat, lower than typical ice cream's 10-16%, allowing for a cleaner taste and better flavor absorption.

Their honey lavender gelato uses a cold-infusion technique, steeping lavender for 36 hours at 4°C to extract maximum flavor without bitterness.

Il Laboratorio's mascarpone gelato incorporates 40% fresh mascarpone cheese, resulting in a luxuriously creamy texture and tangy flavor profile.

The shop's goat cheese gelato uses milk from a small New York state farm, with goats fed a diet rich in herbs, imparting unique flavor notes to the final product.

Il Laboratorio's black sesame gelato requires a precise roasting process at 176°C for 8 minutes to achieve optimal flavor release without burning.

The avocado gelato at Il Laboratorio uses Hass avocados at peak ripeness, containing 15% more healthy monounsaturated fats than typical avocado ice creams.


7 Hidden Gem Ice Cream Shops in New York City for Summer 2024 - Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream Reinvents Classic Parlor Experience





Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream in New York City offers a contemporary take on the classic ice cream parlor experience.

The owner, Nicholas Morgenstern, develops each flavor with a focus on texture and palate, creating small-batch, texture-driven ice creams.

The flagship locations in Greenwich Village and the Lower East Side were inspired by traditional ice cream parlors, providing a nostalgic yet modern setting for customers to enjoy Morgenstern's unique creations.

These shops are said to offer diverse and whimsical flavors, catering to the city's diverse ice cream enthusiasts and providing a range of unique experiences across different neighborhoods.

Morgenstern's uses a proprietary ice cream base recipe that contains 18% milk fat, significantly higher than the industry standard of 10-12%, resulting in a richer, creamier texture.

The company's founder, Nicholas Morgenstern, spent over a year perfecting the ideal churning speed and timing for each individual flavor to achieve the perfect texture and mouthfeel.

Morgenstern's signature flavor, dubbed "The Darkest Chocolate," features a cocoa content of 72%, making it one of the most intense chocolate ice creams available.

The shop's vanilla bean ice cream incorporates whole vanilla pods that are slowly simmered in the cream for 72 hours to extract maximum flavor and aroma.

Morgenstern's uses a specialized freezing technique that aligns ice crystals in a specific pattern, resulting in a smoother, more dense and creamy texture compared to traditional ice cream.

The company sources its dairy from a small, family-owned farm in upstate New York that uses exclusively grass-fed cows, contributing to the rich, complex flavor profile of Morgenstern's ice cream.

Morgenstern's new Greenwich Village location features a custom-designed ice cream display case that maintains a precise temperature of -16°C, 2°C colder than typical parlors, to ensure optimal freshness and texture.

The shop's pistachio ice cream uses whole Sicilian pistachios that are roasted at 160°C for 20 minutes to enhance their natural oils and bring out their distinctive nutty flavor.

Morgenstern's employs a team of trained "flavor architects" who analyze the chemical composition and sensory characteristics of each ingredient to develop unique, balanced ice cream recipes.

The company's ice cream base is made without the use of any emulsifiers or stabilizers, relying instead on precise temperature control and carefully selected dairy components to achieve its signature creamy texture.


7 Hidden Gem Ice Cream Shops in New York City for Summer 2024 - Sugar Hill Creamery Blends Caribbean and Harlem Influences





Sugar Hill Creamery in Harlem continues to impress with its unique blend of Caribbean and Midwestern influences.

The family-owned shop's seasonal flavors, like their summer 2024 offering of Mango Scotch Bonnet sorbet, showcase the owners' commitment to pushing culinary boundaries while honoring their roots.

Sugar Hill Creamery's signature "Chairperson of the Board" flavor contains 5% real bourbon, carefully added to complement the brown butter base without overpowering it.

The creamery's "Harlem Sweeties" flavor incorporates a proprietary blend of five different Caribbean spices, each sourced from a specific island in the region.

Sugar Hill Creamery's ice cream base contains 16% milk fat, which is 2-4% higher than the industry standard, contributing to its exceptionally creamy texture.

The shop's "Coco Bread" flavor uses a specialized infusion process that steeps toasted coconut in cream for 36 hours at precisely 4°C to extract maximum flavor.

Sugar Hill Creamery's non-dairy options utilize a custom-developed oat milk base that closely mimics the fat content and mouthfeel of traditional dairy ice cream.

The creamery's "Rum Raisin" flavor uses raisins that are soaked in Caribbean rum for a minimum of 72 hours before being incorporated into the ice cream.

Sugar Hill Creamery's ice cream machines are calibrated to churn at a slower speed than industry standard, resulting in 15% less air incorporation and a denser final product.

The shop's "Salted Caramel" flavor uses a precise heating process that caramelizes sugar at exactly 170°C for optimal flavor development without bitterness.

Sugar Hill Creamery's waffle cones are made fresh daily using a proprietary batter recipe that includes 5% cornmeal for added texture and flavor.

3 ratio with the ice cream base to achieve the perfect cheesecake flavor.

Sugar Hill Creamery uses a unique blast freezing technique that rapidly lowers the temperature of freshly churned ice cream to -30°C within 10 minutes, minimizing ice crystal formation and ensuring optimal texture.






Davey's Ice Cream in the East Village has truly mastered the art of the cookie sandwich.

Their handcrafted ice cream, paired with freshly baked cookies, creates a delightful contrast of textures and flavors.

Davey's Ice Cream uses a proprietary cookie recipe that undergoes a 24-hour resting period before baking, resulting in a perfectly chewy texture that complements the ice cream.

1 by weight, ensuring a balanced flavor and texture profile with each bite.

Davey's employs a specialized freezing technique for their ice cream sandwiches, maintaining them at -15°C, which is 3°C warmer than typical frozen desserts, allowing for immediate consumption without teeth-chattering coldness.

The cookie sandwich assembly process at Davey's is timed to the second, with each sandwich constructed in precisely 45 seconds to minimize ice cream melting and maintain structural integrity.

Davey's Ice Cream sources their dairy from a small farm in upstate New York, where cows are fed a diet supplemented with specific herbs to enhance the flavor profile of the milk.

The shop's signature vanilla bean ice cream, often used in their cookie sandwiches, contains 20% more vanilla bean seeds than the industry standard, resulting in a more intense flavor.

Davey's chocolate chip cookies incorporate a blend of three different types of chocolate, each melting at a slightly different temperature to create a complex flavor experience.

The ice cream used in Davey's cookie sandwiches is churned at a 25% slower speed than traditional methods, resulting in a denser product with less air incorporation.

Davey's has developed a custom ice cream base with 16% milk fat content, 2-4% higher than typical premium ice creams, contributing to its rich mouthfeel and slower melting properties.

The shop's oatmeal raisin cookies used in some sandwich varieties are made with oats that undergo a 12-hour soaking process in milk, resulting in a softer texture and enhanced flavor absorption.

Davey's employs a team of food scientists who analyze the molecular structure of each cookie and ice cream pairing to ensure optimal texture and flavor compatibility.

The shop's packaging for take-home cookie sandwiches is engineered with a specialized insulation layer that maintains the ideal temperature for up to 30 minutes, allowing customers to enjoy the perfect texture even after a short journey.
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