10 Scoops of Summer

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Ice Cream Couture
Dessert at one of the state’s best restaurants doesn’t have to mean a fancy tart or creme brulee. Ice creams and sorbets have slowly but surely been sneaking from the grocer’s freezer aisle to white linen-clothed tables. And the resulting creations from some of the area’s top chefs are a far cry from what gets scooped out of a cardboard pint.

The Classicist

Laurent Vals, Pastry Chef, The Spiced Pear

The summer dessert menu here typically features an array of tropical fruit sorbets, as well as variations on French standards such as salted caramel ice cream and strawberry with orange-blossom extract. “A certain portion of our menu is always classic, but we do, occasionally, throw in some crazy stuff,” says Vals of his European-influenced sweets. Aside from dessert, Vals’s creations show up as beverages (his frozen mimosa consists of Champagne sorbet with orange marmalade, orange chips and a splash of Champagne) as well as intermezzos, a pairing of cantaloupe and celery sorbet that refreshes. 117 Memorial Boulevard, Newport, 847-2244, www.spicedpear.com.

The Innovator

Chrissy Banks, Pastry Chef, Gracie’s

Although an apricot beer sorbet turned out to be one of the most popular flavors at Gracie’s, Banks tries to temper the flavors of her adventurous offerings so as not to terrify customers. Still, that hasn’t stopped her from creating a Mexican chocolate with cinnamon and Tabasco, caramel  with morel mushrooms, and a white chocolate-white truffle with a tinge of orange for the dessert menu. 194 Washington Street, Providence, 272-7811, graciesprov.com.

The Purist

Champe Speidel, Owner and Chef, Persimmon

“I’ve done a Campari sorbet with oysters, but for the most part I’m just trying to perfect the art and highlight the flavor,” says Speidel. Sorbets at Persimmon have included white peach, concord grape, lychee, coconut, blood orange and kalamansi lime. “Our most popular flavor, though, continues to be the dulce de leche gelato,” says Speidel. “I could eat gallons of it and, apparently, so can everyone else.” 31 State Street, Bristol, 254-7474, persimmonbristol.com.

That Takes the Cake

There was a time when Carvel’s Fudgie the Whale was the only type of cake you could buy that didn’t come out of the oven. And many, young and old, still admit a soft spot for those famous ice cream creations with the chocolate “crunchies” in between frozen layers. Today, ice cream makers put their own spin on that iconic cake with a wider range of flavors and toppings.

Brickley’s owner Steve Brophy, who makes ice cream cakes in any flavor with chocolate cake crunch and chocolate fudge in the middle, says his customers get creative with their choices. He has concocted combinations like half bubble gum and half chocolate, and half malted milk ball and half chocolate brownie. Robert Saunders, owner of Daily Scoop, layers his ice cream with actual cake and says that there is such a demand that he has trouble keeping up, despite the fact that orders are limited to a few flavors. The Ice Cream Machine, Ice Cream Factory and DeCiantis all make their own unique versions of ice cream cakes — an evolution that proves these slices of nostalgia will never melt away.