Van Leeuwen Announces 4 Special Edition Ice Cream Flavors Just In Time For Fall
In what may be a sea change in the culinary world, gourmet ice cream maker Van Leeuwen just announced its fall flavors for 2023. Perhaps even more notable, not one of them has the words "pumpkin spice" in the name, but that doesn't mean pumpkin and spices aren't still involved.
Van Leeuwen's creatives rolled out four ice creams that pull in classic fall flavors with some unexpected twists. Pumpkin cheesecake is redolent of nutmeg and cinnamon, featuring a crumble of graham cracker crust throughout the ice cream. Vegan sweet potato marshmallow pie conjures up memories of that classic yet divisive Thanksgiving sweet casserole. Outside the norm for many Americans but beloved by Indians around the world, thandai is a beverage made from a range of ingredients that can include almonds, fennel seeds, watermelon kernels, rose petals, pepper, poppy seeds, cardamom, saffron, milk, and sugar. Van Leeuwen teamed up with one of New York City's hottest chefs, Chintan Pandya, to recreate the beverage. Finally, cranberry crumble is a combination of cream cheese ice cream, oat crumble, and a deep crimson swirl of cranberry.
These fall flavors will be available in all Van Leeuwen scoop shops from now until November 30 or until supplies run out.
Keeping things interesting
Van Leeuwen has had quite a year when it comes to innovative flavors and partnerships. If the fall flavors struck you as a bit unorthodox, know that they're downright tame when compared to some of the other ice creams the company has launched in the past year.
Only recently, Van Leeuwen announced a collaborative ice cream with rideshare and delivery service Uber that features cornbread crumbles and a swirl of barbecue sauce. They also released an ice cream that celebrates both the opening of their 50th store and the 50th kitchen anniversary of chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The Alsatian culinary star worked with Van Leeuwen to create a Sour Cherry Creamsicle ice cream that harkened back to one of the earliest dishes he made in his storied career.
Fans of Van Leeuwen eagerly await the announcement of seasonal flavors throughout the year, and the company uses each new release as a chance to push the envelope. Last fall, the ice creams included Mexican hot chocolate featuring Tapatío hot sauce, pumpkin cinnamon roll with cinnamon caramel swirl, and wildberry layer cake: vanilla ice cream studded with berries and chunks of yellow cake.