Fried Ice Cream Is a Thing, And You Can Get It in Cornwall -

‘Fried’ and ‘ice cream’ are two words which should not coexist in the same sentence, but fried ice cream is a real thing, and you can get it in Cornwall. Treat Yourself in Liskeard is the first of its kind in the county and people have been flocking there since opening 11 weeks ago to indulge in their delicious treats.

But how does it work? Deep frying ice cream just doesn’t seem possible, yet it is. Co-owner of Treat Yourself Tessa Hicks says there is no oil or heat involved saying, “The process is originally from Thailand. It’s known as freeze frying, that’s why it’s called fried ice cream.

“Our ice creams are made while you wait, right in front of you. It’s made on this steel plate that’s cryogenically cooled to -22C which makes anything that touches [it] freeze in an instant.”

The plate can go low as -50C which could even freeze your finger, should you choose it.

Treat Yourself lets you choose your own ingredients, which are then placed on the plate and crushed before the cream is poured over the lot. Then it the mixture is scraped all up together into a paste as the cream solidifies into an ice cream. The mixture is then spread thinly over the plate and rolled into fingers which are then carefully placed into a pot and slathered with cream, whipped cream sauce or whatever else you fancy.

There is a great range of ingredients, listed on the boards behind the counter, so you can choose your own flavour – literally whatever floats your boat! All the ingredients are sourced locally too, making this a true Cornish affair.

Tessa said the motivation for setting up the ice cream shop in Liskeard was that her mum had to take her children to Looe or Plymouth as there were no ice cream shops in her town and ‘taking the kids out for an experience’ became an expensive affair.

“There is nothing above £5 in the shop. Hopefully, it will now be cheaper for local people to take their own kids out for an ice-cream,” she said. “We’re a family business. We’re local and everything we sell we source locally.”

The parlour also offers crepes, waffles, cakes and smoothies and is open to 6 pm Monday through to Thursday, 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 4 pm on Sundays. We highly recommend stopping by Treat Yourself in Liskeard, located on Pike Street, and treating yourself to an ice cream like no other!

Image credit: Imogen Chaffer