Disclaimer: Ben & Jerry’s sent me free pints of the Topped line prior to their release. Receiving free product didn’t affect my review, as I’ve poo-pooed plenty of products I received for free.
When it comes to ice cream in the freezer aisle, Ben & Jerry’s can’t be topped.
Or CAN it?!!?
Ben & Jerry’s Topped
Every day I have to look in the mirror and live with the fact that the above intro was my best.
Look, we all know the ice cream itself is great, but what keeps us coming back to Ben & Jerry’s? It’s the load of mix-ins swimming freely throughout the pint (well, maybe not freely… picture a bunch of chubby kids crashing into each other inside an inflatable pool). Ben & Jerry’s knows this too, so you know what they did? They said f*ck it, we’re not even gonna make you wait; we’re just gonna throw a bunch right on top.
Introducing Ben & Jerry’s Topped, a new line of seven loaded pints that have a layer of spoonable chocolatey ganache (and sometimes other mix-ins) greeting you immediately under the lid.
Looks like I’m gonna need a bigger inflatable swimming pool!!
This review is part of a series. Today’s Ben & Jerry’s Topped flavor is:
Ben & Jerry’s Topped – Tiramisu
Ben & Jerry’s Topped Tiramisu features mascarpone ice cream with fudge swirls and short pieces, all topped with espresso fudge chunks and chocolatey ganache.
You’ll have to forgive my photo of the top layer as some handling issues led to some melting, which resulted in a 0% change for how excited I was about this flavor.
Right off the bat, the chocolatey ganache is very impressive. It’s much thicker and more decadent than the “crackly” candy shell in Magnum pints, and offers a rich and and creamy chocolate flavor. It starts out a little hard straight out of the freezer but is still spoonable, and it continues to soften further as it tempers.
Bravo to B&J’s on this ganache. ?
The espresso-laced fudge flakes were supposed to be embedded within the ganache according to the description, but mine were included as mix-ins throughout the ice cream in the early copy I received. Wherever they end up in the retail product for the long haul, they add just the right amount of coffee flavor.
Underneath, you have the mascarpone ice cream. If you’re not a fat Italian Goombah like me, you might not even know what mascarpone is. It’s basically an Italian cream cheese made with more fat. And its usage here is value-added. The mascarpone ice cream is more indulgent than any other Ben & Jerry’s base I can think of, straddling between a sweet cream ice cream and a cheesecake ice cream.
While traditional tiramisu uses ladyfingers (sponge-cake), Ben & Jerry’s Topped Tiramisu uses shortbread pieces. These pieces are surprisingly soft and make a fine substitute for the ladyfingers. They’re one of my favorite parts of the pint, and serve their role in the collective exceedingly well.
The fudge swirls were kind of wispy at times, but did contribute sufficient chocolate flavor to make this really work for tiramisu.
How you choose to attack the ganache topping is up to you: you can gobble it all first like a candy bar appetizer, or break it up and portion it throughout the pint. I found the best way was to use a fork (yes, a fork) and eat down in sections, periodically breaking off a piece of the ganache to enjoy mixed with the ice cream.
The Ben & Jerry’s Topped line is a bona fide winner in my book, and Tiramisu will be tough to beat.
Inflatable Swimming Pools Rating: 8 out of 10
Inflatable Swimming Pools After Your Fat Ass Breaks It Rating: 0 out of 10
Overall Rating: 9.5 out of 10
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