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 – Strawberry Topped Tart

Strawberry Topped Tart features sweet cream ice cream with strawberry swirls and pie crust pieces topped with a white chocolatey ganache and colorful candy sprinkles. Essentially, it’s the most frozen Strawberry Pop Tart you’ve ever eaten.

The candy sprinkles in Strawberry Topped Tart are large and look like Pop Rocks, but don’t explode in your mouth. They actually have a pretty good flavor to them; imagine the all-sweet version of Nerds candy.

The white chocolatey ganache immediately exceeds my expectations too. It’s much thicker and more decadent than the “crackly” candy shell in Magnum pints, and offers a rich and and creamy vanilla flavor. Strawberry Topped Tart is one of only two of the Topped pints that feature the white chocolatey ganache (the other being Whiskey Biz), so keep that in mind when deciding which flavors suit your fancy.

Bravo to B&J’s on this ganache. ?

Underneath, you have a sweet cream base. Sweet cream ice cream is essentially Ben & Jerry’s base ice cream formula without any additional flavors added, meant to provide a tasty but neutral base that compliment the specific mix-ins chosen. There’s lots of strawberry swirl here made from real strawberry puree that play perfectly not only with the sweet cream ice cream, but the buttery pie crust pieces. It really does taste like a Strawberry Pop Tart. It’s a very sweet pint, but I found the pie crust pieces balanced it out quite a bit.

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 Strawberry Topped Tart may be the best.

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 out of 10

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