Since becoming vegan, one of the foods I have missed most has been soft-serve ice cream (you know, the kind you get from an ice cream van to cool you down on a hot summer's day...) So you'll understand how thrilled (read: giddy) I was to hear about Dappa, a plant-based soft serve company who create nut-based whippy ice cream. Was this to be the dessert that I had been longing for all this time?
I was super excited to find out that, as well as being stocked at plenty of restaurants and cafes across London, Dappa had their own vegan ice cream van hosted at Ely's Yard, Brick Lane (one of the coolest areas of London). I paid a visit with Mike's family in the summer: while Mike and his mum went to a concert, I grabbed the opportunity to head to Ely's Yard and search out the soft serve I had been thinking about for so long. It didn't take long at all to spot their iconic pink and white ice cream truck, even through my excitement overload!
Trying Vegan Soft Serve Ice Cream in London
I had been thinking for so long about this ice cream, and when I got to their brightly-coloured van I am pleased to say I was not disappointed. Dappa offer the soft-serve on its own or with a range of tasty toppings. I was so torn between the choices that I asked the servers to recommend their favourite - their chocolatey, fudgey choice was delicious, everything I needed!
Served in a cardboard cup or a charcoal cone, the ice cream is everything that plant-based eaters have dreamed of; it tastes just like the original soft serve you remember, and the choice of sauces (chocolate, berry, biscoff) and toppings and sprinkles mean there is an ice cream variation for everyone.
The day I visited was really warm - so much so that I could barely take photos of my ice cream before it melted (check out that drip that fell just after I took the below shot!)
That sounds amazing! What is the catch?
The downside, I suppose, is that the ice cream is made (as their slogan states) from nuts; almonds and cashews, to be more specific. This could, therefore, be a problem if you or anyone else in your group have allergies. Despite being made from nuts, though, the ice cream didn't taste 'nutty' - just like vanilla ice cream! And there was none of that grainy texture that sometimes comes with products derived from nuts; the ice cream was smooth and creamy, perhaps even a little deliciously thicker than the original soft serve I remember.
It is a little on the expensive side - I paid £6 for my topped ice cream (approx. €6.79 or $7.30). A smaller cone or fewer toppings would make it cheaper though. For something that it is difficult to find in the UK - and with the friendly service I received - I was very happy to pay it.
Have you tried some amazing vegan soft serve in the UK? Or somewhere else in the world! Let us know where you had it and how it was in the comments below!
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