I love ice cream. Unfortunately, probably in part to my Ashkenazi Jewish roots’ propensity for lactose intolerance, ice cream really doesn’t like me. And while that’s disappointing (who doesn’t like to be liked!) it does make finding a delicious alternative that doesn’t send me running for the bathroom something of a fun challenge. TMI?

It’s been hot in London lately. The perfect weather for ice cream, and I’ve been keeping an eye out. Last weekend I ended up sampling two very different soft serves on two consecutive days. Excessive? Perhaps. But why not?! Life’s short.

The first I had been walking past in Spitalfields for a while. Matcha soft serve from the Jenki Matcha Bar. If I could do this again, I would get the nuts but not the chocolate sauce. Matcha is a delicate flavour and the chocolate was too sweet and overpowering for it. The matcha soft serve itself was delicious though, and I enjoyed the peanuts for added texture.

The Sunday serve was from Dappa. It’s made from almonds and cashews and I had it blended with Biscoff, with a Biscoff sauce and crumb. It was very creamy! the biscoff option is great if you’re a biscoff fan, and I am, but I wished I had got a raspberry sauce or something to add a bit of tang because all the biscoff of top of the nutty soft serve blend was all a bit one note. Also, If you’re allergic/not into nuts i’d suggest you steer clear.

Will I get them again? Probably not. I’ve tried them now, and the journey continues. When in doubt I can always go back to my roots, fruit sorbet and dairy free dark chocolate. They never disappoint.