I wasn't super interested in this flavor until I saw that it had a "vanilla pudding ice cream" base. Not too-too long ago, I used to love Jello vanilla pudding pops. They were the best flavor in the box, but they have since been discontinued. While lots of non-name brands have released chocolate pudding pop or fudgsicle dupes, vanilla? Not so much. So I was really excited for this ice cream hoping it would satisfy my tastebuds' Jello-based core memory.
When opened, the surface is covered in chocolate cookie crumbles, similar to ice cream cakes. I love ho plentiful they are, but with it being so close to the surface, and the pint not having much of a lip, it's impossible to scoop out a spoonful of ice cream without massive fall-out. Not wanting to waste any, I shook the loose bits off the surface and into an empty bowl.Under the layer of cookie crumbles is a dense layer of chocolate ganache. Again, great, who doesn't love more toppings? But, with it being stiff from the freezer, again, it makes getting spoonfuls without loss of cookie crumbles rather difficult.
Breaking through the surface, this is a very decadent pint. So many mix ins are here, cookie crumbs, ganache, cookie swirls, large chunks of chocolate sandwich cookies...honestly, by comparison this might be more mix-in than it is ice cream. Normally that is the opposite of a problem, but I was really hoping to enjoy some of the vanilla pudding base on it's own.So, how is it? Basically, it's ice cream birthday cake, but better.
The most prominent flavor is chocolate, but it's not one-note. We get a richer, cocoa-like, chocolate flavoring from the cookies, a sweeter fudgier milk chocolate from the ganache, and lots of crispy goodness from the added cookie crumbles. All in all, very nice. There's the occasional sugary shortening-y lump of sandwich cookie filling to break things up, and the base is rich and creamy, but more-so cookie and cream than the vanilla pudding I had hoped it would be. The base reminds me of Rita's frozen vanilla custard, mixed with Oreo pieces into a "concrete."It's not the vanilla pudding pop of my childhood, but it is my own personal pint of ice cream birthday cake. If you ask me, Ben and Jerry's should toss some sprinkles into the mix and rebrand it. Pitched as a personal ice cream cake it would probably appeal to the masses a lot more than Dirt Cake, but even if they don't, this is a fantastic pint of ice cream. I would definitely purchase this again. (Guess I'll have to keep making my own vanilla pudding pops for now.)
If you like these, you'd also like: Ben & Jerry's Punch Line, Ben & Jerry's Brewed to Matter, Ben & Jerry's Boots on the Moooon, or the Salt & Straw Thanksgiving Pack (5 pints)
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