Flavours include Kentish cobnut fudge, homemade honeycomb, and cherry with cherry brandy.
It’s been cited by telly chef James Martin as “the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted”. And now you can get your hands on the multiple award-winning desserts from Simply Ice Cream in Suffolk as part of a series of pop-ups.
Lucie Clayton, who lives on the outskirts of Ipswich, has joined the family ice cream business masterminded by her sister-in-law Sally Newall in Kent 13 years ago, bringing pop-ups to Grange Farm at Haskeston every Friday, and with steady orders coming in from other independent shops in the county every week.
“Sally and her mother Pat were caterers,” Lucie says of the foundations of the business. “She and her mum used to do weddings and their signature ice cream was honeycomb flavour with their homemade honeycomb inside. We’d always had the ice cream at family weddings and events and it even crept into speeches! People would say ‘can you make that for me over Christmas?’ and Sally thought there could be something to it. She carried on catering and built up the ice cream alongside it before the ice cream took over.”
Every batch is made with British ingredients, sourced as locally as possible, with Lucie saying it’s the flavour that really sets this ice cream apart. “It’s incredibly basic. By that I mean it’s just the dairy and the natural flavour. There are no additives, preservatives or emulsifiers. It’s a simple, natural product and it’s absolutely delicious. My favourites are the stem ginger and marmalade and brown bread – for me they have that ‘old fashioned’ taste and conjure up childhood memories. Our raspberry sorbet is exquisite. And you have to try the honeycomb obviously.”
You can find the ice creams at Willow Tree Farm Shop in Glemsford, and a freezer of the vegan sorbets at Hank’s in Ipswich. And every Friday, from November 27 to December 11 Lucie will be outside at Grange Farm selling full-sized and single serve tubs for you to try – including all the flavours above, plus chocolate, cinnamon and Christmas pudding.
“We’ve been so pleased at the pop-up,” she says. “At the first one there was a brilliant atmosphere and the feedback was so positive.”
Pop-ups are also planned on December 5 and 12 at Coes in Ipswich. Keep an eye on the Instagram account for details.
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