Summer ’23 – The Heat is ON!

Summer 2023 has arrived with a bang or a whimper, depending on what side of the fence you stand on.  Our nation has lurched from one massive crisis to another, frequently attempting to take a step forward only to be sent reeling ten steps in the opposite direction. 

Collectively we hope for better days.  Skyrocketing inflation continues to rock us all like never before.  Runaway prices are increasing at an unprecedented rate, with items we would previously take for granted now rarities and imports drying up almost completely.  Ingredients are impossibly expensive, as are utility bills and taxes.  Still, we strive onward, hoping there might be some light after the dark. 

We can only apologise for the increasing prices, but all of you will know precisely how inflation has blighted us all and how it is impossible to produce the same product with changed ingredients.  We cannot compromise on our ingredients.  Creating an inferior product is not an option; thus, we have to bite the bullet and keep our heads above water by trying to stay abreast of the inflation rate.  

One way to keep the gloom from closing in is to keep busy, which is precisely what we have been doing in our kitchens.  Experimenting with this and that and having mixed results – sometimes shockingly awful but often amazingly deli well. It’s all about making mistakes but learning and building upon experience, and at this stage in life, we have plenty of that!

Could there be a valid reason that it has taken us almost 30 years to develop one of the most straightforward yet most satisfying flavours imaginable?   A flavour that brings two of nature’s most precious commodities together in a blissful union. Weren’t Vanilla & Lemon always meant to be?

So, time to shake off the old cobwebs and get into action.  Eggs cracked, cream whipped, custard prepared, lemons, vanilla sugar, and the usual suspects whipped up into something that smelled like heaven and popped into the machine.  Not too long later, the batch is ready for sampling though this jury is very obviously impartial due to the addiction to both lemons and vanilla. 

It is sublime.  Smooth, creamy, and cooling with a mild, subtle taste with its tones of vanilla with strong hints of lemon, laced lightly with praline.  The Lemon Vanilla Crunch flooded my taste receptors, having them doing summersaults upon the first wave of flavour to hit the senses.  The sweet aroma of classic vanilla infused with a strong hint of Key Lime and offset with a restrained sprinkling of praline. The instinct says it’s not one of those flavours that you mix in the kitchen sink and overwhelm the subtle flavour of the ice cream with a mass of candy sprinkled and whatnot.  Some flavours ought to be relished for their subtlety, their mouthfeel and their after-taste rather than overloaded with sauces and chunks of admittedly delicious candy.  The Lemon-Vanilla Crunch is one such flavour.

Dousing it with sauces and mix-ins is not recommended, but the choice is yours, and everyone is entitled to enjoy ice cream just the way it suits them!   We hope the connoisseurs enjoy the Lemon Vanilla Crunch as ice cream lovers.  Close your eyes, let the ice cream melt on your tongue, enjoy the varying sensations, flavours, and textures you feel and revel in the after-taste. 

Those who eat primarily for social media may feel underwhelmed by the lack of fluorescent colours or masses of colourful toppings oozing and flowing for the perfect visual treat.  At the Hot Spot, it’s always about the taste, not necessarily how it appears on social media – remember, we have been around since the internet was in its infancy!  

This flavour is as luscious as any lemon or vanilla lover can expect; it’s a match made in heaven—a subtle ice cream with layers of flavours and a gorgeous lingering after-taste of praline.  We hope you enjoy the taste, and please feel free to share any thoughts or suggestions.