Ben & Jerry’s Gimme S’More and Fudgy Flan: similar burnt flavors, both kinda flat. Tasty brownie though

Gimme S’More!

• Toasted marshmallow ice cream – pretty sweet. Reminded me of the vanilla pudding flavor of Ben and Jerry’s Dirt Cake, also pretty sweet. Like a toasty pastry cream flavor. Also similar to the inside of a double stuff Oreo, but a little burnt and sweeter. The toasty quality is similar to Fudgy Flan, like a light coffee flavor thrown in. I’ll mention that weirdly my pint had slight icy milk texture too. Has anyone experienced this?
• Chocolate cookie swirls – a gritty cookie crumble I did enjoy the texture of like crushed up Oreo. Thin swirls for some texture sometimes.
• Graham cracker swirls – didn’t taste it. Couldn’t say.
• Fudge flakes – Actually the right size and thinness. Medium thin like chips in a mint chip ice cream. Sometimes Ben & Jerry’s falsely calls massive, too hard chonks of chocolate “flakes.” Here it’s true, and better for it.

**Rating: 6/10. Too sweet for me. I expected a lightly singed, fluffier marshmallow flavor. This marshmallow is toastier with like a burnt caramel char. It’s deeper but also flat tasting. The graham cracker taste was absent. The cookie swirl and chocolate chips were both right but not exceptional enough to make this ice cream stand out.

Fudgy Flan (limited batch)

• Burnt caramel ice cream – similar to a light coffee flavor. It’s burnt but lacks the acidity that coffee can have to balance its roasted flavors. And is not as dimensional tasting as some burnt caramel flavors can be (like Haagen Dazs). It does taste like flan though. But overall reminds me of the way that instant coffee latte can taste kind of flat compared to grinding coffee and adding cream.
• Fudgy brownies – actually the best brownie I’ve had from Ben and Jerry’s. Larger size, softer, chewier, more of it. I’ve had both Chocolate Fudgd Brownie and Mint Chocolate Chance (both Greyson’s brownies) and think the ones in Fudgy Flan (does not say Greyson’s) are just slightly fresher tasting. Maybe it’s because this limited batch is brand new.
• Pastry cream swirls – did not see these. Blended completely with the ice cream. Not like the picture. However, they must have been there because sometimes I did taste a nice, fresher, milkier flavor (like condensed milk) more similar to freshly made flan. Perhaps I saw little veins that were slightly grayer that could’ve been the pastry cream swirls.

**Rating: 7/10. Like Gimme S’mores, I just thought the ice cream was a bit burnt (not in a bad way) and flat tasting like it needed more brightness. Here, the secret pastry cream swirl does provide a bit of that for some enjoyable moments. However, the pastry cream did not provide any noticeable texture difference like the picture shows. The brownies are the highlight of this ice cream.

Which would I get again?

Honestly neither. Both one and done for me.

I wouldn’t really recommend Gimme S’More as I think Dirt Cake does everything better and is a similar overall flavor profile. It has the cookie crumble on top, actual Oreo cookie knock off halves. Still a too sweet ice cream for me but I think it’s a better experience.

I do think I can recommend Fudgy Flan but I don’t think they got the ice cream base flavor quite right (it tastes like an instant coffee latte version of burnt caramel). I do like the invisible pastry cream and the brownies though. When I could taste the pastry cream and got some brownie, I enjoyed it. It was nice that the pastry cream was different than what Ben and Jerry’s has done before. Like a very light, mild dulce de leche.

Overall I think Fudgy Flan is an ok concept to try once. I think I’d like it with a side of vanilla ice cream to brighten it up. I do think it’s overhyped, sorta average. But at least has something different to offer.