Kitchen

[Calibeach]

I'm curious...has anyone tried it? 

A First-Of-Its-Kind Ice Cream Just Arrived in the States—and It’s Already Going Viral

Ice cream has taken just about every form imaginable. It’s been blended with fudge, candy, and cookies, flavored with chili spices, and even drizzled with soy sauce. Layered in cakes, torched under meringue, fried, freeze-dried—you name it.

And yet, somehow, there is still always room for innovation in the ice cream world. Earlier this year, a never-before-seen kind of ice cream launched overseas and instantly lit up the internet—mostly because no one could figure out what it actually was. It was a dessert that claimed to take the ice out of ice cream in a “culinary first"

And what's even more surprising? The celebrity behind it.

Tyra Banks Launches Hot Ice Cream in the U.S.

Supermodel and TV personality Tyra Banks has officially entered the ice cream world—and not in the way anyone expected. This summer, she opened her first Smize & Dream shop in Sydney, Australia, offering artisanal scoops plus one very intriguing signature item: her so-called "hot ice cream"—aka Hot Mama.

The public reaction wasn’t necessarily love or hate—it was pure confusion. Was it melted ice cream? Extra-thick hot chocolate? A creme anglaise? A warm milk shake?  

Tyra insisted it was none of the above, calling it “a delicious contradiction that challenges everything you think you know about ice cream.”

“I dreamed up Hot Mama after craving the comfort of ice cream and warmth on a winter night,” she explained on her website. “What started as a kitchen experiment in my New York apartment became a viral sensation—a brand-new dessert category the world didn’t see coming.”

Of course, that didn’t clarify much. The name alone is an oxymoron—ice cream needs ice for its texture, structure, and basically its entire identity. Without it, can it even be considered ice cream? It's not surprising some people wrote the whole thing off as satire.

But this week, the internet-breaking Hot Mama officially arrived in the U.S., and we were lucky enough to get a first taste. So what is hot ice cream, really? Now we finally have the scoop.

Hot ice cream, officially named Hot Mama in honor of Banks’ mother, is a drinkable, dairy-based dessert made by Banks’ ice cream company, Smize & Dream. The brand describes it as warm and buttery with a silky texture. It stresses that Hot Mama isn’t a drink we’ve had before, and it’s not simply melted ice cream.

“It’s the liquid version of your favorite ice cream scoop — a culinary contradiction that shouldn’t make sense, but somehow, deliciously does,” Smize & Dream says in a press release.

The brand has announced two flavors so far. Fairy Dough Diva — inspired by the Australian favorite, fairy bread — is topped with Chantilly cream, hundreds and thousands (nonpareils) and a house-made biscuit. Tyra’s Favorite, a tribute to her go-to order as a teenager, has a “buttery caramel base” and is topped with whipped cream and roasted, salted pecans. Both flavors come in cold ice cream form, too.

[Redshoes07]

Very interesting, I would try it for sure.

[mrshckynut]

@Calibeach   I prefer my cold   "ice" as with cream

mrshckynut 

[santorini]

Strange.  I thought it was going to say it was ice cream with really hot spices added (which I wouldn't ever want to try).

[Nightowlz]

My stomach seems to decide what I can & cannot eat. I already know this is a No.

[Susan Louise]

To us, it's just one more type of 'food' to avoid.

[SloopJohnB]

Seems like an oxymoron to me.  🍦🍧🍨 I think I'll pass.  

[Desertdi]

I put HOT salsa on everything...but ice cream is a step too far (!!!)

[kze]

I'm thinking I wouldn't try it but you never know.

[MoonieBaby]

Supposedly this is the secret - the not-so-secret, secret....found online. Maybe this is what her stuff is all about:

Hot ice cream is a real thing that’s just as mouth-watering as regular ice cream. 

Unlike traditional ice cream, hot ice cream is made with methylcellulose, which is a thickener that works at high cooking temperatures. Hot ice cream is poached, which also differs from the way conventional ice cream gets made. Whereas regular ice cream melts as it gets warm, hot ice cream melts when it cools down.