One doesn't have to look at the calendar to know that summer has arrived, because things are heating up in East Polk County. And with temperatures on the rise, there's one sure thing that every one is screaming for - ice cream.
And, in East Polk County, there are several places to get a cool, unique treat for summer.
The Shake Shoppe in Auburndale serves up an old-time feeling with its frozen treats. Served through a window, just like the Shake Shoppe has been doing for more than 30 years, swirls of multicolored ice cream are passed through to anxious customers.
The Arctic Swirl is one of the Shake Shoppe's best-selling items.
"It's 11 ounces of ice cream with your choice of seven different candies or all of them. We call that the'Trash Can,' " says Chris Whigham, the Shake Shoppe owner.
The Shake Shoppe's biggest sellers are the medium cone and the chocolate shake, Whigham says.
In addition to cold, sweet items, food also is on the menu.
"We have folks who will call ahead and place their orders for lunch," Whigham says. The double cheeseburger and the tuna sandwich are our biggest food sellers. We have full lunch specials for $3.50."
The Shake Shoppe is a family-friendly place, located across the street from Auburndale City Park at 101 N. Main St. Seating is provided outdoors with umbrella-shaded picnic tables. For details, call 863-967-3528.
Webb's Candy Factory near Davenport is making more than its "world-famous" goat milk fudge these days. Polk residents and visitors now can stop by the store at the intersection of U.S. Highway 27 and County Road 547 for a cup or cone of cold, sweet, hand-dipped ice cream.
Webb's makes and sells hard, hand-dipped ice cream in familiar, favorite flavors, as well as a few different ones that have been successful with taste tests.
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Four scoops of Webb's Candy Factory ice cream are stacked atop a sugar cone. The ice cream flavors, form the top, are Bluemoon, cotton candy, pistachio and black raspberry.
Paul Crate / News Chief |
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Pumpkin, pistachio and cake batter flavors join rum raisin, mint chocolate chip and peach in the iced, glass display case. Webb's also specializes in sugar-free flavors and offers strawberry and maple walnut in that option.
In addition to making ice cream, Webb's makes most of its own ingredients used to create menu items.
"We make a chocolate goat milk fudge brownie," says Sharon Passno of Webb's. "We cut up fudge pieces that come from the candy kitchen and cut up brownies, too. Our biggest topping seller is the toasted coconut. We run out of that faster than anything else."
When one walks into Webb's, the aroma is unmistakable. One can smell the baking of fresh, hot waffle cones. Watching the scoops of cold, sweet ice cream dropped into one of these warm shells, it's hard to resist the temptation of this perfect summertime delicacy.
Webb's also offers traditional toppings like candies, sprinkles and nuts, along with the familiar cone dips and the nostalgic, all-American malt.
For details, call 863-422-1051.
KC's Big Dipper in Winter Haven has anything one could imagine an ice cream store having.
"Whatever an ice cream store can do, we do," says owner Kristie Carlini.
But there is an item on KC's menu that sets it apart from the rest - frozen custard.
"We are the only frozen custard shop in Polk County," she says. "My husband and I wanted to start an ice cream business, and some friends of ours suggested we check out frozen custard. We found a shop in The Villages and observed them and tried it, and we fell in love with it. It's the best ice cream you can buy."
Carlini says the recipe for the frozen custard, which is made daily, uses 1.4 percent pasteurized egg.
According to Carlini, the ice crystals in frozen custard are so small that the tongue can't feel them. She says frozen custard has 20 to 24 percent less air than standard, soft-serve ice cream, which has more than 50 percent air, and hard ice cream, which has 40 to 60 percent air.
According to Carlini, making frozen custard is very labor intensive. At KC's, Carlini says frozen custard is made daily at 8 a.m. The shop opens at noon.
"We make vanilla, chocolate, butter pecan and the'flavor of the day,' " Carlini says. "That is very typical of all frozen custard shops in America."
KC's Big Dipper also has a flavor calendar each month, with a different flavor offered daily. This shop serves the same options as traditional ice cream parlors. KC's also serves Mayfield Hand-Dipped Ice Cream, Italian ices, strawberry lemonade, mango tropical blend and black cherry drinks.
KC's Big Dipper also serves up frozen coffees, blended with ice and Big Train-brand coffee. Iced coffee flavors include mocha, Heath mocha, java chip, cookies and cream and vanilla latte, all served with crushed ice and homemade whipped cream on top.
"We make our own whipped cream, cookies, brownies, shortcakes and waffle cones," Carlini says. "We have a strawberry shortcake sundae that is to die for."
Something else KC's Big Dipper has become known for are its frozen custard cakes and pies. A big seller is the brownie cookie cake.
The Gator Pie has a chocolate crust, with peanut butter and chocolate syrup coating the bottom. The filling is chocolate custard, and it's all topped with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, then the frozen masterpiece is laden with peanut butter sauce.
"It's our biggest seller," Carlini says. "We can't keep up with the demand. Our Turtle Pie would be the next one."
KC's also is available for ice cream catering, specializing in ice cream socials, parties and special events.
Another cool aspect of KC's Big Dipper is its Dogs Night Out on the last Monday of every month. At this event, four-legged pals receive a cool treat that's for the dogs.
KC's Big Dipper is located at 3080 Cypress Gardens Road in Winter Haven. For details, call 863-324-7309.
"It's all called ice cream now," says Peter Moran, owner of the Banana Boat Ice Cream Shop at 2610 Ave. G, N.W., in Winter Haven. "But in the olden days, it was called ice milk."
Moran says modern names for ice cream can be deceiving. With terms like "low fat" and "reduced fat," consumers really are getting a varied version of true "ice cream," he says.
"The big difference we have in our soft serve is that we use 10 percent butter fat, which is what hard ice cream has to use to be called 'ice cream,' " Moran says. "No one else in this area sells 10 percent butter fat in their ice cream."
Moran says the ice cream served at the Banana Boat does not contain eggs, either.
"When you add eggs, then you change the name to frozen custard. We don't serve that," he says. "Everybody claims to sell ice cream, but we really are."
The Banana Boat also sells 16 flavors of hard, hand-dipped Mayfield ice cream.
The Banana Boat is open Monday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.
Paula Stuart contributed to this story.
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