Edible Obsession | Beta 5 Turns 6

Mint Chocolate Chip Sundae | Mint stracciatella ice cream, chocolate sorbet, mint macarons
mint aero, chocolate shards, and vanilla chantilly

It is that bittersweet time of the year again. Celebrating Beta 5 turning 6, but it also happens to mark the end of ice cream socials which we all know I live for! There were so many amazing sundaes this summer and I managed to miss a couple that I really wanted to attend like the Matcha one which happened to occur on the day that I woke up with a swollen face - allergen still unknown, but I do have an allergy specialist appointment booked!

Unlike last year for which they did a giant cake and were giving away slice of cream puff cake with purchase, this year there was no cake, but a purchasable birthday puff. Kind of bummed about that; however, the birthday puff called the Gin Rickey Mini Cream Puff Cake was amazing, so I forgive them for making me pay for it. 

Beta 5 Chocolates | Gin Ricky Mini Cream Puff Cake

The Gin Rickey was adorable! The limited edition puff cake was a base of honey mousse cake with an adorable mini black charcoal puff filled with a tangy gin & lime curd. The puff was finished with a perfect swirl of marshmallowy whipped meringue, a chocolate disc and flecks of edible gold leaf. The strong flavour of the gin & lime curd was balanced by the softer honey mousse cake. I ate the cake so fast, but I think there was a thin cake layer at between the mousse and the puff. I hope Beta5 will do more mini sized puffs in the future as I find their regular sized puffs to be too large for more and frankly contain way too much cream filling. They also tend to get soggy very fast as they contain so much filling. 

For their final Ice Cream Social, Beta 5 had a past winner choose the flavour and thus Mint Chocolate Chip Sundae made a second appearance. It was a scoop each of the mint stracciatella ice cream and chocolate sorbet. For toppings there were peppermint macarons, mint aero, dark chocolate shards, chocolate sauce and my personal favourite, vanilla chantilly. I have had chocolate sorbets in the past and each time have disliked them, so I had a second scoop of the mint stracciatella ice cream which happens to be one of my favourites at Beta 5. I love the texture Beta 5 is achieves with their stracciatellas, the chocolate bits are crisp when you bite into them and I really enjoy the crunch. I have yet to find anywhere else that does it as well. The macarons were divine and I believe also made with black charcoal and filled with a mint chocolate ganache. The mint aero was a bit of a miss for me. Unlike actual aero chocolate, Beta 5's mint aero did not melt very well, instead it was a bit of a weird waxy texture. Aside from that, I loved the mint flavours and toppings in this sundae. 

Garden Party Flowers | White floral arrangement

I always appreciate the little details and the fact that Beta 5 made a conscious effort to match the Gin Rickey, limited edition polygon bars and sundae was really cute. So I understand why they chose to use black charcoal in making the puff and macarons. Not only that, the three floral arrangements from Garden Party Flowers matched too! It was all white roses, dahlias and anemones. The anemones had a black center, so I it just tied everything together perfectly. 

Midway through the day Beta 5 decided to be sneaky and surprise patrons with a second sundae, a Strawberry Oatmeal. I was in Coquitlam at my friend's birthday party; however, I was already content with my mint chocolate chip sundae and did not need a second one. 

I am already looking forward to Ice Cream Socials in 2018 and cannot wait to see what new flavours the Beta 5 team comes up with. I am a big fruit person, so anything fruit based with fresh fruit as the topping is always a big hit with me. Less of the oat flavoured ice creams as I find them to be a bit too neutral for my liking. I would also be curious to try unsweetened fruit sorbets. Fruit is naturally sweet and I wonder if fruit and honey alone could make a sweet and tangy sorbet and not need the addition of sugar or artificial sweeteners. So if you are reading this Beta 5, that is my challenge to you for next year!

BYES