From Garlic Toffee to Caprese Salad, Franklin Fountain Debuts Wild New Flavors

Franklin Fountain’s new ice cream flavors will be available in limited batches starting April 3rd. / Photograph courtesy of Franklin Fountain

I’m not sure what you spent your winter doing, but over at The Franklin Fountain, chef Franny Zehmer and lead ice cream maker Ryan Feldman spent theirs … conceptualizing.

What if we made a garlic toffee ice cream?
What if we made smoke into ice cream?
What if a Caprese salad but … ice cream?

“Ice cream is meant to be fun,” Zehmer says. “Through my years managing the ice cream department my staff and myself have had so many what-if moments. What if we made this? What if we combined this and that? It got to the point where I asked myself, What if we actually took these ideas and made them a reality?”

So that’s exactly what they did.

And this isn’t some kind of weird April Fool’s Day prank, either. Starting Friday, April 3rd, Franklin Fountain will be debuting a brand-new experimental ice cream series of flights and pints, and they’re kicking things off with a banger: a “Charcuterie Board Flight” of four ice cream flavors (Moliterno cheese, brie, fig, and olive oil), braced by the staggered release of two different exclusive pints: caramelized garlic toffee on April 3rd and elderberry goat cheese on April 17th.

And in terms of process, I got this explanation from Franklin Fountain’s PR: “Doors open at 11 a.m. Only flights and pints. Only a handful made. Only sold first-come, first-served. When they’re gone, they’re gone.” Which, as far as sales models go, is refreshingly neat and to the point.

But it does deserve an extra mention that no, you can’t just roll up and ask for a scoop of brie ice cream to go. If you’re down for the Moliterno, you’re down for the whole experience. And if you’re curious about how that elderberry goat cheese ice cream might taste, you gotta take the plunge and commit to the whole pint. No half-measures here.

What’s more, the whole charcuterie ice cream thing? That’s just the start of what Zehmer and Feldman have planned. They have an entire summer rollout in the works, with monthly themes and timed drops. Following this week’s charcuterie board launch (and the goat cheese pints on the 17th); there’s a tea flight scheduled to launch on May 2nd with hydrangea, London Fog, chai, and honeysuckle flavored ice creams; and an Iranian bastani pint with saffron, rose, and pistachio on May 9th. Plus, on May 23rd, the team will be rolling out those Caprese salad-inspired pints, using house-made mozzarella as the ice cream base, a sweetened basil sauce, and tomatoes roasted in sugar.

In June, they’ll be doing a flight of baked goods ice creams (pomegranate scones, blueberry cobbler, banana bread, lemon bar), alongside ice cream pints of peach scone (June 6th), “Box O’ Chocolates” (June  20th), “Smokey Cherry Wood” (July 3rd), and black sesame amaretto (July 18th).

Then they’ll round things out with an August flight of herb-inspired ice creams (thyme, rosemary, sage, and basil) on the 8th, a plum pint on the same day, then prickly pear passionfruit on the 22nd.

A couple important things to keep in mind. First, these flights and pints are being produced in extremely limited quantities. We’re talking enough ice cream for 15 charcuterie board flights and 32 caramelized garlic toffee pints for the debut this Friday, all of them first-come, first-served. Second, the launch of the experimental ice cream program also coincides with the official start of seasonal hours at Franklin Fountain, so they’ll be open every day at 11 a.m. for the next few months. And once the Franklin Ice Cream Bar fully opens for the season on Market Street, pints and flights will be available there as well. Keep an eye on the Franklin Fountain Instagram page for updates.