The Hot Chocolate Festival is on right now with 21 participants offering 61 different hot chocolate flavours. The festival is worthy cause to help fundraise for the Downtown Eastside Women’s Job Training Program. Returning this year as a participant is Earnest Ice Cream with two locations in Vancouver. I visited their Fraser location to try their two hot chocolate flavours.
Fraser Location
While I had been to their Quebec location before, it was my first time visiting their Fraser shop. The interior seemed somewhat rustic-inspired, cozy and comfortable. There are a few two person dining tables, a counter and a bench just outside.
What I Tried
The two hot chocolates offered by Earnest Ice Cream as part of the festival are priced at $8.00 each. The first is the vegan “Spiced Hot Chocolate” featuring Earnest’s chai tea ice cream drenched in dark hot chocolate for an affogato-style drink. It is served with a slice of chocolate cake topped with chai icing sugar dust.
I thought the “Spiced Hot Chocolate” was the better of the two. I quite like chai flavour myself and enjoyed Earnest’s chai ice cream which had some nice coconut and cashew flavours. The chocolate cake was fluffy and not overly decadent. I would rate this hot chocolate as 4/5.
The second hot chocolate offered is the “Spiked Hot Chocolate.” It’s a drinking chocolate inspired by Earnest’s “Milk Chocolate” topped with Amaretto-flavoured whipped cream. On the side is a scoop of Amaretto ice cream and house-made almond brittle. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the hot chocolate as much. I thought it was too rich in general. The Amaretto ice cream was okay and had some sweet, almond flavours. The house-made almond brittle was added some fun texture to the ice cream. I would rate the hot chocolate as 3/5.
Overall Impression of Earnest Ice Cream Hot Chocolates
I quite enjoyed the vegan chai-flavoured “Spiced Hot Chocolate” and would have it again. I would pass on the “Spiked Hot Chocolate.” Rating: 3.5/5
Website: http://hotchocolatefest.com/portfolios/earnesticecream/