Whether your thing is ice cream, popsicles, bubble tea or gelato, you can find your dessert heaven right here in Orlando. For those next-level ice cream lovers and people who want to try new things, here are a few frozen treats you may not have tied yet, but absolutely should.
Honeydew Snow at Bubbles & Ice
811 N. Mills Ave., 407-895-8833
Shaved snow is made from flavored, milky (though non-dairy) ice: frozen into giant blocks, heaved onto a rotating spit and shaved into gossamer-thin layers. The flavor and topping possibilities are almost endless, but honeydew snow topped with multicolored sprinkles and fruity popping pearls is especially refreshing. – JBY
Photo via Robert Bartlett/Orlando WeeklyBullshit Blend at Valkyrie
12226 Corporate Blvd. Ste. 160, 407-999-9799
The Bullshit Blend is the perfect treat for a hot day. The blend will always have vegan soft serve mixed with coffee or a flavored sparkling drink topped with whipped cream, a tiny doughnut, and a cone, but the dessert is a different creation every time. Make sure to check out Valkyrie’s Instagram account to see what the Bullshit Blend flavor of the day is.
Photo via valkyriedoughnuts/InstagramChocolate Lava Milkshake at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar
933 N. Orlando Ave., Winter Park, 407-699-9463
A steakhouse may not seem an ideal summer hangout, but you might make an exception for Fleming’s boozy Chocolate Lava milkshake, spun from vanilla ice cream, chocolate lava cake and Bulleit rye whiskey. Find it on their bar menu and make happy hour even happier. – JBY
Photo via Fleming’s Steakhouse/FacebookChocolate Sea Salt at Yum Yum Pops
Multiple locations, 407-900-8272
Completely dairy-free, made with local and organic ingredients wherever possible, Yum-Yum may be the closest thing to guilt-free summer snacking. Sunshine Daydream is a credible Dreamsicle analogue, strawberry-lemonade is an uncomplicated hot-weather refresher, but chocolate sea salt, made creamy with pureed bananas, is cocoa transcendence. – JBY
Photo via Pouya A./YelpAvocado Drink at Loving Hut
2101 E. Colonial Drive, 407-894-5673
Don’t be put off by the bare-bones name. This is a lush, creamy blend of soy milk, fresh avocado and unrefined sugar, whipped up in the Vitamix into a thirst-quenching pale-green slurp that actually tastes like avocado, not generic vanilla smoothie. – JBY
Photo via sommantics/InstagramIce Kakang at Mamak Asian Street Food
1231 E. Colonial Drive, 407-270-4688
Get exotic with a bowl of Malaysian ice kacang – a mound of shaved ice and sweet condensed milk topped with sticky-sweet-starchy red beans, creamy corn, cubes of translucent grass jelly and juicy palm nuts, drizzled with simple syrup and sprinkled with roasted peanuts. – JBY
Photo via Ron E./YelpScoop Froggy Frog at Jeremiah’s Italian Ice
Multiple locations, 407-622-1868
Sixteen years of experience make Jeremiah’s a trusted purveyor of summertime sweets in Central Florida. Owner Jeremiah Litwack and staff throw a blend of fresh fruit, fruit puree, filtered water and sugar into soft-serve machines every day, pumping out the Platonic ideal of soft, refreshing Italian ice: not too sweet, not too crystalline. Try Scoop Froggy Frog, Jeremiah’s signature mint-chocolate-chip flavor. – JBY
Photo via melnycgal/InstagramCoco-Cocoa at Pop Parlour
Multiple locations, 321-348-7677
The temple of popsicles has a plethora of flavors from which to choose, different every day based on what’s in season. It’s almost too hard to choose just one, but our current obsession (beating out summery vanilla-sweet corn), is the coco-cocoa: coconut milk and deep dark chocolate combined in an all-growed-up pop that’s miles more sophisticated than the Fudgsicle of your childhood. – JBY
Photo via The Pop Parlour/InstagramStrawberry dipped in chocolate at Twistee Treat
Multiple locations, 321-445-9103
At Twistee Treat, you’ve got your traditional chocolate, vanilla, strawberry soft serve options. You can also go wild with their premium flavors, which include peanut butter, mocha, orange, and butter pecan, among others. Whatever your choice, make sure to get your ice cream dipped in that crunchy chocolate shell. Sprinkle-covered waffle cones are an option, too.
Photo via ningw.k/InstagramTigers’ Blood Snow-cone at Rainbow Sno-Cones Shaved Ice
3724 Howell Branch Rd, Winter Park, 407-896-9105
Rainbow has served up their specialty, New Orleans-style snowballs, to generations of Orlando families, and it turns out the saying is true: Practice does make perfect. Instead of the crunchy ice pellets of a snow cone from the fairgrounds, Rainbow’s ice has the texture of actual snow, and the syrup flavors are killer: Tigers’ Blood (strawberry and coconut) is a personal fave. – JBY
Photo via nakanari/ InstagramGelato at Rome’s Flavours
124 E. Morse Blvd., Winter Park, 407-951-8039
The owners, an Italian couple who ran a gelateria in Rome before relocating to Winter Park, make their own gelatos in house daily. The pistachio flavor is just right for summer appetites – dense, pale creamy green, intensely nutty and not too sweet. – JBY
Photo via romesflavourswinterpark/InstagramNutella S’mores Sundae at the Soda Fountain
2525 Edgewater Drive, 407-540-1006
The Soda Fountain has all your sundae, milkshake and float needs covered. We recommend the Nutella S’mores Sundae, complete with crushed graham crackers and drizzled with caramel.
Photo via thesodafountaincp/InstagramIgloo at King Bao
710 N. Mills Ave., 407-237-0013
Enjoy the Creamy vanilla ice cream that fills the interior of a sticky rice-flour bao bun that’s then deep-fried to perfection before being drizzled with caramel and dusted with crushed honey-roasted peanuts with the igloo. – Justin Braun
Photo via Jessica Bryce Young/Orlando WeeklySesame Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream on Matcha Macarons at Midnight Sun Ice Cream Sandwich Food Truck
Multiple locations
Authentic and made with local ingredients, these ice cream sandwiches can come on cookies or macarons. Perusing Midnight Sun’s Instagram will create some serious cravings, which can be fixed up with the Sesame Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream on Matcha Macarons. You can find them every Tuesday at the Tasty Takeover in the Milk District.
Photo via midnightsunic/InstagramFrozen Mojo Jojo at Drunken Monkey Coffee Bar
444 N. Bumby Ave., 407-893-4994
The ever-popular Mojo Jojo, a concoction of dark-roast coffee, condensed milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and a dash of cayenne, can be whirled with ice in the blender – get some brain-freeze with your caffeine fix. – JBY
Photo via marisaahughes/InstagramCraft cocktail snow cone at Frosty’s Christmastime Lounge
50 E. Central Blvd., 407-969-0911
Why not indulge in the best of your childhood summers, and your favorite adult beverage? It’s Christmas all year round at Frosty’s where you can find some delicious craft cocktail snow cones to cool you down.
Pictured: Basil and Cucumber infused vodka with watermelon juice via Frosty’s Christmastime Lounge/FacebookCookie Monster Ice Cream at Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream
3114 Corrine Drive, 321-226-8685
This homemade ice cream comes in plentiful servings, with occasional varieties containing alcohol. While the alcoholic ice creams are surely delicious, a classic crowd favorite is the Cookie Monster, aka blue velvet ice cream with crushed Oreos.
Photo via briannie_/InstagramAffogato at Trevi Pasta
2120 Edgewater Drive, 407-985-2577
Save room for dessert at this Italian restaurant in College Park because there’s 16 gelato flavors to choose from. Treat yourself to some Affogato, which is two scoops of gelato with LavAzza espresso drizzled over the top.
Photo via dafoodie/InstagramSex Appeal at Better Than Sex Dessert Restaurant
1905 N. Orange Ave., 407-761-8949
Arouse your sense of chill with a suggestive sparkling spritz of Italian moscato wine in a flute dripping with white chocolate around the rim and touched with a tickle of pink sugar by trying Sex Appeal. – Justin Braun
Photo via janellelopeslucas/InstagramSesame Milk Slush Boba at Quickly Boba & Snow
3214 E. Colonial Drive, 407-270-4570
You’ve probably had Asian milk tea with boba before, but those familiar flavors – taro, green tea, cantaloupe – are even chillier when blended up into a slush. Quickly has dozens, but we’re partial to the nutty- vanilla sesame, particularly when revved up with the addition of coffee jelly cubes (level up from your boring boba.) Boy Kong’s fantastic mural is also cooler than cool. – JBY
Photo via Joy J./Instagram