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Popular Frozen Custard Flavors & Toppings

January 23, 2025

From steakburgers to frozen custards, the flavors of any dish derive from the quality of its ingredients as well as its preparation. Additionally, since diners’ palates and preferences may vary, customizing frozen custard flavors, as guests can do with Freddy’s create-your-own custard treat, or those of any other dish are essential for its ultimate enjoyment. To make the most of your next frozen custard experience at your local Freddy’s or at home, learn more about frozen custard flavors below!

 

Where do frozen custard flavors come from?

 

variety of fruity frozen custards

 

The short answer is that frozen custard flavors can come from multiple sources and methods of incorporation. At Freddy’s, we believe that our process of freshly churning our custard and our extensive selection of flavor additions contribute to the delicious flavor customizations of our frozen custard desserts and beverages. Happily, the versatility of the frozen custard base lends itself to a variety of flavors and applications. In addition to its preparation method, a wide range of mouth-watering frozen custard flavors primarily derive from its base ingredients, flavoring additions and toppings and serving format. For each of these three components as discussed below, choosing high-quality ingredients also impacts the overall flavor.

 

Base Ingredients: Egg yolks, cream and whole milk, along with granulated sugar with a pinch of salt and dash of vanilla often serve as the foundation for frozen custard recipes. Varying these ingredients can be done and still achieve a custard or custard-like dessert, but may result in a different flavor and overall texture. Although the flavor of each individual ingredient may seem fairly subtle with vanilla potentially being the most prominent (if added), together they balance each other to achieve a subtly sweet and creamy platform to stand alone or combine beautifully with other flavoring additions.

 

Flavoring Ingredients: To augment the depth of flavor in the custard base, many flavorful ingredients can be added. Importantly, these inclusions may necessitate variations in the base recipe or create additional necessary process steps, like making the caramel that is going to be used in the recipe or toasting the coconut for it. To create frozen custard flavors, purees and infusions may be used, as with fruit or teas, while ingredients like sauces, a chopped candy bar or crumbled cookies may be incorporated at later stages of the frozen custard process. At Freddy’s, our guests may try out more than 1 million different combinations of frozen custard treats or simply enjoy their preferred frozen custard flavors using our available flavoring ingredients.

 

Toppings: From the classic cherry and whipped cream on a sundae to more contemporary chocolate shells or cone selections, frozen custard flavors are often heightened or visually perfected by the choice of toppings. For example, a chocolate lover may rejoice to have her chocolate frozen custard with brownie bites further complemented by decadent hot fudge and chocolate sprinkles. Experimenting with different serving formats creates more combinations packed with flavor. For example, using the previous chocolate example, placing all of that frozen custard yumminess on top of a brownie or inside of a chocolate cookie tart shell achieves even more layers of chocolate flavor.

 

5 Popular Frozen Custard Flavor Profiles

 

Admittedly, frozen custard flavors often fall into more than one flavor category. For example, strawberry is a classic flavor, but it could also clearly fit into the grouping of fruit custard flavors. Here, frozen custard flavors have been organized according to the taste that tends to be more dominant in a particular flavor, aside from the classics, wherein the flavors are seemingly equal in their own respective and combined glory. Here, we celebrate why these flavors work, as well as some of our favorite dishes from the Freddy’s menu that align with each profile.

 

Classic

By definition, a classic is defined by its quality, longevity and recognition. Senses of familiarity and comfort may also be associated with classics, especially when it comes to food. The same is true of frozen custard flavors. From the vanilla that may have been one of the first flavor infusions in the frozen custard recipe to other flavors like chocolate without which a frozen custard menu would be incomplete, these flavors have stood the test of time and remain beloved by eager custard eaters across the globe. Other popular classics include s’mores, chocolate peanut butter and cookies and cream.

 

classic frozen custard

 

At Freddy’s, our favorite two frozen custard flavors are chocolate and vanilla, and we’ve worked hard over the years to perfect the balanced and nuanced flavor of our frozen custards. On multiple lists of favorite flavors of all time, these two repeatedly show up at the very top. Therefore, consider enjoying these supreme flavors in their mouth-watering simplicity when you order a dish of each frozen custard or a cup with one scoop of chocolate and one with vanilla! To further amp the nostalgia of your classic custard experience, Taste of Home has assembled a list of the popular flavors of frozen creamy treats by decade!

 

Fruity

Fruit works well as a popular frozen custard flavor, mix-in and topping. Depending on the fruit, both flavor and texture of its incorporation can offer delectable contrasting and complementary notes to create compelling custard experiences. Raspberries, for example, may be perfect for balancing the rich creaminess of frozen custard with a little bit of tartness. Similarly, incorporating lemon as a custard brings out this flavor’s sweeter and brighter side instead of celebrating its acidity. Peaches and other citrus fruit flavors are some of the other top choices for frozen custard flavors in this category. Want to try making a fruit swirl with the berries from your own yard and incorporating it into your next Freddy’s custard pint or homemade frozen custard? Serious Eats explains how to make a fresh fruit swirl and directions on how to incorporate it into your chosen frozen custard or ice cream flavor.

 

peanut butter banana custard sundae

 

At Freddy’s, enjoy a fruit-forward sundae, shake or concrete with fruit pieces like bananas and strawberries or fruity syrups and sauces, not to mention the addition of a Maraschino cherry (or several) on top! For example, in the PBC & B sundae or concrete, banana stars with two of its favorite accompaniments – peanut butter and chocolate in the form of Reese’s® Peanut Butter Cups. If you’d rather double up on the fruit flavors, you might create your own strawberry and banana shake!

 

Nutty

In frozen custard treats, nuts often provide a welcome textural element in addition to their unique flavor nuances, such as the slight sweetness of pistachios or the hint of bitterness in the walnut. Salted nuts may further help create that delightful balance of sweet and savory, while toasted pecans or cashews may echo the richness of the custard and bring in additional caramel notes. In fact, culinary experts such as the ones at TheKitchn highlight toasting as a key factor in truly experiencing all of a nut’s layers of flavor. When it comes to frozen custard flavors, some choices like butter pecan and pistachio celebrate the nuts themselves. Others showcase nuts with some of their perfect partners, like chocolate, caramel or even classic candies that include nuts.

 

signature turtle

 

The Signature Turtle on the Freddy’s menu can be enjoyed as a sundae or mixed together in a concrete. Toasted pecans are the nutty focal element here and highlighted by the creaminess of complementary caramel notes in both the vanilla and the actual hot caramel sauce. Hot fudge further rounds out the depth of flavor in this dish, while the optional whipped cream and cherry on top provide some brightening color contrast. Remember, at Freddy’s, guests can further customize items to their specifications, so if you want to skip the whipped cream and cherry and just let the pecans stand out, we are happy to accommodate!

 

Chocolate

In addition to being one of the classic frozen custard flavors, chocolate is also one of the dominant profiles of many custards, as well as the ingredients that are added into custards or paired with them. Chocolate frozen custard may be placed onto a chocolate cookie pie crust or served on top of a brownie. Chocolate chips or chunks, chocolate cake or cookies and chocolate candy like M&M’S® often complete frozen custard flavors. As such, some of the most cherished frozen custard flavors in this category include chocolate brownie, chocolate with fudge swirl, chocolate with peanut butter cups or ribbons and chocolate caramel, as well as variations on types of chocolate including milk and dark chocolate.

 

chocolate brownie delight frozen custard

 

In Freddy’s Chocolate Brownie Delight, guests can indulge in layers of chocolate flavor created by the inclusion of multiple chocolate components. To the foundation of fresh chocolate custard, chunks of chocolate brownie and hot fudge further enhance the chocolate experience. Additionally, these three different chocolate elements each offer their own texture, which further helps make this treat a delight, especially for chocolate lovers! Looking for another duo that highlights frozen chocolate custard flavor? Try our OREO® Custard Sandwich!

 

Seasonal

Seasonal flavors such as peppermint stick, pumpkin and eggnog round out the list of desirable frozen custard flavors. Often, custards mirror the drinks, desserts and even colors associated with various seasons, which only further enhances the spirit of the month or holiday. Additionally, ingredients that are most popular during specific months also take a leading role in these cold treats from the first ripe strawberry or apple to holiday sweets like gingerbread cookies or peppermint sticks.

 

seasonal peppermint frozen custard

 

While we think mint and chocolate cookies go well during any season, the OREO® Shake tastes and looks like the December holidays with its red and white crushed peppermint candy sprinkled on top and woven into its chocolate and vanilla custard base. With a little pile of whipped cream snow to complete the festive feel, it doesn’t matter if the weather outside is frightful, because this seasonal special is sure to fill you with cheer!

 

Tips for Enhancing Frozen Custard Flavors

 

Knowing the origins and popular categories of frozen custard flavors can help inspire you to design your own custom flavor or enhance your next frozen custard treat from Freddy’s. On the Freddy’s menu, find dozens of ingredients for mixing, topping, swirling and blending into our two classic frozen custard flavors – chocolate and vanilla. To help you carpe diem with your next custard creation at your home sundae bar or at Freddy’s, here are some tips to try!

 

create your own custard sundae

 

Intentionally repeat flavor components. As with using comparable or contrasting flavors, echoing the same flavors in different ways throughout a dish helps enhance flavor and is often one pathway to a cooking competition win involving a secret ingredient, if done well. Why does this method work? Repeating ingredients throughout the frozen custard or other dishes helps boost that flavor’s prominence and may illuminate different aspects of that flavor addition. For example, a citrus-focused frozen custard might incorporate juice, zest, candied peel, or even cookies or cake with similar flavor.

 

Mirror your favorites. Transforming frozen custard into the size of a Reese’s® Pieces may be an expert-level culinary task. However, replicating the flavors of your favorite candy or dessert or adding them to your own creation may be a little more doable for most people! At Freddy’s, guests can add in candy like Reese’s® or a dish can simply mirror these preferred flavors using one ingredient like chocolate chips or brownies in addition to a peanut butter swirl.

 

Embrace your food loves. Maybe the crushed chocolate cookies and gummy worms in our Dirt ‘n Worms dish are your preferred frozen custard combination and maybe not. However, what really enhances your enjoyment of frozen custard flavors is choosing ones that you enjoy, regardless of anyone’s raised eyebrow. If you want to combine strawberries and cheesecake bites, go for it! Honoring what you like is the most important thing in trying any frozen custard flavors and combinations, which is why Freddy’s provides a variety of customizable options!

 

With two of the most popular frozen custard flavors of all time, chocolate and vanilla, and a substantial list of flavoring ingredients, explore a variety of delicious custard flavors or just your favorite one at the Freddy’s near you. You can also take advantage of our catering services to host a create your own sundae bar event for your next gathering. Don’t forget to sign up for Freddy’s Rewards, so you can earn points on your next frozen custard flavors and redeem them for so many more!