The iconic swirl of a silky soft serve is a thing of beauty, especially on a sweaty London day. No one knows that better than Happy Endings founder, ice-cream aficionado Terri Mercieca. “There’s a nostalgia to it that people love: it’s so playful and reminds me of being a kid, plus it’s very fun to make. Initially it’s hard but once you understand the process, you can come up with so many fun ideas,” Mercieca tells Broadsheet.
“It’s been on the cusp of exploding into the food scene for a few years. Each season has a few newcomers who want to join the soft serve fun,” says Mercieca, who has found that Londoners now want a higher quality of soft serve. “No shade to Mr Whippy vans, but they’re full of air and not very good ingredients. To make a great soft serve, ingredients need to be super high quality and you have to have a good formula to get it to come together.”
Although soft serve is becoming a regular on menus across the city, Mercieca’s love affair with the cool treat goes way back. “I worked at McDonald’s as a teenager and I loved doing the soft serve. I was always cleaning those bloody machines and wondering how they work.” She spent years teaching herself how to make soft serve. “I was so curious. Even once I had a recipe that was working, I didn’t feel confident, so I went to ice-cream school at Penn State University to perfect the craft.”
But what makes a truly great soft serve? It’s all about the science. “It’s a liquid, solid and gas at the same time, which takes careful formulation,” she says. It requires the perfect balance of fat, solids and water that freezes at the correct temperature. “Too little solids and it’s just water and ice, too many solids can be too dry and sandy. Not enough fat and there won’t be enough body or too much will be greasy. I want mine to be thick and dense but at the same time a little lighter than ice-cream.”
Mercieca’s soft serve is 7 per cent fat and its ice-cream is 12 to 13 per cent fat. If the fat content is too high, because the soft serve is continuously churning, it will “butter out” – where the fat particles turn into butter, in a similar way to over-whipped cream.
As summer temperatures soar, it’s not just Mercieca who is going wild for soft serve. “Soft serve is playful and lighthearted but takes some serious science: no wonder everyone wants in, when you crack the code the world is your oyster. I’m loving seeing it in fine restaurants, hatches in parks and shacks at the back of bakeries, with everyone wanting to relive those childhood memories.”
Four of Mercieca’s favourite soft serves in London right now:
Soft & Swirly, London Fields
“East London darlings Sam [Lowry] and Farah [Kezouh] have a new permanent home at the back of E5 Bakehouse in London Fields. Their little shack is so cute, pink and perfect. The flavours change often and I tried the Pump Street 85 per cent Ecuador chocolate. I could have eaten another one immediately – it’s texturally delightful. It was super balanced and not too sweet, like a dreamy frozen chocolate custard. They also serve some amazing sundaes, seasonal flavours and scoops.”
Arch 395 Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3PH
@soft_n_swirly
Bake Street, Hackney
“Chloe-Rose [Crabtree] and Feroz [Gajia] have nailed it. Their menus and flavours are dictated by what they are craving and I massively respect that. The menu changes roughly once a month, so you can be excited by a new ice-cream adventure every time you go. On the weekend they also have an extended menu with delicious things like ice-cream-filled conchas (a Mexican sweet bread) or sundaes. I indulged in the mango yoghurt twist. The kesar mango is seasonal, and comes from a family farm in Gujarat, India, and then is lovingly turned into this dreamboat of an ice-cream. Mixed with the yoghurt, it’s giving full lassi realness.”
58 Evering Road, Lower Clapton, London N16 7SR
@bakestreetldn
Below Stone Nest, Chinatown
“I headed down to self-confessed ice-cream lover [chef] Jackson Boxer’s basement bar behind a green door near Chinatown and had its White Russian soft serve with Kahlua caramel and spiced biscuit crumbs. The level of detail in the making hits me right in the ice-cream-maker’s heart. The team excitedly explained the process: it takes two days to prepare the mix and they roast coffee with hot infusions and cold infusions. This was honestly so perfect, I couldn’t fault it, and I love their passion.”
136 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 5EZ
belowsoho.london
Le Choux, Ladbroke Grove
“Abbie [Scheuer] knows her way around a choux bun and her cute AF shop in West London is a testament to this. She has devised the perfect way to have both choux and soft serve at the same time: her crunchy-topped triplets of choux buns are filled with a load of fior de latte soft serve and topped with a dark milk chocolate sauce. It hits all the right buttons. Go soon, as this is only on the menu in summer.”
332 Ladbroke Grove, London W10 5AD
lechoux.com
Broadsheet's top four Happy Endings soft serves in London
Bao, various locations
Mercieca is collaborating with the beloved Taiwanese indie chain to produce two new soft serve flavours: milk tea and salted duck egg frozen custard. Find them across Baos soon.
baolondon.com
Bebe Bob, Soho
This spin off of Bob Bob Ricard sure knows indulgence. With staples like roasted chicken, champagne and caviar, it’s no surprise it is now serving sour cream soft serve with olive oil, and a bump of caviar on top.
bebebob.com
Rosslyn Coffee, various locations
This is a five-year collaboration with the City of London’s best coffee shops: 24-hour cold-infused coffee soft serve using Estate Dairy milk and heavily dusted with chocolate. The vegan version is also imminent.
rosslyncoffee.com
The Hatch – Pavilion Bakery, Victoria Park
Just for the summer, Pavilion Bakery has opened an ice-cream hatch serving Happy Endings soft serve. The menu is simple and classic – vanilla in a cone or cup with colourful sprinkles alongside tubs and ice-cream sandwiches served up by the Pavilion cafe team.
pavilionbread.com
Terri Mercieca is the founder of Happy Endings