Abbey Claro opened the first Abbey’s Creations ice cream shop in Montgomery in 2020, and has since grown to seven locations across Calgary and one in Cochrane. The shop is known for its ever-changing selections inspired by classic Asian flavours — think ube queso, calamansi or mango sticky rice — alongside North American-inspired flavours like bourbon butter pecan. Abbey’s Creations also offers a wide selection of ice cream cakes, like the Strawberry Cheesecake Crunch Ice Cream Cake, which embodies the flavours of summer. Here’s a look at how it’s made.
The Base
One thing that sets these cakes apart from your run-of-the-mill ice cream cake are the bases. This particular cake has a freshly baked cheesecake base. “We wanted to take the cakes to the next level,” says Claro. “We’re using [homemade] brownies, sponge cake or cheesecake.”
The Crunch
The crunchy outer coating is a shortbread-like cookie baked with strawberry-flavoured powder that is crushed and mixed to show off the buttery-yellow and pink colours. Dairy-free whipped topping helps the crunchy cookie crumbs stick to the cake.
The Ice Cream
The cake incorporates two ice cream flavours that are made from scratch at Abbey’s central McCall Way N.E. location. The core is cheesecake ice cream mixed with a hefty amount of the strawberry crunch topping, which is then surrounded by strawberry ice cream made with fresh fruit.
The Finishing Touches
Dollops of the whipped topping and fresh strawberries complete this tasty treat. “It’s a really simple recipe, but we make everything from scratch, so we control the quality the whole way through,” says Claro.
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