Krispy Kreme Donuts

Update Review, June 2026

I've never lived somewhere with a Krispy Kreme.  I grew up in the land of Dunks.  I have no fond memories of Krispy Kreme.  I've tried their donuts a few times, when co-workers have brought them to the office (so obviously missing out on the hot and fresh experience), and I've tried a few times when traveling, but ... I can't say I've ever really liked them.  Overly fried taste, not very fresh taste, generic mass produced donuts ...

But it was National Donut Day, and I was temporarily living right next to Krispy Kreme, so of course I had to go get my free donut.

Original Glazed Raspberry Filled.

"A deliciously balanced sweet and tangy Original Glazed® Raspberry Filled Doughnut which is a sure favorite among jelly doughnut lovers everywhere!"

I got this very fresh, early in the morning.  I went as classic as possible, opting for one of my favorite styles of donut: the jelly donut.  I did this partially because, well, I like jelly donuts, but also because I remembered not caring for their kreme fillings.  But I failed to remember that I also don't like their glaze.  Doh.

So the base donut, very meh for me - yes, it was lofty, but it just tasted highly processed and generic, a bit too fried, and not very fresh.  And the glaze, just not very good either ... it wasn't that it was too sweet exactly, but, eh?  I dunno, the base donut just didn't seem any better than a grocery store donut.  

The filling though I did like.  That said, it was not wholesome, it was not artisanal, it didn't seem like it was made with real fruit, etc.  So all the things I said about the base donut basically apply.  The filling too was mass produced, not fresh, etc but ... I liked it?  Yes it was soo, yes it was just goo, yes the first ingredients were high fructose corn syrup and sugar, yes it had all sorts of chemicals, gums, etc, but I dunno, I liked it.  It went well with the donut, and it went really well drizzled over ice cream.   It was generously stuffed.

Would I get this again?  No, probably not.  But did I enjoy the inside?  Yes.  3.5/5 filling, 2/5 donut, 2.5/5 overall.

Update Review, October 2024

For Halloween, a co-worker brought in a bunch of Krispy Kreme.  I've never really cared for Krispy Kreme in the past, but I haven't had it that many times, so decided to give it another try.

Halloween Donuts: Slimer ($3.49), Ecto-Sprinkled ($3.19),
Ghostbusters Cookies N' Creme ($3.49), 
Stay Puft Marshmallow Man ($3.99).

For Halloween, we had a bunch of special edition Ghostbusters donuts.  I of course went for the most ridiculous of them all: the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

"Original Glazed® doughnut with powdered topping, topped with marshmallow flavored buttercreme and a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man candy."

Um, wow.  This was an incredibly sweet donut.  Which I expected of course, but, wow.  Sugar on sugar on sugar on sugar.  

Yes, this was a glazed donut, with powdered sugar on top of that, stuffed with marshmallow cream, AND frosted.  As I said, sugar on sugar on sugar on sugar.

As always, I disliked the actual donut.  Krispy Kreme just truly doesn't do it for me.  They taste too processed, not fresh enough, meh.  The marshmallow buttercreme was true to the marshmallow taste, crazy sweet, fluffy, and enjoyable ... but in much smaller quantities.  I scraped some off and spread on strawberries and liked it quite a bit that way.  So tasty, but cloying sweet marshmallow components, awful donut, **. 

Update Reviews, May 2019, November 2019

More attempts at Krispy Kreme, even trying the fancier donuts, but ... meh.

Donut Wall.

Sometimes life brings you donut walls.  This is always exciting, but, I'll admit I was let down when I discovered the donuts were from Krispy Kreme.

Still, I dug in to several.

Cake Donuts

I don't think Krispy Kreme is particularly known for the cake donuts, but they do offer a few classic varieties (plain cake, powdered, cinnamon sugar), and a few more interesting ones (glazed blueberry cake, sour cream glazed, and glazed chocolate), several of which are also available as donut holes.

This was my first Krispy Kreme cake donut.

Glazed Chocolate Cake.  May 2019

"If you love chocolate cake then you love this doughnut. It is rich, moist and full of chocolate flavor. We then top it off with our signature glaze."

This was my first Krispy Kreme cake donut.  I applaud the generous glaze.  Standard sweet Krispy Kreme glaze.

But the donut base itself is fairly ... eh.  It was not rich and moist as described.  Just kinda dry, chocolate-y but not rich.  A bit greasy.  No crispy exterior.

Very generic, very uninteresting, besides the glaze.

Raised Filled Donuts

And also my first filled Krispy Kreme donuts.

Santa Belly. Nov 2019.

"A jolly Santa belly doughnut filled with Chocolate Kreme™, dipped in red icing with sparkling sugar and a hand-decorated belt."

Part of the 2019 seasonal offerings, the "Santa Belly".  I'll admit, I was impressed with how decently it was decorated, for a mass market item.

However, I found it looked better than it tasted.  The decorations were good - the red icing was crazy sweet, particularly with the sparkling sugar, and the belt pieces were hard candy that were just sugar, but, tasty.

But the rest of it?  Meh, it is still a Krispy Kreme donut.

Santa Belly: Inside.

The chocolate filling was not quite as generous as I was hoping, but, once I tasted it, I was glad.  I didn't really like it.  It is their signature Chocolate Kreme™ and it was somehow not very chocolatey, nor very creamy.  Just ... more sweet.  It made me sad, as I was hoping for a rich chocolate pudding, or a light fluffy cream.

And the donut base?  Meh, just a not very interesting, kinda dry, Krispy Kreme.

I gave away the other half.

New York Cheesecake. Nov 2019.

"Our version of this popular dessert is filled with rich, creamy cheesecake filling, topped with cream cheese icing and sprinkled with crunchy graham."

I didn't know what kind this was when I plucked it from the donut wall, but it looked filled, and topped with interesting things, so, I grabbed it.  It turned out to be "cheesecake".

The toppings were ok, although the icing didn't seem to really be cream cheese flavored, I mostly just found it sweet.  It was fine, but not any different from a vanilla glaze to me.  The graham I actually thought was cake bits or crumble, not "crunchy" as advertised, but also not bad.

Toppings were ... ok.

But again, the rest?  MEH.

New York Cheesecake: Inside.

We again have a lackluster Krispy Kreme donut base, mediocre amount of filling.

And the filling ... I HATED.  It was richer and creamy I suppose, but it tasted like lemon and sugar more than cheesecake.  I know cheesecake can often have a lemon hint, but this was far too citrus-forward, and fake tasting, for me.

I definitely did not like this one.

Update Review, September 2015

As I mentioned in my original review of Krispy Kreme , I didn't grow up with Krispy Kreme.  The few times I had Krispy Kreme as an adult, I wasn't been impressed.  I certainly don't seek it out.

But ... it was National Coffee Day, and Krispy Kreme was giving out free coffee AND donuts (take that Dunkin' Donuts! They *only* gave out coffee!).  Normally, I'd skip this, even though I just can't resist a freebie, because, well, there isn't one convenient to my house.

But, as luck would have it, when National Coffee Day rolled around, I was actually out of town, down in Santa Monica, and happened to be staying a few blocks from a Krispy Kreme (I swear I didn't plan this).  So, I obviously had to check it out.  Plus, I hadn't ever actually experienced a hot fresh Krispy Kreme, and I was hoping I'd luck out.

Original Glazed Donut. $1.

Sadly, the donuts were not hot and fresh.  I'm assuming this was still a bit fresher than when I've tried them in the past, not directly purchased at a Krispy Kreme.  But certainly no warm magic here.

The donut was ... fine.  It was fluffy and airy.  It wasn't stale tasting, it wasn't oily.  But it wasn't particularly interesting.  It was perfectly glazed, in a nice, sweet glaze.  I give them points for the perfect glazing.

Overall though, certainly nothing special, and not something I'd go back for.

(The coffee served was from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, it was fine, not particularly interesting either).

I didn't actually finish the entire thing in my first sitting, as I went right after breakfast at my hotel.  I had a chunk left.  For some reason I didn't throw it out.  I'm really not sure why, as it wasn't like I was in love with it.

I discovered it 12 hours later, post-dinner.  And ... for some reason, I felt compelled to eat it.   Yes, many many hour old, likely stale, totally forgot mediocre donut.  And ... I actually liked it more this way.  The glaze had gotten hard, and it was a bit crispy.  I ... liked that.  And the donut itself had gotten drier, which I also liked more.  It still wasn't amazing, but I was pretty weirded out by the fact that I actually preferred a 12 hour old donut ...

Original Review, November 2013

Mmm, donuts.  I love a good donut!  Yet somehow, I'd never had a Krispy Kreme before.  They didn't have them where I grew up, and somehow, once reaching adulthood, I never sought them out.  It isn't that I don't eat donuts, but I tend to go for the fancy pants versions these days.

Anyway, I recently attended an event that had boxes and boxes of Krispy Kreme lined up!  I was excited to try them out, since I obviously knew about Krispy Kreme.  But I also knew that part of the experience is getting the hot fresh ones at the store.  I wasn't going to have that experience, but I was at least going to have some donuts!

Sadly, I didn't really care for any of them.

Original Glazed.

I started with the basic donut they are most known for.  The original glazed.

It looks like a very good donut.  The glazing is very uniform and covers the entire donut.  It is soft.  But ... honestly, just not a very interesting donut.  I'm told that the real magic is when you get one hot and fresh at Krispy Kreme, which I've never actually done.  So maybe I'm just missing the real thing.

Maple Glazed Iced.

When I opened the box of donuts, there was one aroma that was overwhelming: maple.  I'm from the land of maple syrup, so I was really excited by this one.

It was shocked to discover that it was also glazed.  Turns out, they take the original glazed donut and THEN add additional maple icing.  Wowzer.  Sweet overload.

Again, very well formed donut, perfectly iced.  And it tasted like maple, sorta.  But ... again, just not that remarkable.  I wouldn't get another.

Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles (Halloween Version)

The seasonal variety was a chocolate iced donut topped with sprinkles, featuring orange and blank sprinkles for Halloween.

Again, an original glazed donut is the base.  Then topped with chocolate icing.  And then covered in sprinkles.  Yes, ZOMG, sugar.

This was hands down my favorite.  The donut was obviously the same and kinda meh, but I liked the chocolate flavor of the frosting, and the sprinkles added a nice crunch.

If I were to get another Krispy Kreme, I'd probably go for this one.

Glazed Cruller.

I enjoy crullers, but this wasn't really one.  It seemed to just be a regular donut, shaped like a cruller.  That is, it didn't have a lighter, eggy dough that actually makes a cruller a cruller.

I really did not like this.  It just tasted like bad oil.  Way too fried.  I think the extra surface area of the ridges trapped even more oil than normal.

Didn't even want a second bite of this!

Glazed Sour Cream.

And, for one a bit different, the glazed sour cream.  I didn't really taste sour cream specifically, but it did have a bit of a tang to it.  A little more crunchy, a bit more rustic in appearance.  Absolutely loaded up with glaze.

This reminded me more of the donuts I ate growing up.  I liked it for that reason, but overall, nothing remarkable.  My second favorite though. 

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Yoplait and Oui by Yoplait

Update Review, 2026

Whips

"Discover the reduced fat yogurt mousse snack that’s high in light and fluffy deliciousness with at least 1/3 less fat than our regular yogurt mousse. "

When I've liked Yoplait in the past, it has always been the Whips.  They are sometimes really hard to find.  

Key Lime Whips.

"Yoplait Whips! Key Lime Pie Flavored Reduced Fat Yogurt Mousse is a creamy key lime pie flavored with other natural flavor yogurt mousse with an incredibly light and airy texture. The balance of refreshing key lime pie taste and reduced fat recipe helps you satisfy sweet cravings without all of the guilt."

This really is decent.  Light and fluffy.  Sweet but not cloying.  Slight tanginess from the key lime flavor.  No artificial or bad aftertaste.  Add some fresh fruit and something crunchy, and it works as a nice healthy quasi-treat. 4/5.

Chocolate.

"Yoplait Whips! Chocolate Flavored Yogurt Mousse is so light and airy, your taste buds will be on cloud nine. This creamy, delicious naturally and artificially flavored chocolate yogurt mousse has a superbly light and fluffy texture with a smooth finish. The indulgent chocolatey taste is a great way to satisfy sweet cravings."

I really do like this.  It is light, fluffy, and basically a slightly tangy chocolate mousse.  If I add fruit + nibs/choc chips/nuts + whip I really don't mind it as a dessert, but its good for breakfast too when I'm in the sweet mood.  4/5.

Oui

Within the Oui range, there are 3 styles: fruit on the bottom, blended, and creamy.  I've never seen the creamy ones before, but they have some fascinating flavors like creamy mocha & chocolate or creamy raspberry & chocolate.  I'm not quite sure what is different about these compared to the blended line?

As I have mentioned in previous reviews (below), I've tried Oui by Yoplait yogurts before, and found them fine, but not something I'd seek out or purchase myself.  But I was recently staying at a hotel that had them at breakfast, and so, captive audience I was, I tried more flavors.

Oui Strawberry
(Fruit on the Bottom).

"Enjoy the moment with every spoonful of Oui by Yoplait French Style Strawberry Whole Milk Yogurt. Pleasure is at the heart of this French style yogurt. It begins with simple ingredients like whole milk and real strawberries, poured into individual glass pots and left to set for eight hours."

First up, strawberry, part of the fruit on the bottom lineup.

I really do like the experience of eating these yogurts from the glass jars.  It does feel more premium than plastic.  Plus, then I get a great little jar to repurpose!  The yogurt itself is about what I remembered: thick, rich, creamy, somewhere in-between tart and sweet, perhaps actually plain?  I like it, but I like other brands more, but this is better than most American yogurt, and I appreciate how thick it is, and how it isn't overly sweetened.  3.5/5 yogurt.

Vanilla.
(Blended)

"There's delight in every spoonful of Oui by Yoplait French Style Vanilla Whole Milk Yogurt. Pleasure is at the heart of this French style yogurt. It begins with simple ingredients like whole milk, live cultures and real vanilla extract, poured into individual glass pots and left to set for eight hours. "

I also tried the vanilla flavor, which is a blended flavor.  This one I didn't care for.  It was sweet, and vanilla flavored, in a kinda artificial way.  Just not the style of yogurt I enjoy.  I like tartness. 2/5.

Update review: I tried it again.  Yeah, nice creaminess, but this is a sweet vaguely vanilla yogurt, and that is not my thing at all.  Do not like.

Dairy Free Vanilla
(Blended).

"Meet the Oui that's dairy free with Oui by Yoplait Vanilla Dairy Free Yogurt Alternative. Just like traditional French yogurt, this recipe begins with simple ingredients like real vanilla extract and cane sugar, poured into individual glass pots. Instead of milk, Oui dairy free yogurt alternative is made from coconut for creaminess."

Yoplait also makes the Oui line available dairy free, with 4 flavors: vanilla, raspberry, strawberry, and mango.  All use a coconut milk base.  I tried the vanilla.

It was very coconut forward.  If you are in the mood for coconut, this delivers.  If you wanted just vanilla though, this is not it.  I found the taste slightly plastic-y, and really a bit of an unpleasant mouth feel that really coated my mouth (which is how I kinda often feel with coconut milk based products).  I suspect the mango flavor would be the best, as it would be like mango sticky rice sorta with the coconut cream sauce ... 

Anyway, this wasn't for me, but I think it was a fine very coconut yogurt. 2/5.

Update Review, 2022

I've tried Oui by Yoplait yogurts before, and found them ok, but not worth really getting again (as you saw in my original review).  I recently had the "opportunity" to try the brand again when I ordered a different yogurt on Door Dash, but, my Dasher decided to sub in Yoplait instead.  I use things like as a a impetus to try new things, and try not to be too annoyed ...

Pumpkin Caramel.

"Inspired by our traditional French recipe, Oui by Yoplait pumpkin caramel yogurt creates a moment of pure enjoyment in every spoonful."

Although this isn't what I ordered, I was actually fairly interested in what my Dasher has randomly picked for me.  Pumpkin and caramel?  I like those things!  Although I had to lol slightly as the "fruit on the bottom" labelling, as, well, caramel and pumpkin ... not fruits.

The yogurt itself was about as I remembered - nicely thick, slightly tart, not too thick.  Fairly decent full fat yogurt, for US based yogurt.

The "fruit on the bottom" however is where this got interesting.  I reached my spoon in to get a bit of it, and, WOW, that was sweet.  Yup, there was caramel in the base of my yogurt.  No denying that.  I didn't really taste any pumpkin, so no pumpkin pie vibes here, but, yes, caramel for sure.  I like caramel, I liked this caramel, but, my brain wasn't quite sure what to do with it in my breakfast yogurt.  I like sweets in the morning, but this was just ... not doing it for me.  I put it back in the fridge, and decided I'd try it later for a mid-afternoon snack perhaps.  In the "worst case", I could also just use the plain yogurt, and the caramel, separately.

I later enjoyed it with some fresh figs and granola.  I often do yogurt + figs + granola + honey, and in this case, the caramel just took the place of the honey I usually drizzle over, and made it a bit more decadent.  It was a lovely combination, and I'd do it again if I wound up with another of these randomly in my grocery order.

***+.

Original Review, 2021

If you have ever browsed the yogurt aisle at a grocery store in the US, you know that there is, um, *plenty* of selection.   The amount of real estate devoted to yogurt in many stores confuses me - do people really buy that much yogurt, and in such variety of flavors, styles, fat contents, etc?  It amazes me.  Perhaps that is just because I'm not exactly excited by yogurt, at least, not by most grocery store yogurt. Legit yogurt, real, rich, full fat, super creamy, luxe Greek yogurt?  Now that I like.  Some labne comes close too.  But in the US, grocery store yogurt is just ... ugh, not for me.  A slight exception for Noosa, although I have liked that less in recent years too.  I *loath* Chobani, I think it ruined Greek yogurt for this country, although I do sometimes like the mix-ins in their Flip products.  I think basically all Dannon yogurt tastes like fake sweetness.

When I travel outside the US though, I'm always stunned by the yogurt.  Particularly in Australia.  Much like the milk there, it is a higher fat percentage, and just dramatically tastier, creamier.

I still continue to try yogurt products, all the ones boasting to be full fat, richer, creamier.  It rarely pleases me though.  And sometimes, sometimes I try things just because they sound unique.  And almost dessert-like.  As someone who eats way too much dessert (as in, after every meal, every day), I do try to find some healthier options.

Yoplait

Which brings me to Yoplait.  Yoplait nominates the yogurt aisle, offering up just about every style of yogurt imaginable: original, light, lactose-free, greek ... unique limited edition collabs wtih other companies like Starburst or Gushers, kid-friendly small cups or squeezeable "Go-Gurt", smoothies, ones with fruit mix-ins, etc, etc.  Most do not interest me at all, although the curious part of me wonders about the ridiculous Gushers flavors.

One product line however called out ...

Whips!

"A light and fluffy yogurt mousse that melts in your mouth."

Yogurt mousse.  This sounded promising as a plausible dessert-like item?  Branded as Whips!  Yes, excitement is in the name.

Whips! are available in a slew of flavors, all dessert inspired: Key Lime Pie, Cherry Cheesecake, Sea Salt Caramel, etc, etc.  I had hope.

These are low fat yogurt, still pretty light items, all <200 calories each, 5 grams of fat or less, and not *that* much sugar.  5g protein.

I'll admit, I was impressed when I tried the first one.  The texture is incredibly fascinating.  It really, truly was light and fluffy.  Like air.  But it was yogurt.  It had tang.  Yogurt-air.  Crazy.  I quickly bought more varieties.

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Chocolate.

Does it surprise you that the first flavor I tried was the chocolate one?

This was the first chocolate yogurt I've ever had, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I was hoping it would be like a slightly tangy chocolate mousse, a chocolate pudding almost.

It certainly didn't trick me into thinking it was a real dessert.  The texture, amazing, and it was slightly chocolately, but it was also still clearly yogurt.  It tasted like yogurt.  I was still fascinated by it, and stirred in some cacao nibs, and enjoyed it, but, it wasn't a dessert.  They do suggest freezing it too, which I could imagine working well, like, well, frozen yogurt?

Cherry Cheesecake.

Cherry cheesecake was the second flavor I tried, going as dessert focused as I could.

I was again blown away by how light and fluffy it was.  Magic.  I have no idea how they do it.  It really was a mousse!

I expected to taste, um, cheesecake though, a cream cheese flavor, some tang, and some cherry of course.  It did have cherry puree in it, but I didn't taste much cherry flavor.  I didn't taste much at all.

Great texture, but tasted like ... nothing.  I passed it off to my niece. 

Orange Crème.

A number of flavors of the Whips! are "crèmes", including vanilla crème and coconut crème, but I wasn't ever able to find those.  I finally settled on the orange crème.

Like the others, the texture was awesome.  Light, fluffy, airy, remarkable really.  And this one finally delivered on the flavor department.  Orange, cream, and yogurt seem to go great together.

It reminded me of a Creamsicle.  Or a Orange Julius.  But, as a fluffy yogurt mousse.  I actually pulled it out for a lazy breakfast one day, and after taking a bite, decided that I'd save it for a dessert actually.  It was sweet, and, well, it was tasty.

My favorite that I tried, I'd love to get my hands on a few more flavors to see if I can find another winner.

Oui by Yoplait

Oui by Yoplait is an entirely separate line of products.  While they do have the Yoplait name on them in very fine print, they are marketed as Oui, and are, well, entirely different.

"A thick and creamy, subtly sweet, fresh tasting yogurt made with non-GMO ingredients and poured and set in its own glass pot."

Oui tries to appeal to an upscale yogurt eater, each Oui product comes in an individual glass jar.  They are priced accordingly.

"The French approach to living and eating revolves around pleasure. That’s how our holistic approach to French style yogurt was born. It starts with simple, non-GMO ingredients, poured and set in individual glass pots for eight hours. This creates a satisfyingly thick, subtly sweet, fresh tasting yogurt. And that creates a moment of pure enjoyment in every spoonful."

Oh, and they are *French* style of yogurt.  

Unlike the Yoplait yogurt line, or most brands of yogurt, they do not offer low-fat or non-fat varieties.  All are full fat.  They make a wide range of flavors, but, all just classic, full fat, yogurt (and a few non-dairy ones).

And then ... there are the desserts.  Legit desserts.  Not yogurt-pretending-to-be-dessert.  Real dessert.  Two product lines, Crème Desserts and Layered Desserts.  The former I've never managed to find, but when my local store got a few varieties of the new Layered Desserts, I immediately grabbed one. 

Yogurt

I did start with yogurt, offered in 15 varieties, mostly fruity ones, with the fruit layer on the bottom, and plain yogurt, although the raspberry and blackberry feature flavored yogurts, and they also make a honey flavor.  All full fat, french style.  Four dairy free options also exist, which I did not try.

Yogurt Pot.

The yogurts all come in the attractive glass jars, per the brand standards, with foil lids, and, the branded cursive "oui".

Lemon: Top.

"Inspired by our traditional French recipe and made with simple ingredients like whole milk and real fruit, our Lemon flavor has a deliciously thick texture and subtly sweet, fresh taste that offers the perfect balance of flavors."

Inside the lid is a french saying.  They really play up the French branding.

The yogurt itself is not flavored in the lemon variety, so I was able to try the pure, classic, French style yogurt.  Whole milk, cultures, and maybe a touch of sugar? That is all.  

It is good yogurt.  Quite thick, the style I like.  Rich, as you'd expect from whole milk.  Not particularly tangy, certainly not very sweet, I'm not sure if the yogurt itself is sweetened.

Definitely a good yogurt, if you like the thick, rich style, and want full fat.  It still does not compare to any of my favorite yogurts found internationally, but, it is quite good.

Lemon:Side View.

The lemon, like most of the fruity flavors, comes in the bottom, a thin layer to dig for and mix-in as you please.

Nothing artificial here, just lemon pulp, lemon puree, and sugar (ok, plus turmeric, for color). The jar formation does make it a bit hard to dig for, and try on its own, but I was pleased with what I found - not a lemon curd (I dislike!) but just a light, tart, lemon puree with a touch of texture. I liked it, but was glad to be able to mix in just a little as I pleased.

Black Cherry.

"Inspired by our traditional French recipe and made with simple ingredients like whole milk and real fruit, our Black Cherry flavor has a deliciously thick texture and subtly sweet, fresh taste that offers the perfect balance of flavors."

I have no idea why I picked black cherry.  it sounded good in some strange way.  But, um, i don't really like fruity yogurt?  I think I was expecting plain yogurt, and ... cherry pie in the bottom?  I don't know.

Anyway, the yogurt was thick, and rich, but ... fruity.  Most of the fruit was concentrated on the bottom, but there was still plenty of light cherry flavor to it all.

So, sadly, not my thing.

**+.

Layered Desserts

"Inspired by our authentic French recipe, Oui Layered Desserts are made with Crème Fraîche, which is traditionally used in French desserts and cooking. 

Each Oui Layered Dessert includes a rich crème fraiche base and a crispy graham cracker crust. Cherry Cheesecake and Caramel Cheesecake also include a subtly sweet topping. All you need is a spoon.

Enjoy a decadent dessert that transports you to your favorite restaurant from the comfort of your home. "

Layered Desserts are the newest product line, not made from yogurt at all.  Instead, the base is crème fraiche.  Available in only 3 flavors right now:  Cherry Cheesecake, Caramel Cheesecake and Key Lime Pie.

Layered Desserts: Packaging.

All come as two-packs, and yes, in glass jars like all Oui products.

They looked slightly fancy, I'll give them that.  The cursive definitely adds flair as well, heh.

Caramel Cheesecake.

"Caramel Cheesecake Oui Layered Desserts are made with a French-inspired crème fraiche base, crispy graham cracker crust and subtly sweet caramel topping. "

I opted for the caramel cheesecake, because I wanted the most decadent one, and the cherry topping actually just didn't look that great.

As promised, this was a layered dessert, the layers all quite clear.  The pot is fairly small though, which made getting to the base layer rather difficult.  I wanted to try each component separately first!

The easy layer to try first, clearly, was the top one: the caramel topping.  I was excited for it, as I do like caramel.  The consistency was great, smooth, not runny but not too thick, but ... I really disliked the flavor.  I'm not quite sure how they made a caramel not taste great to be honest.  But, it just wasn't ... good.  

I dug deeper, reaching the "cheesecake" layer, which turned out to be, literally, just créme fraîche.  Wait, what?  Yes, no real cheesecake element at all.  It wasn't blended with anything.  Just créme fraîche.  Now, I like créme fraîche, but ... it somehow wasn't really tasty either.  Sigh.

It took work to get to the base, but I was determined to get a nice big spoonful of it to evaluate.  Once I did, I was pleased.  I did like that base, which is amusing, as I always find graham cracker crusts on cheesecake "throwaway" elements, usually dry, cardboard-like, and uninteresting.  I get grumpy at cheesecake with graham cracker crusts usually, but this was gritty in a nice way, crispy, and sweetened, blended with molasses and honey for sweetness, coconut oil, peanut oil, and palm oil to make it more firm, and strangely, cocoa?  I didn't taste the cocoa.  It was actually quite good, not just compared to the other elements.

I hoped that getting spoonfuls with all the layers would help round it out, and make the elements I didn't care for somehow come together in harmony.  It didn't work.  I just ... didn't like it, except that base.

The little jar was also really quite a small serving, if I had liked it, it wouldn't really be nearly enough to satisfy me, but it is a 300 cal / 20g fat item, so having both of the twin pack in one sitting might not be the best idea for most.

Definitely not a winning product for me, and when I looked into the other layered desserts and discovered that they are exactly the same, I opted not to try any more.

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Icicles

Update Review, 2022 & 2026 Visits

After several years, I returned to Icicles in 2022, surprised to find it still operating (post-covid, that entire area really vanished).  And by "returned", I mean, added on a creation to a Doordash order from somewhere else nearby.  I enjoyed it then, but promptly forgot it existed again.  Another few years passed, and again I was surprised to find it still operating.  The area around is even more empty now, the mall literally closed, so I have no idea what is sustaining the place.  But anyway, it was 85*, sunny, and I was nearby, so I stopped in in-person that time.  

The physical store has changed considerably - it is quite clear they mostly do online orders, as there is no ordering or register area (although you can order on their tablet there), inside is mostly just a pickup window.  The toppings are no longer shown on display, the making of the rolls on the anti-griddle is no longer really part of the show, etc.  The seating area is reduced, and much of the space is used for storage.  But hey, it is still operating, even without the mall and movie theater across the street now, so people must be ordering?  

Ube Everywhere (no coconut). $13.50.
Strawberry popping boba, rainbow jelly, lychee jelly,
brownie bites, toasted marshmallow, condensed milk.

I followed my own notes from before, asking for the ube base ice cream to be made without coconut (I just don't like the texture it adds). This was handled with no problem, although I had to call the store after I placed my order online because they had no way for me to make notes.

The ice cream clearly had been made and then placed in a freezer while they waited for my Dasher to pick it up.  This was good in that it wasn't too melted, but it also meant it was frozen fairly solid, and not really the rolled shape and nice texture you get when you have it right off the anti-griddle at the store.  The ube flavor was quite strong, stronger than I remembered from my past visit, and I liked that.  It was however quite sweet and needed something to contrast with, and unfortunately, my toppings were NOT the right things for that.  The base ice cream itself, 4/5 for ube flavor, but 2.5/5 for being too sweet, and 3/5 for consistency.

The toppings lineup, at least online, had changed a bit from my prior visits, no mochi nor waffle cone bits available, so I settled for just the strawberry popping boba and both kinds of jellies (rainbow, lychee) I'd had before, and added in brownie bits just to try something new.  The toppings were applied quite generously - yes, there is ice cream under all that - and they were pretty standard boba / ice cream shop quality.  The brownie bites were tiny cubes, clearly not housemade, nothing special.  The rest were fun textures, slimy jellies, bursting boba, but very sweet on their own, and way too sweet together.  With the sweet ube ice cream base, it was just too much.  3/5, average toppings.

For my drizzle I went with just the condensed milk, remembering that the white chocolate drizzle was too sweet (and the others didn't seem like they'd go with ube), but, even the condensed milk was too sweet with the overly sweet base and other toppings.  I'd leave it off this flavor in the future.  I would have added their whipped cream if I wasn't having it delivered, but I assumed that wouldn't stand up well for delivery, and I had my own anyway.

The star was the toasted marshmallow, on a pretzel stick.  It was perfectly toasted, such great charred flavor.  I loved it.  Honestly, I'd like just a bunch of those, no other toppings.  I wonder if I could do that?  4.5/5 for the marshmallow.

I ended up scooping out half the ice cream and toppings, adding fresh fruit and crunched up cereal, and plenty of whipped cream, to balance it out better.  It was enjoyable, but still too sweet.  I think I'll have the other half with a scoop of vanilla or more savory black sesame ice cream to balance it out better.

Overall, this was fine, nice to get delivered, but in the future, I'm ready to try a new flavor. 3/5.

Ube Everywhere (no coconut). $14.99.
Strawberry popping boba, lychee jelly, rainbow mochi, toasted marshmallow.

Well, I didn't try another flavor, lol.  But I did modify my order a bit, mostly just simplified it.  Ube base, no coconut, and just 3 toppings: rainbow mochi, strawberry popping boba, lychee jellies.  Oh, and the toasted marshmallow, 'nach.

This really did make more sense, and the sweet toppings didn't overwhelm in quite the same way.  That said, they still were all quite sweet, and the ube base is really quite sweet, so, it still trended sweet, even without a drizzle added on.  The ube flavor was good though, the ice cream sooo creamy and it melted nicely, and the toppings all seemed fresh (standard quality ice cream shop/bubble tea shop jellies and boba, the mochi were soft and pliable).  I still would prefer the sweetness level of the base ice cream to be toned down a bit, so this is still just a 3/5 for me.  Next time, really, I gotta try another base flavor ...

Update Review, July 2019 Visit

Last year, I had a friend in town and wanted to do something novel, so we ventured to Icicles, and I had my first experience with rolled ice cream.  As you read about, I was impressed with the texture, the flavors, and, um, the unlimited toppings.  Yet I never returned, mostly because San Francisco just doesn't really inspire ice cream eating for me - I like to eat ice cream outside in the sun, in warm weather, and, well, yeah, San Francisco.

But in July, after nearly 2.5 weeks on the east coast, where I enjoyed the glorious days of summer, and eating ice cream every day (literally), ranging from simple ice cream stands to soft serve filled taiyaki waffle cones (go to Taiyaki in Boston or New York! to, yes, other rolled ice cream (if you are ever in Boston or New York, I-CE NY was fabulous!), I really couldn't get rolled ice cream out of my head when I returned.

My first Saturday back, I hosted a visiting co-worker, and we went to lunch at Sushiritto (cuz, you know gotta educate visitors from small towns on trendy things like sushi burritos!).  Afterwards, I decided to continue the Instagram-worthy adventure, and brought him, and other local, to Icicles.  It was his first time having rolled ice cream too.

I'm glad I returned, it was good to have again, but, not quite as memorable as my previous experience.

Ube Everywhere (No Coconut), with Condensed Milk Drizzle, Rainbow & Lychee Jellies, Rainbow Mochi, Chocolate Covered Waffle Cone Bits, Rainbow Sprinkles, Whipped Cream, and a Torched Marshmallow. (Split-Cup)

"Need a ride? Hop on and get a taste of Ube Everywhere. Mixed with ube, taro and coconut flakes."

For my creation this time, I mostly just followed my own notes and advice, opting to share with another person and each get our own split-cups with generous toppings, and swapping out a few topping choices from last time.

I wanted ube, but didn’t like the texture of the coconut in the "Ube Everywhere", so, I left that out this time. I considered asking for another mix-in but left it simple, just the ube.

The texture was again great, smooth, creamy, and it melted nicely, but the ube flavor was fairly muted.  I thought I remembered more flavor, or, maybe I just have the comparison point of other places, like I-CE NY, which had far deeper taro flavor .  I’d consider another flavor next time, or perhaps mixing something in with the ube to give it more oomph.

But of course, one big appeal of Icicles for me is the unlimited toppings.  UNLIMITED!!!

For my toppings, I kept the jellies and mochi that I liked before, and dropped the popping boba, as I felt they were too sweet last time.  I again liked the jellies and mochi, good textures, fresh enough, and complimented the ube.  I’d keep these again.

I considered adding fresh fruit, and almost wish I had, but, I couldn’t see the fruit in advance, and I was worried it wouldn’t be very fresh.  They also only have blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries, no mango or lychee which is what I really wanted.

I added chocolate covered waffle cone bits as a random addition, and I’m glad I did.  I loved the crunch.  Chocolate didn’t necessarily go great with my creation, but, it worked well enough for me.

I swapped out the white chocolate drizzle I did last time for condensed milk, per my notes-to-self from last time, and I’m glad I did.  I think it was less sweet, but also, it was just a better compliment to the ube.

And finally, I kept the whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles as they are staples of mine, although, to be honest, neither added that much, and the whipped cream was just generic from a can, the sprinkles generic too.

And then I added a torched marshmallow, because my peers did, and it looked too fun.  The marshmallows were torched to order, and can perched on pretzel sticks.  Not necessarily in any way, but, fun.

Overall, I was happy enough with my creation, and I think my refinements were good ones.  However, I wasn’t quite as pleased with the ube base as other ube and taro flavors I’ve had recently, so I’d consider trying something else, or, going elsewhere in the future.

TIME FOR REECES

"A childhood classic and smooth flavor that tastes just like the Reece’s Pieces candy."

A companion went for the Time For Reece's, and he loaded it up appropriately chocolately: brownie bites, chocolate covered waffle cone, chocolate drizzle, and a torched marshmallow.

I had a bite of his, and it was pretty fabulous, as it is hard to go wrong with the peanut butter and chocolate goodness that is Reece's.

Original Review, October 2018

Rolled ice cream.  I've seen it for a few years now, particularly in Sydney, where the Asian dessert influence is strong.  But I'll admit it.  I thought it was all just hype.  Just for looks and show.  Why ... why would I want my ice cream, uh, rolled?

But I finally tried it, and I feel silly for judging it without trying before.

"Visit one of our many locations for the ultimate ice cream experience. Our handcrafted ice cream is made daily using nothing but the freshest fruits and ingredients around.
Each bowl is made right in front of you. All you have to do is select one of our custom flavors from our menu and our ice cream baristas will roll up your ice cream bowl.
Join us with your friends and family for a light, refreshing and delicious frozen treat. Don’t forget, we have unlimited toppings for you to choose from!"

My introduction to rolled ice cream comes from Icicles, a Bay Area chain (up to 10 locations now), with a shop right next to the Westfield Mall (where there used to be a self-serve froyo place I frequented).  I've passed by it since it opened, but I always glared at it, angry it replaced my froyo shop, and thinking it was just a silly trend that would go away.

But it lasted.  And when I finally looked at reviews, they were all quite strong.  Really strong.  I still thought it was just trendy, written by silly Instagramers and those who were into the whole show (its made to order).  "Ice cream baristas", I scoffed.  And then I saw they had taro flavor.  And ... unlimited toppings included.  Those two things were enough to draw me in, as I adore taro, and I adore toppings.

The Process.

The ordering process is a bit involved, but the staff are friendly, signs are clear, and, when I visited, the place was entirely empty, so there was no rush.

From their Q&A:

Q: How does the process work? 

A: We start by pouring a liquid base cream onto our freezing ice pans and mix in fresh ingredients. Then you wait for it to freeze and then we roll up the ice cream. After, you get to add your choice of unlimited toppings and drizzles.

So, you pick your base and pay, watch the base get made to order, and then move on to toppings.  The entire process takes no more than 5 minutes end-to-end.

And then you enjoy.  And enjoy we did.

Menu.

"We have a wide variety of custom flavors that available. Each bowl is made to order to give your taste buds a mouth-watering experience."

Icicles has a menu of named suggestions, with a couple mix-ins that get added to make a flavored base, and then toppings to pair.  But you can also make up anything you want, adding any options available to form the base, and then of course, your unlimited toppings.

Vegan options also exist, called "fruit roll ups", and some seasonal flavors as well.

All creations are a single size.  No kids size.  No cones.  Just a bowl, for a whopping $9.25 (again though, unlimited toppings).  If you dine in, it is even more, as tax is added, making it $10.04. If you get togo, the tax isn't added.  Discounts are given during Happy Hour (M-F 12-6pm), or with student ID, military ID, or proof that you work within 1/2 mile.

However, they *do* allow you to split one between two bowls, each of which gets unlimited, unique toppings.  No extra charge.  This is not mentioned on the menu anywhere, but I had read the tip in advance, and I'm glad I went in with this knowledge.

Ube Everywhere Base.

"Need a ride? Hop on and get a taste of Ube Everywhere. Mixed with ube, taro and coconut flakes."

To get the process going, the person preparing your creation goes to fetch the base and mix-ins.

I selected the "Ube Everywhere" flavor, so he came back with a cup with the custard cream base plus purple ube milk, and a side of coconut flakes.

He set up the station, scraping the anti-griddle clean before starting, and got ready to craft my treat.  The shop is basically a line of these anti-griddles, with a glass viewing area.  Uh-huh, I was here for the "show".

Ube Everywhere: Step 1.

The liquid was poured onto the anti-griddle, and the coconut flakes added on top.

Since mine didn't have much for mix-ins, this was a pretty simple step, but others are far more elaborate.

Strawberry Fantasy: In Progress.

"Fresh strawberries mixed with graham crackers and our classic custard base mixed to form this wonderful fantasy  for your taste buds."

One companion selected the more involved base "strawberry fantasy", with fresh strawberries and graham crackers mixed in, so his was more interesting to watch.

The server started with the fresh berries and whole graham crackers, chopping those up first, before pouring on the liquid.

Mixing it Up.

Next, the mixing process, again, in my case, quite simple, just mixing the cream, ube milk, and coconut.  Other creations required chopping and more extensive mixing.

Chilling it Down.

 After it is mixed, it is then spread out into a thin layer on the anti-griddle.

Rolling!

Then comes the fun part, the mix is scraped into the signature rolls.

The mix made 7 rolls, and since we were getting a split cup, I laughed when he cut the smallest one in half, very deliberately, and made sure they were totally even.

The rolls are placed into the cup (or cups, if you split), and then you move down to the station I was most looking forward to.

Toppings Sign.

 "What makes us special is our vast selection of toppings to add on your ice cream. Customize your special dessert any way you please."

Yes, toppings!  Unlimited toppings!

All listed on a sign with pictures for easy browsing.

Some of the Toppings.

Dry toppings are easily visible at the station, while fruits and chilled items are in a refrigerated area.

The full line up was:

• Fruit: Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Bananas, Cherries
• Asian Things: Popping Boba, Lychee Jelly, Rainbow Jelly, Mochi
• Cookies & Cakes: Brownie Bites, Cheesecake Bites, Oreos, Mint Oreos,
• Candy: Chocolate Chips, Caramel Cups, Rainbow Sprinkles, Mini M&Ms
• Crunchy Things: Pretzels,  Chocolate Waffle Bits, Roasted Almonds, 
• Cereals: Captain Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, Cinnamon Toast Crunch
• Fluffy Things: Roasted Marshmallow, Whip Cream
• Drizzles:Condensed Milk, White Chocolate, Raspberry, Caramel, Nutella, Chocolate

You really could have quite a bit of fun at this topping station.  Which of course, I did.

Major points to Icicles for being *not* stingy.  "What else?" asked the server after my companion had selected only 5 toppings.  "Anything more?" my server asked me, even when I thought I had added a ridiculous number of things.

Ube Everywhere, with Popping Boba, Lychee Jelly, Rainbow Jelly, Mochi, Blackberries, Condensed Milk Drizzle, Roasted Marshmallow. (Split Size).

My companion agreed to split with me so he wouldn't need to make decisions.  Little did he realize that he'd get to pick his own toppings.  We had to agree on a base, but he could do whatever he wanted on top.  And with a toppings line up as extensive as Icicles, that meant ... many decisions.

He asked what I was going to get, and I gave my suggestions.

He went first, selecting all the asian toppings that I had suggested (Popping Boba, Lychee Jelly, Rainbow Jelly, and Mochi) to start.  When the server prompted him for more stuff, he randomly added on blackberry.

For a drizzle, he went for condensed milk, again, my suggestion.

His last component was a toasted marshmallow, which was actually toasted to order right then.

The split portion is a really interesting offering from Icicles, particularly as they do not charge more.  Sure, the ice cream portion is the same, and they do unlimited toppings anyway, but we clearly had substantially more toppings than someone who didn't split, as we had the same size cup, with just half as much ice cream, and he loaded them up generously.  And the extra cup does cost ... something.  While I'm giving away points to Icicles, I give them points for this too.  

Anyway, I love the split portion, as it is a far more reasonable size (it was more than enough for each of us), and I like the customization it allows.  If I was there alone, without someone to split with, I think I'd get it split anyway, and just do different toppings.

Ube Everywhere with Popping Boba, Lychee Jelly, Rainbow Jelly, Mochi, White Chocolate Drizzle, Whipped Cream, Rainbow Sprinkles.

For my creation, I went for the same asian toppings I recommended to him (Popping Boba, Lychee Jelly, Rainbow Jelly, Mochi), plus whipped cream (why not?), rainbow sprinkles (I'm silly, but I love them), and at last minute decided on white chocolate drizzle instead of the condensed milk I was intending to get, since I wanted to be slightly different from my companion.

My bowl came even more loaded up than his, I'm not sure why, but I had a very very full bowl of assorted jellies, boba, and mochi, way too much whipped cream, and a very generous "drizzle" of white chocolate sauce.

I took my first bite of just the ice cream, a rather hard feat given all the toppings.

Oh.  Wow.

It was ... shockingly creamy.  The texture was just absolutely amazing.  I couldn't believe how creamy it was.  This was not what I was expecting, at all.  Not icy, just smooth creamy perfection ... rolled up.

The taro flavor was decent, strong enough to taste, even once I started having spoonfuls with toppings.  I'd probably leave out the coconut flakes from the base in the future, they gave a bit of texture, but aren't really something I enjoy that much.

The popping boba were standard pink fruit based popping boba, I think strawberry.  Juicy, sweet, bursting with flavor.  I often put these on my froyo and regret it, and felt about the same way here.  Just a touch too sweet, a touch ... too much.  Next time, I'd leave these off.

I did love the jellies, I opted for both the lychee and rainbow ones, and I'm glad I did.  Slimy, sweet, and really the perfect compliment to taro flavor.  He added tons of these, and although I had bites that were all just jellies, mochi, and whipped cream, I didn't exactly mind.

The mochi were also very good, rainbow colored which I wasn't expecting, but great for additional color to my already colorful creation.  They were soft and perfect texture, clearly not stale nor old.

The whipped cream was good, but he did apply too much, even for me.  It took over everything!

And finally, the white chocolate drizzle was sweet and quite tasty, it reminded me of marshmallow syrup.  That said, there was quite a bit of it, and with my other sweet toppings, and all that whipped cream, it was a bit too much.  It complimented the taro well, but I suspect I would have preferred the condensed milk.

Oh, and the rainbow sprinkles were of course fun, more color, a bit of texture, and ... even more sugar.

I realized as I finished it off that this was what I wanted taro milk teas to be.  I love taro flavor, I love the mix-ins, but ... milk tea is never *really* the format I want.  But this is.  Easily enjoyable by the spoonful.  I'll never go for milk tea again!

Overall, I was quite pleased with this creation.  The ice cream itself was far more enjoyable than I imagined it would be, in both texture and flavor.  The toppings were generous, and for the most part, I was very happy with what I picked.  The split size portion was perfect, honestly, splitting it into three rather than two would also likely be fine, but that isn't an option.

Next time, I'd certainly split again, and go for taro base again, but leave out the coconut from the base mix-in.  For toppings, jellies and mochi for sure, perhaps a bit of fruit rather than the boba, condensed milk drizzle ... and maybe not the whipped cream?  Or, at least, I'd ask for less.  I might even consider adding mochi or marshmallow to the base, just to give it a little texture?  Or, uh, sprinkles in the base?  Yeah, now I'm being crazy ...

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