Mocha mudslide? Honeycomb? Kansas City’s new French Custard has ‘creamier’ ice cream
.JPG "French Custard says its ice cream is creamier than regular ice cream and made with milk, cream, eggs and sugar.")
Jessica and Alex Wood huddle at a little table at Torn Label Brewing Co. in the Crossroads, order forms at hand.
The couple are selling their handmade French-style ice cream, French Custard, through such pop-ups in the downtown area, along with social media and word-of-mouth.
French-style ice cream uses milk, cream, eggs and sugar, but no additives or stabilizers.
“It’s much creamier than regular ice cream, much more like a custard,” Jessica Wood said.
The couple met while attending Liberty High School and married three years ago. They had been living in New York, but planned to move back to the metro in spring 2020. They moved that date up when the pandemic hit.
But they missed the French-style ice cream that was more readily available in New York.
Alex’s grandmother gave them her gelato machine and they began experimenting with recipes, especially their favorite honeycomb — sugar candy with a honeycomb texture but no honey.
Earlier this year, they couldn’t keep up with demand from friends and family. So they turned it into a business, making their six flavors out of a commissary at Billie’s Grocery in midtown.
They’ve since doubled their flavors, rotating them each week, including cookies and cream, mocha mudslide, chocolate toffee, mint chip, and pistachio. Their honeycomb is now one of their bestsellers.
For the regular Thursday Torn Label pop-up, customers can preorder online at frenchcustard.com from 5 p.m. to midnight Sundays. The couple also will have extra ice cream on hand for walk-ins. Pints are $9. They also have 6-ounce containers for $4.
They will have a special pop-up from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 11 at Made in KC Marketplace on the Country Club Plaza.
This story was originally published August 28, 2021 at 5:00 AM.