Soft serve always feels like a special occasion. While I can open a pint of Ben & Jerry’s any old time, fresh soft serve conjures memories of childhood visits to TCBY and the McDonalds drive through. As an adult in New York, I now associate it with my daughter’s squeals of excitement when she hears the Mister Softee truck jingling down the block. And as more of my peers pull back from alcohol, meeting a friend for a froyo and stroll has become a satisfying stand-in for happy hour.
Naturally I’m thrilled to see soft serve has enjoyed a renaissance, especially in my city. Last year, cronut creator Dominique Ansel made waves with soft serve dipped in French butter. Soft serve margaritas took over TikTok this year. And if line culture is any indication of interest, soft serve spots like Culture and, in my neighborhood, Lisbonata, now draw round-the-block throngs of treat seekers.
Rather than spending hours (and a small fortune) waiting in line, I decided to see if I could spin up some decent soft serve in my own kitchen. But these machines, such as Ninja’s buzzy Creami Scoop and Swirl, can be pricey, and I couldn’t stomach the $349 cost for something we’d probably only end up using a few times a year (though the cult of Creami may argue it’s worth it).
Enter Dash, a budget appliance brand known for its $11 mini waffle makers. I decided to try its line of ultra-affordable frozen dessert machines: the Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker, Deluxe Gelato & Ice Cream Maker and compact My Mug.
Could these machines make sweet treats on par with Dominique Ansel – or at least Mr Softee? And – crucially – would they be worth the counter space they occupy in my modest Brooklyn kitchen? (Short answer: one of them is.)
Dash ice-cream makers at a glance
How easy are they to set up?
The ice-cream makers arrived in boxes that took up about half my hallway. I was relieved to find the packaging relatively economical – just cardboard, minimal plastic wrapping and no Styrofoam.
As for assembly, the My Mug has just four parts – the motor, a lid, the stirring paddle and motor – that comes together in under a minute. The Deluxe Gelato & Ice Cream and Soft Serve Makers were nearly as simple – you just have to snap the latter’s dispenser into place below the mixing bowl.
The Soft Serve also comes with four plastic cone-shaped bowls and accompanying cone-shaped spoons, and while I cringe at the thought of introducing more plastic into my kitchen, my daughter loved them.
How easy are they to clean and store?
Similarly quick and easy, thanks to the machines having so few parts, which is a good thing because none of the components are dishwasher-safe. When it came to storage, the My Mug and Deluxe Gelato could easily fit one of my kitchen cabinets, whereas I’d have to get creative with the Soft Serve. (For now it’s just taking up scarce counter space.)
Word to the wise: the inner bowls take up a lot of freezer space and you need to freeze them 24-48 hours ahead of using them, so don’t expect to make ice-cream the moment you unbox your machine.
How did they perform?
Dash
My Mug Ice Cream Maker
from $24
I tested with basic vanilla ice-cream, using the recipes that came with the machines, which in the case of the Deluxe and My Mug, called for just four ingredients: heavy cream, milk (whole for Deluxe, skim for My Mug), sugar and a dash of vanilla extract. Most recipes for the soft serve maker included some kind of thickening agent, in this case vanilla pudding mix. In the interest of time I chilled my mixes in the freezer for an hour, although the recipes suggest three hours.
The machines could not have been easier to operate. I plugged in, pressed on, slowly poured the mixtures into respective mixing bowls and waited 20 minutes. That’s it. One tip: make sure the motors are running before you add your ingredients, as the cream freezes quickly to the sides of the drum and can jam the mixer if it has a chance to freeze.
The ice-cream began to harden in minutes. The My Mug and Deluxe Gelato & Ice Cream instructions note that “no amount of churning will produce a firm consistency” and suggest freezing ice-cream for two to three hours for a truly firm pint.
I did not do that. Instead, after 20 minutes, I twisted the lids off the machines and served soft scoops of vanilla ice-cream to my eagerly waiting family. When time was up, the soft serve maker had also produced the airy consistency I’d been hoping for.
How noisy are they?
The soft serve machine whirred loudly and there was a collective sigh of relief in my kitchen once its 20 minutes were up.
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On the other hand, it was easy to forget that the My Mug was even running, and the Deluxe Gelato & Ice Cream emitted a tolerable hum.
So, how was the ice-cream?
Dash
Deluxe Gelato & Ice Cream Maker
from $35
What’s not to love about cold heavy cream and sugar? While the ice-cream would have melted less quickly if it spent a little time in the freezer, we didn’t have that restraint. The vanilla ice-cream from the My Mug and Deluxe Gelato & Ice Cream makers was as sweet and creamy as any pint of Haagen Daaz, without a hint of the iciness I’ve gotten from no-churn, mason jar ice-cream.
The Soft Serve was just as tasty and somewhat airier than the ice-cream from the other two, and like many commercial soft serves, melted more quickly than scoop ice-cream. Dispensing could have been easier: the soft serve was firm enough to hold ridges, but instead of releasing a long swirl, the ice-cream broke off into chunky clumps every two inches or so. Definitely no Mister Softee. (With good reason! A professional soft serve maker is a complex machine that costs thousands of dollars.)
Are they worth the churn?
The most important feature of any kitchen gadget is whether you’ll actually use it enough to justify the amount of space it takes up. The My Mug ended up being my favorite: it’s simple enough for my five year old to use, it’s fun to experiment with (I’ve been partial to Greek yogurt with honey), and it takes up about as much space as a mixing bowl.
Dash
Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine
from $100
Dash Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine
Dash
Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine
from $100
I liked the Deluxe Gelato & Ice Cream Maker, but I don’t need to make two quarts at a time and it’s probably better suited for a big suburban kitchen, or perhaps someone who entertains and makes big batches.
As for getting my soft serve fix? That machine, though novel, ended up too bulky and loud for me to use it regularly. And the ice-cream it produces, though respectable, just left me longing for the real thing. Maybe that’s the missing ingredient: braving the lines (or waiting for the Mister Softee truck) is part of what makes soft serve feel like a treat in the first place.
Other pieces you might enjoy from the Filter, the Guardian’s guide to buying fewer, better things:
