Yolkin, London _ eat

"Sammie loves to bake. Macarons especially but they are finicky little things and only use egg whites. Not wanting to waste the yolks... she set upon looking for another recipe to use them in. She stumbled on a recipe using yolks in ice cream and bought herself a small ice cream machine. She continued to bake macarons with the egg whites and experimented with fun ice cream flavours with the egg yolks. One day an idea popped in to her head, what if she somehow, sandwiched them together? The rest is history.

Why the name, Yolkin? Well, had she never looked for a recipe to use the yolks in, she would’ve never discovered Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches!" - background from Yolkin.co.uk

Take a walk around Soho on the weekend. At around midday, on Great Windmill street, and you'll spot a queue of people lining up outside a yellow shopfront with the word "Whaam" typed across the front. From 12pm, you'll see people emerge from the little shop holding a small box, just the size of their hand. Neatly tucked in these boxes are cutest most perfect macaron ice-cream treats, infused with unusual flavours depending on the month - all gluten free!

On Saturday I learnt my lesson about the queuing - it's important. A couple of local friends brought me to the little shop and we joined the queue out the door. I was pretty giddy about prospect of macarons, and then for them to be stuffed with ice-cream... my idea of bliss. The four flavours for March were 'Chocolate Egg', 'Hotcross Bun', 'Elderflower' and 'Earl Grey' - the Easter theme very much evident. We got there just after one on Saturday; once inside the packed shop we spotted the 'Sold Out' sign plastered across the Hot-cross Bun flavour - queue lesson learned. Between the three of us we picked up one of each of the remaining flavours and made our way back out onto the street. We stood together, took the usual instagram snap for photographic evidence, then began to dig in. Everyone around us stood in similar pockets enjoying their own miniature treats.

The 'Elderflower' flavoured ice-cream was the most delightful of three - it had a smooth creamy texture and with a hint of elderflower sweetness coming through. The macaron itself was still quite soft inside yet crisp and sturdy enough to hold the ice-cream in between. The 'Chocolate Egg' was exactly what it said on the tin - a robust and deep chocolate flavour, suitably perfect for the Easter Sunday chocolate rush.

Having learnt my lesson about the queue on Saturday and in a testament to their deliciousness, we decided to make an early return trip on Sunday to snap up one of the elusive Hot-cross Bun macarons. For the weekend that was in it, it seemed appropriate to complete the Easter set (legit reasoning). Sure as we predicted, the queue started out the door before 12pm with people hiding under the neighbouring scaffolding works from the rain and wind - nothing was going to stop the ice-cream macaron enthusiasts. Once finally inside, we got our freezing hands on the Hot-cross bun prize - my heart instantly warmed. Amidst the twisted weather changes, the rain subsided as we stepped back outside again. The sun had come out and glowed as if it were sign that the holy grail had been obtained - I am not even being dramatic.

As the sign said, the Hot-cross bun ice-cream included all the trimmings of a real bun mixed in it. The ice-cream was lightly spiced with the odd raisin/currant or piece of mixed fruit finding itself in each scoop. On the outside, the macaron itself had the nice touch of a white cross dashed on it. A wonderful little treat for the streets of London.

Find Yolkin in Whaam Banh Mi (yellow building) on 40 Great Windmill St, London W1D 7LY

Every SATURDAY & SUNDAY 12pm until I sold out.

yolkin.co.uk

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