Taste this: The Honeycomb — single scoop $6, double scoop $9, pint $12Location: During festivals, community events and weddings, Henry’s Creamery serves sweet cream ice cream and sorbet from an aqua 1967 Phoenix trailer. Henry’s is also available at the Gardener of Bath, a gift shop the couple opened in 2006, specializing in gifts, home accessories and jewelry. The Gardner of Bath is located at 2368 N. Cleveland-Massillon Road in Akron.Creator: Heather and Justin Girves, with inspiration from the company namesake, their dog, Henry.Locally sourced ingredients: Henry’s uses certified organic and local products whenever possible, sourcing A2 cream and milk from Amish Country. Honey for the honeycomb ice cream is sourced from Medina bee keepers.Eye test: Hand-packed in a high mound on a toasty-brown waffle cone, the honeycomb ice cream features a creamy white base layered with honey brittle, which has transformed from a crunchy brittle to rich, golden honey-caramel in swirls and pockets throughout the ice cream. What makes this dish special: Henry’s makes its own ice cream base, Heather said, which sets it apart from most other ice-cream makers. The base is comprised of A2 cream, milk from Amish Country, certified organic eggs and sugar with no fillers, corn syrup or artificial ingredients. “I think the quality of ingredients goes a long way,” Heather said. “The brittle itself, having that caramelized honey, toasty kind of taste, is what makes it special.”Honeycomb ice cream at Henry’s Creamery can be purchased at outdoor festivals and events. It’s also available at the Gardener of Bath. (Photo courtesy of Henry’s Creamery)Pairs with: More ice cream!Process: Ice-cream making is not for the faint at heart. Producing Henry’s sweet cream ice cream base is a multi-day process, Heather said. It begins with blending milk, cream, egg yolks and sugar, which is then cooked in giant pots, 10 gallons at a time.“And that’s only because that’s as much inventory as we can store right now,” she said.The batter chills for 24 to 48 hours at temperatures just above freezing, but not frozen, Heather said. The mixture is then poured into a giant spinning machine that spins it into ice cream.Once it becomes ice cream, special flavor features are introduced by hand, such as the honey brittle for the honeycomb ice cream.“As I am pouring it out of the spinner, we hand-layer in bits of this honey brittle that I make,” she said. “We make sure that every scoop is going to get a certain amount of brittle.”To keep the honey brittle and any other special ingredients from sinking to the bottom, the ice cream is placed in a deep freeze, about 10 degrees below zero. When it’s time to serve, the ice cream has to be brought up to serving temperature, which takes another six to 12 hours. “We like to say it’s a three-day process at least,” Heather said. “That’s for all flavors, and we have eight flavors on deck at all times during our busy season.”The process of making the honey brittle for the honeycomb ice cream is equally demanding. “It’s not your standard brittle,” Heather said. “There are no nuts in it at all. It’s actually a hard-crack caramel that’s made with honey and a couple other ingredients.”Working again in those giant pots, Heather combines the honey and ingredients, slowly bringing the mixture up to 305 degrees, where it boils until the color signals that it’s ready, she said. Those familiar with caramel-making know that when the mixture begins to turn dark brown, it can quickly go from exactly right to burnt, Heather said.“You need to be watching that pot,” she said. When the mixture turns the magic color, she adds baking soda, which makes it brittle, instead of caramel. She then stirs constantly, keeping the mixture from boiling over or hardening. When it’s time, which Heather instinctively knows, there’s about a two-minute window to pour it out onto a prepared table.“You pour it out and do some sugar work with it, folding it over and over and over again so it gets the right consistency,” she said. Once it hardens, the brittle is cut up to be added to the ice cream. Henry’s ice cream is taken to events in two-and-a-half-gallon containers, and can be ordered in a cup, in a waffle cone or by the pint, which is hand-packed per order.Meet Henry, the four-legged inspiration behind Heather and Justin Girves’ business name (Henry’s Creamery). (Photo courtesy of Henry’s Creamery)Back story: When Heather and Justin got married, they received a KitchenAid mixer, which Heather used to make ice cream for a family gathering. That sparked the idea for Henry’s Creamery.The pair began using their KitchenAid spinner to whip up experimental ice cream flavors. Not long after, they bought their mobile unit, a 1967 Phoenix trailer, from friends who own Mason’s Creamery in Tremont. They kept going, buying a commercial ice-cream maker. Then they located a professional kitchen (at Ken Stewart’s) and learned how to make ice cream on a large scale. In 2019, Henry’s opened at the couple’s gift shop, the Gardener of Bath, where their first customers enjoyed artisanal, all-natural ice cream. Henry’s Creamery sources honey from Medina bee keepers to create its honeycomb ice cream. (Photo courtesy of Henry’s Creamery)Passion for cuisine: Neither Heather nor Justin are strangers to kitchens. Heather has a bakery and pastry arts degree from Johnson & Wales in Denver, and specializes in artisan breads. She initially wanted to be an executive chef at a fine-dining restaurant; until she discovered the bakery side of food artistry.“Once I started getting into the bakery, I was like, ‘Oh, this is precision and science and a lot of things that I like,’” she said. “And there’s a reason why everything happens and you have to edit your day depending on the humidity in the air and the water content in products, and you have to be really familiar with how everything works together, and that is really comforting to me.”Justin hails from a well-known line of restaurateurs in Northeast Ohio. His uncle, Ken Stewart, is known for Ken Stewart’s Lodge and Ken Stewart’s Grille. Justin’s grandfather is Gus Girves, who launched Girves Brown Derby restaurant chain in 1941 with a Brown Derby in Akron’s Middlebury neighborhood. The company grew to more than 25 locations.How to buy: Ice cream from Henry’s Creamery can be purchased at outdoor festivals and other public events. It can be ordered for weddings and other private occasions. And it’s available at the Gardener of Bath. Follow Henry’s Creamery on Facebook or Instagram to check out the schedule.About: Henry’s Creamery has been dedicated to bringing joy through small batch, artisanal ice cream since 2019.The post Honeycomb ice cream? Try a scoop (or 3) at this Akron food trailer appeared first on Signal Akron.