Happy Second Anniversary, L’Artisan des Glaces!

From the moment the doors opened two years ago in the former spot of Boulangerie Patisserie in the France Pavilion, it was clear L’Artisan des Glaces was not your typical ice cream stop.

The Boulangerie relocated to a larger space, and L’Artisan des Glaces began to carve its own unique niche in the Disney dining scene almost immediately upon its debut.

So, what made the arrival of this little shop so special?

First of all, every single one of the 16 flavors of ice cream and sorbet was — and still is — made in-house.

And second? The shop began to introduce some incredible and unique ice cream confections that we’d never seen the likes of before in Walt Disney World!

As we wish L’Artisan a huge Happy Birthday and Bon Anniversaire, we wanted to take a peek at just a few of these creations that are now a part of the eating scene in Epcot!

Ice Cream Martinis

Thanks to the addition of L’Artisan, Epcot guests 21 and over suddenly had the option of pairing their ice cream flavor of choice with…BOOZE! Grand Marnier, Clement Rhum from Martinique, or Whipped Cream flavored Vodka could be added to create their own gorgeous Ice Cream Martini.

Between this and the rich, creamy homemade ice cream, L’Artisan started earning its terrific reputation from the get-go. Refusing, however, to rest on their laurels, the ice cream artists have continued to change things up and crank out surprises year-round.

Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches

Additional treats began to appear later in 2013, starting with the Chocolate Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich. This decadent snack is a scoop of chocolate ice cream sandwiched inside a large, crisp-on-the-outside, chewy on the inside chocolate macaron cookie.

While you can still get the Chocolate Macaron Ice Cream sandwich any time of year, new versions of this treat began changing with the seasons… literally! It all started with the debut of the red, white, and blue Vanilla Ice Cream Macaron Sandwich in July of 2014 in honor of Bastille Day.

Other favorites since have included the Pumpkin Spice Macaron for the fall, the Peppermint Macaron for the holiday season, and the recent Strawberries and Cream Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich which debuted this past January.

But those weren’t the only sandwiches to get excited about…

Croque Glaces

Just weeks after the Chocolate Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich made its debut, it was time to welcome the Croque Glaces — a Pressed Brioche Ice Cream Sandwich.

Cold ice cream is pressed right before your eyes into a warm brioche bun (with your choice of raspberry or chocolate sauce to boot!).

It was love at first sight… I mean, taste. But it didn’t stop there!

Café Glacé

A little caffeine with your ice cream, anyone? That’s exactly what you get thanks to the Café Glacé, which hit the scene in April 2014.

Your choice of ice cream receives a pour of coffee (a lightly sweetened, robust brew) and is topped with the biggest pile of whipped cream you ever did see.

We enjoyed the Caramel fleur de del (salted caramel) offering that terrific combo of salty-and-sweet, but as with any pick-your-flavor creative option at L’Artisan des Glaces, the biggest dilemma is naming your choice!

New Creative Flavors

Amidst all that, though, we can’t forget the ice cream itself! L’Artisan certainly hasn’t, consistently adding to their rotating list of 16 flavors of ice cream and sorbet with new selections like Cinnamon, Caramelized Apple & Crumble Crunch Ice Cream (try saying that five times fast… or even once!).

And the more recent Lemon with Crispy Meringue Ice Cream.

And now to celebrate its two year anniversary, L’Artisan des Glaces has recently debuted not one, but TWO new flavors: Nougat with Honey & Nuts AND Vanilla Pear and Chocolate.

Oh, did I forget to mention the recent addition of homemade Waffle Bowl Sundaes?! Grab a spoon (or two!), my friends… we have a little more eating to do yet ;).

Vanilla Pear and Chocolate Ice Cream Waffle Bowl Sundae

Oookay

, so that’s quite the wordy heading, but we’re actually checking out two treats with this next one: Vanilla Pear and Chocolate Ice Cream was the brand new ice cream flavor I chose for the also brand new Waffle Bowl Sundae: two scoops of the flavors of your choice in a freshly-pressed, house-made waffle bowl, topped with whipped cream and your choice of chocolate, caramel, or raspberry sauce. (It rings up at $8.21.)

As we learned with the Café Glacé, L’Artisan does NOT mess around when it comes to whipped cream!

Naturally, I want to show you the new flavor of ice cream underneath that glorious pile: Vanilla Pear and Chocolate. I scooped the whipped cream out of the way and found…

I expected to absolutely love this one, but I primarily tasted vanilla. The ice cream itself was very good, and I could see faint ribbons of chocolate and chunks of pear, but the flavors didn’t come through as strongly as I’d expected.

Since it didn’t offer the full burst of flavor I was hoping for from the chocolate and pear, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

Something else surpassed my expectations, though, and that was the next of the two anniversary celebration flavors.

Nougat with Honey and Nuts

The Nougat with Honey and Nuts Ice Cream is packed with a few more surprises than even the name might lead you to believe.

There was lots of texture to this one from the finely chopped nuts, but also the unexpected addition of candied orange peel.

The flavor was terrific with the nougat and nut being more pronounced than the honey, and the orange peel offered a delicious twist. It could be that the super flavorful mix of this one overshadowed the more subtle Vanilla Pear and Chocolate.

Overall

No matter which flavor (or flavors!) you try, you gotta hand it to ’em: the cast at L’Artisan des Glaces keeps coming up with creative flavors and innovative serving styles to bring guests back time and time again. These Artisans of Ice Cream really live up to their name, and we look forward to many more visits in the coming years!

Bon Anniversaire!

What is YOUR favorite treat at L’Artisan des Glaces? Please let us know with a comment!