croissant biscuits at Yogurt World, South Korea
We can’t have a post about creative froyo flavors without sharing our list of creative froyo toppings. We tried to keep this list limited to new toppings offered since our last creative froyo toppings post in March 2023. This year we found so many interesting toppings, including two that are very popular right now in South Korea: tanghulu and flat croissants. Six countries are represented on our creative froyo toppings list.
Here they are, in alphabetical order.
Banana Bombs, YOMG, Australia (IG @yomgburgers)
YOMG, the Australian self-serve froyo chain, made our creative froyo toppings list with February’s introduction of banana bombs: fresh banana chunks fried in doughnut batter with cinnamon sugar and Nutella. Last year, YOMG was on our creative froyo toppings list with apple & rhubarb pudding.
Cendol, Yole, Brunei (IG @yolebrunei)
Yole in Brunei offered cendol as a limited-time topping for Raya. Cendol is an Indonesian dessert with green pandan-flavored noodles made with glutinous rice flour, sweet coconut milk, and palm sugar syrup. It’s also popular in Singapore and Malaysia. Raya follows Ramadan. It’s the day that people celebrate breaking the month-long fast.
Croissant Biscuit, Yogurt World, South Korea (IG @yogurtworld_official)
Yogurt World, a froyo chain in South Korea, started offering croissant biscuits as a froyo topping in January. Flat croissants are a viral trend in South Korea. They feature regular croissants that are topped with sugar and pressed till crispy and caramelized. They’re known as croissant nurungji. Yogurt World offers three kinds of mini croissant biscuits.⠀
Hibiscus Rose Whey Caramel Sauce, Eb & Bean, Portland, OR, US (IG @ebandbean)
Portland’s Eb & Bean, which is on this year’s list for Creative Froyo Flavors, also made excels when it comes to creative, locally sourced toppings. Hibiscus rose whey caramel sauce is made in the Williamette Valley by Portland Creamery. The sauces are made with goat cheese whey, a byproduct of their cheese production. Other flavors include Spiced Vanilla and Wicked Goat. Eb & Bean made our creative froyo toppings list last year with coconut hazelnut cake crunch, made with Papa Haydn’s Mt. Adams cake.
Hot Dark Chocolate and Nutella Crusts, Kalamaki, Los Angeles, CA, US (IG @kalamakigreekla)
Kalamaki Greek LA is a new Greek street food café in Los Angeles that started as a food truck in 2018. A brick & mortar restaurant last September in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles (Central LA). In November 2023, they added Greek froyo to the café (but not to the food truck). Customers have the option of adding a hot dark chocolate crust or a hot Nutella crust to their froyo. We’re not sure what the crust is like but it sounds thicker and more decadent than chocolate shell.
Housemade Popping Boba, Top It Yogurt Shoppe, Snohomish, WA, US (IG @topityogurtshoppe_)
Popping boba that comes out of a tub is a common boba shop topping. Top It Yogurt Shoppe in Snohomish, Washington, made popping boba from scratch! And they also have housemade mochi, cookies, cookie dough, and sauces.
Kunafa, Go Greek, Saudi Arabia (IG @gogreekyogurt_sa)
In honor of Ramadan in 2023, Go Greek in Saudi Arabia introduced a new topping, kunafa. Kunafa is a traditional Arab dessert made with pastry (e.g., long thin noodle threads) soaked in a sugar-based syrup and often layered with cheese. Variations of this dessert are popular in Palestine, Turkey, Iran, and Greece.
Mini Golden Cookies, Yo-Chi, Australia, (IG @iloveyochi)
Australian self-serve froyo chain, Yo-Chi, partnered with Chef Mogan Hipworth for a special topping, mini golden cookies. The cookies were made with white chocolate and Caramilk. Caramilk is a blend of Cadbury white chocolate and caramelized milk powder that was developed for the UK and Ireland. It’s a golden caramel chocolate bar. Yo-Chi made our last creative froyo toppings list with hot cross bun crumble.
Tanghulu, Yoajung, Honolulu, HI, US (IG @yoajung_alamoana)
This seems to be the year of tanghulu. Tanghulu looks like a skewer of fresh, ripe fruit that has been candied (covered in a thin sugar shell). It’s a street food snack from Northern China but has also become popular in South Korea. We’ve seen it in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Honolulu. Yoajung, which is less than a year old, serves Korean yogurt ice cream at the Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu. They offer tanghulu as a froyo topping.
Tteok, Iogo, Jakarta, Indonesia (IG @iogo.id)
Iogo, a froyo shop in Jakarta, Indonesia, offers Korean toppings that include tteok (steamed rice cake), tanghulu, and Korean strawberry pudding. They also had a Korean peach froyo flavor. We know about Korean strawberry milk, but we’re not familiar with Korean strawberry pudding.
