The scoop on Sydney's super cool new ice-cream trends (and where to try them)

Long humid days call for freshly made ice-cream stacked in fragrant waffle cones, moulded into popsicles or blitzed into cocktails.

The pursuit of a good scoop reveals a growing adventurousness in Sydney's summer palate. Whether it's tea-flavoured gelato encased in freshly pounded mochi, icy paletas with punchy ancho chilli or boozy sgroppinos with housemade lemon sorbet -these trendy treats stray far from the vanilla.

Japanese flavours

"Miso is the new salted caramel," says Terrence Seeto, owner of Five Dock gelateria Small Joys.

"It used to be considered a bit out there, but now it's almost commonplace."

Seeto, who formerly worked at restaurants Aria and China Doll, says small batch ice-cream allows him the "freedom to play and experiment" with Japanese ingredients such as miso, sake and yuzu.

"Asian cultures have an affinity for marrying the sweet and savoury together, bringing a sense of umami to frozen desserts," Seeto says.

"It elevates the entire experience"

Seeto says he's "surprised" by how adventurous his customers have been. Small Joys' most popular flavour is popcorn miso caramel, closely followed by the yuzu peach pavlova. This year, Seeto hopes to take it one step further with the addition of koji, a fermented rice product.

Japanese flavours can also be found at Newtown gelateria Mapo (which introduced a limited edition yuzushu flavour in collaboration with wine delivery service Not Wasted in December), and Marrickville's Gelato Franco (which uses ingredients such as organic matcha to create limited edition flavours).

Where to try: Small Joys Gelato, 1A/142 Great N Road, Five Dock instagram.com/smalljoysgelato

Mochi gelato

Mochi gelato, or gelato daifuku, is a popular Japanese dessert in which gelato is encased in a ball of chewy mochi (pounded sticky rice).

It's easy to find in the freezer section of most Asian supermarkets, but "due to the nature of mochi, it will turn hard and lose its chewiness after being frozen", says John Chan, owner of Ice Kirin Bar in Burwood.

Demand continues to grow for Ice Kirin's freshly made tea gelato daifuku, more than a year after the dessert shop first opened. Chan says it typically sells out within three to four hours each day.

"We wrap it freshly on site to maximise the experience as much as possible," Chan says.

Mochi gelato with flavours such as matcha, sakura and Hokkaido milk are also available at Gacha Gacha Plus, a new dessert cafe on George Street.

A fresh melon and green tea variety has since appeared on the summer menu at Chase Kojima's restaurant Senpai Ramen in Chatswood.

Where to try: Ice Kirin Bar, 55 Burwood Road, Burwood instagram.com/icekirinbar

Popsicles

Popsicles become paletas at Maiz in Newtown, where chef Juan Carlos draws on childhood memories of street vendors at the California Mexico border.

"I'd go to the plazas in Mexico and find these super amazing fruit paletas made with fresh lime or coconut or hibiscus tea," Carlos says.

Carlos collaborated with the staff at Maiz to come up with more than 15 flavours, including ripe mango and candied ancho chilli, watermelon and hibiscus chamoy and pineapple and basil.

"We're showing a part of our culture that hasn't really been explored in Sydney," Carlos says.

"They've been really popular."

Popsicles have also appeared at Lola's Level 1 in Bondi (where they're made with a cherry and mascarpone semifreddo and served with madeira oranges) and Ciccone and Sons in Redfern (offered in flavours such as sea salt and caramel and jersey milk).

Where to try: Maiz, 415 King St, Newtown instagram.com/maizstreetfood

Vegan ice-cream

More than 80 per cent of customers who buy vegan gelato from Byron Bay company ChaChas aren't actually vegan, says owner Vidya Forrest.

"Most of our customers are just interested in eating something wholesome and less processed, without missing out on flavour," Forrest explains.

ChaChas gelato offers a range of flavours such as miso caramel and chocolate hazelnut without using dairy or refined sugar.

Vegan desserts have come a long way since the "raw" desserts of the early '00s. In the world of gelato, creators such as Forrest have learned to harness the fats in cashews, peanuts, pistachios and hazelnuts to create delicious, creamy treats with a similar mouthfeel to their dairy counterparts.

"It's really taken off," Forrest says.

"Now you can find a whole dedicated freezer of vegan ice-cream at your local supermarket."

The selection now includes plant-based Golden Gaytimes, Magnums and Cornettos.

Where to try: ChaChas is available at IGA and independent retailers across NSW chachasgelato.com

Boozy icy treats

Forget your negroni sbagliato: This summer, sgroppino is where it's at. The Italian cocktail uses prosecco, chilled vodka and lemon sorbet to create a delicious, adults-only slushie.

At Enmore's Bar Planet, they've riffed on the summer classic with the Scorpino, a "half digestif, half dessert".

"We called it 'scorpino' rather than 'sgroppino' because it gave us more freedom to change it while still referencing the classic, plus it's easier to say after a couple," says bartender and general manager Harrison Kenney.

Flavours change weekly, but have been known to include house made lemon, cherry and dragon fruit sorbet.

"We found that by making the sorbet super simply without the addition of any stabilisers, we could get these Scorpinos to taste as much like real fruit as possible," Kenney says.

You can also find a variation of the sgroppino at Abercrombie's new rooftop bar, Casa Rosa, where blood orange sorbet is combined with rhubarb liqueur and pétillant naturel (pet nat).

Where to try: Bar Planet, 16 Enmore Rd, Newtown barplanet.com.au