Ice Cream Queen: Flavors from Black America's Past, Present, & Future

Jacket Description/Back:
Acclaimed pastry chef LOKELANI ALABANZA offers a celebration of Black culinary history through ice cream, with 100 recipes that expand the canon of American flavors, including Banana Split, Cookie Supreme, Salted Watermelon, Mango-Coconut Sorbet, and Roasted Peach Cobbler. Discover new and unexpected combinations and along the way learn about the makers and entrepreneurs who played with candy, chocolate, pretzels, and even Parmesan cheese to make ice cream, sorbets, and sherberts anything but basic.

Review Quotes:
From the first time I had a bite of Lokelani Alabanza's ice cream, I knew she was mixing up a special concoction at the intersection of history, memory, and nostalgia. Some of the flavors she offers in this book are pulled from the pages of America's ice cream past for us to rediscover. Others are new inventions that speak to a collective memory of American culture. But her recipes explore how the flavor of Black culture are intrinsically American; each one feels familiar because our cuisine couldn't exist without them.--Sarah Lohman, author of Endangered Eating

Review Quotes:
Ice Cream Queen feels like an homage to my grandmother's porch--the place where I learned making ice cream is akin to making family and community. It is a gift to read Black people's intellectual contributions and flavor profiles elevated in a cookbook about this quintessential American treat.--Ashanté M. Reese, author of Gather

Review Quotes:
Ice Cream Queen honors the brilliance of Black cooks and confectioners whose creativity shaped America's sweetest traditions. Lokelani brings their stories forward with a tenderness that carries me back to my own childhood summers--when flavors like Summer Peach, Butter Pecan, and Salted Watermelon held moments of pure joy. Filled with inventive recipes and deeply researched history, this book shines a long-overdue spotlight on the creators whose contributions helped define the nation's dessert culture. More than a cookbook, Ice Cream Queen is a vibrant celebration of culture, community, and a reclaimed culinary legacy.--Cheryl Day, author of Cheryl Day's Treasury of Southern Baking

Review Quotes:
Ice Cream Queen is a beautiful ode to a frozen, churned and unmistakably American treat. When you think about what embodies Americana cuisine you can skip past burgers and hotdogs and let Alabanza guide you through the richness of Black history told through flavors that have shaped generations.--Paola Velez, author of Bodega Bakes

Publisher Marketing:

Back in the 1840s, a free Black woman ran a successful ice cream saloon in Nashville. Her name was Sarah Estell, and she became known as "the Ice Cream Queen." Now taking up her crown is Lokelani Alabanza, a trained pastry chef and avid collector of all things Black Americana. Her love of ice cream and appreciation for those who preceded her come together in this joyful cookbook.

Ice Cream Queen features Alabanza's original creations and revamped classics such as Malted Vanilla, Roasted Strawberry, and Mint Chip. Building on simple bases, standout flavors range from boozy and fruity to adventurous and decadent. Recipes include Nashville Hot Chicken, an ode to her adoptive city's iconic dish; Juneteenth Sorbet, with summer-ripe raspberries and hibiscus flowers; PB&J, a vanilla swirled with peanut butter, strawberry jam, and slices of white bread; Chocolate-Covered Kettle Chip, a crunchy mix of sweet and salty . . . and many more.

A love letter to generations of Black ice cream makers, this cookbook offers something entirely new: ice cream as an act of memory, identity, and Black excellence.

Contributor Bio:Alabanza, Lokelani
Lokelani Alabanza is a pastry chef with 20+ years' experience. Over the course of her career, she has invented over 300 ice cream flavors. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, she is the founder of Saturated Ice Cream.