MANILA, Philippines – Local artisanal ice cream shop Papa Diddi’s is most known for their hand-churned, creamy, carabao’s milk ice cream. As delicious as it is, it may be a guilty pleasure for many, especially for those who are lactose-intolerant, watching their calories, or are following a plant-based diet.

Thankfully, 100% dairy-free ice cream exists, and Papa Diddi’s is finally here for it! Letting you “indulge without the guilt” is Papa Diddi’s new dairy-free ice cream line, made with no lactose, fewer calories, no eggs, and no dairy milk. Instead, almond milk and coconut cream are used.

What made Papa Diddi’s, whose expertise is carabao’s milk ice cream, go the plant-based route? They said that “the demand is there,” and that they’ve been getting a lot of “passionate requests” from customers for “homegrown, handcrafted dairy-free ice cream.”

“As ice cream brings people together, we crafted a new product line to cater to a new market segment who are more health conscious; for those who can’t or won’t eat dairy due to medical or personal reasons,” Papa Diddi’s told Rappler.

The end result is still the same, surprisingly – you still get Papa Diddi’s signature, creamy, and thick consistency, and the taste of all three flavors – ube, coffee, and chocolate – are on point (you can hardly tell that there’s no dairy). It’s a very worthy choice if you’re looking to cut back on dairy, but still want to indulge in your favorite sweet treat.

“We want our customers to have an alternative dairy-free option with a similar profile to our regular line, in terms of taste, texture, and appearance. We used coconut cream to achieve the creaminess and richness that is close to our regular dairy ice cream,” Papa Diddi’s said.

The dairy-free ube flavor tastes just like the classic purple yam and is made from real ube halaya. The coffee flavor is strong and prominent (like a good coffee crumble), and is made from freshly-roasted Benguet coffee. The chocolate flavor is made with local dark chocolate, and tastes like thick, sweet tablea (hot chocolate), but in ice cream form.

Other ingredients present in each pint include brown sugar, corn syrup, stabilizer, and vanilla extract.

How did they do it? A meticulous recipe development process that took many trials and errors, and years of experience that has helped Papa Diddi’s solidify their trusty, homegrown ice cream-making techniques. It was just a matter of “finding the right balance in achieving a dairy-free product that has no off-taste, and is creamy and rich just as you would get with a regular pure carabao’s milk ice cream.”

Depending on the demands of customers, Papa Diddi’s plans to expand their dairy-free line in the future, with new seasonal flavors in the pipeline.

Each pint costs P350. All of Papa Diddi’s dairy-free flavors are available in their Maginhawa, SM North EDSA, SM Southmall, Eastwood, and Xavierville branches. Customers can also order for delivery via Papa Diddi’s website. – Rappler.com

Come to Papa! Do something about that sweet tooth by ordering now from foodpanda using these voucher codes.