If I’m asked to sum up an appliance for summer 2025, it will be: the frozen dessert maker.
This season has seen two heavyweights enter the ring in the battle to be crowned the best. Ninja has - deep breath now - the SLUSHi for frozen drinks (now available in a very pretty array of pastels), the CREAMi for ice cream and frozen desserts, and Swirl by CREAMi, which offers double-digit functions.
Now, Cuisinart already has a couple of ice cream makers in its line-up, but its Frost Fusion is a different beast altogether. The appliance offers six modes under its trim hood, allowing the hot and sweaty to fix themselves a refreshing treat when temperatures spike (and give your poor fan a break).
It can make soft serve ice cream, slushies, frappés, sorbets, wine slushes, and frozen cocktails, all in as little as 20 piddly minutes. And get this: unlike many of its peers, there's no need to pre-freeze the mix first. Just add your ingredients and churn, baby, churn.
This short operation time will come in useful for a host of scenarios. Hosting a dinner party? Turn it on while you’re having your main course, and return to 1.6L of delicious, homemade ice cream, ready to serve. It’s also a great ice-breaker if you’re having a more casual gathering, making bar-grade frozen margs and frosé (that’s frozen rosé) that your pals will line up for. Family BBQ coming on the horizon? Put bowls of sprinkles and M&Ms beside the Frost Fusion, and let the kids go to town pulling soft serve from the dispenser.
Maintenance is, the brand promises, simple thanks to the self-cleaning function that whips around the inside of the main compartment, and most of the detachable parts are top drawer dishwasher safe.
It all sounds too good to be true, and preferable to chasing a local Toni’s Ices van down the street.
I tried Cuisinart’s Frost Fusion at home - here’s how I got on. And yes, I call this work.
Cuisinart Frost Fusion key specs
Design
Tall and slim, the Frost Fusion comes in a fitting shade of polar white, with just the drip tray and star tip (for the ridges on soft serve) detached in the box.
At 45cm high, it slips neatly under my upper kitchen cabinets, but I'll have to pull it forward to add my ingredients into the funnel tray, which sits at the top of the design. I had to do the same with an ancient Ninja air fryer, and it became tedious pretty quickly, so I’ll need to find an alternative home for the Frost Fusion if I want to keep using it for the foreseeable.
The pump-style dispenser is at the front, which is where you’ll also find the measuring levels. Finally, a simple control panel is up top with clean, simple buttons to switch between modes, adjust the temperature and initiate the self-cleaning mode.
Hang onto the manual - alongside set-up instructions, it comes with basic recipes you’ll want to refer to when making basic treats before you graduate to full Wonka.
Setting up and functions
Aside from hauling the machine out of the box - at 14kg, it’s not light - and freeing the drip tray from a plastic bag, there’s not much to it.
Plug the Frost Fusion into the mains, and you’re good to go, although Cusinart recommends giving the detachable ingredients tray and nozzles a gentle wash or wipe down first, which I did. No one wants dusty ice cream, do they?
Performance
A good old soft serve was to be the first test, I decided. Once I’d popped to Tesco for the four ingredients required - full milk, double cream, granulated sugar, vanilla extract - it took a few minutes to mix everything in a bowl, pour it into the Frost Fusion and switch it onto ice cream mode. It’s worth noting that you must meet a minimum volume level to operate the machine; it’s unable to make single portions. It’s time I met the neighbours, anyway.
After about half an hour of whirring, the machine switches to a Keep Cool function, which it will keep chilled until you’re ready to dispense.
While the soft serve that filled my bowl was indeed smooth and a remarkable white colour like expensive vanilla ice creams, the flavour wasn’t as sweet as I’d like. Next time, I’ll add a bit more sugar.
I thought pulling the handle would result in a continuous flow of dessert, but for me, it came through in short bursts. It’s not the end of the world, but if you’re trying to fill a cone, you may have to finesse your technique.
The dispenser’s hood popped off twice while I was pulling, smearing ice cream all over it. Again, a trifling matter: I simply rinsed it under warm water and popped it back. If you’re allowing kids to use the Frost Fusion, you may want to stay in the vicinity in case of similar mishaps.
Cost - is it worth the price?
This is an appliance for a sweet-toothed household, a family with lots of kids running around, or someone who wants to take hosting to the next level.
It costs a lot more than a 99p Flake does these days - although if you’ve seen an ice cream van menu lately, not by much - and it’s a showpiece that will get guests talking. Is it a kitchen essential? No, but then, it’s not claiming to be. Will you be grateful to have it stashed in a cupboard when a heatwave strikes? Absolutely.
Verdict
Cuisinart Frost Fusion
When you want a cooling treat fast, Cuisinart’s Frost Fusion is on hand to deliver. The appliance can make a multitude of refreshing drinks and desserts, with none requiring a pre-freeze step. It takes about half an hour to make enough soft serve to fill 10 bowls, so one to roll out for parties or when the kids start hinting about ice cream. Simple to use and compact enough for the kitchen counter, you’ll be grateful for it when the next heatwave hits.
Buy now £299.99, Lakeland
