This ultra-creamy ice cream is available in a rotating selection of creative flavors. The strawberry mascarpone is a masterpiece of fresh-picked berries mixed with a dense, cream base; the black sesame has a nutty flavor and unique gray-purple hue. Grab a pint to take home for later.

Pumphouse Creamery is all about “farm to frozen” ice cream: All its flavors are handmade in a tiny kitchen with locally sourced ingredients. This makes for some exceptionally flavorful scoops: The strawberry, for example, actually tastes like fresh-picked wild strawberries. Try the speckled milky chocolate or the mint cookies and cream.

This summer, the Painted Turtle has partnered with the uber-innovative Minnesota Dairy Lab to bring fresh cold scoops to the shores of Lake Nokomis. The summer menu is still being finalized, but expect creative flavors in the vein of koji caramel raspberry, malted hot chocolate, and paloma sorbet.

Rich and creamy scoops with adult-friendly flavors (think cardamon black pepper, butter cashew, and anise hyssop sorbet), Sonny’s is an ideal stop for a date night on warm evenings. It also may be the only Twin Cities shop serving a wine-flavored sorbet. The organic pinot grigio has a delicate hint of mint.

This sweet Uptown spot is home to La La Homemade Ice Cream, serveing both kid-approved cones and flavors adults adore. One favorite, the Charlottes’ Web, is made with toasted coconut and dark chocolate swirled into vanilla ice cream. There’s also a wide selection of house-made sodas.

Another classic Uptown ice cream spot, Milkjam’s flavors range from the refined (the namesake “Milkjam” flavor is made with caramelized sweetened condensed milk) to the totally indulgent (the “Doughboi” cake-batter ice cream is mixed with hefty cookie dough chunks). This shop has some great dairy-free options, too — the vegan chocolate is so dark and rich it almost glitters. The toppings here take Milkjam’s scoops into another stratosphere of flavor.

This whimsical ice cream shop in Minneapolis’s Wedge neighborhood has a maximalist vibe. The “Breakfast Club” flavor is a good example: A citrus-vanilla base is mixed with Lucky Charms, and topped with caramelized Fruity Pebbles. Even vanilla gets a flavor punch up with a dose of MSG. Bebe Zito also has an outpost at Eat Street Crossing food hall.

Sebastian Joe’s was the shop that introduced Minneapolis to premium ice cream in 1984 — nowadays, it’s one of the Twin Cities’ most beloved shops. The flavors here tread the line between classic and inventive: The tart raspberry chocolate chip and the Pavoratti, which melds flavors of banana and caramel, are favorites. Sebastian Joe’s has locations in both Lowry Hill and Linden Hills, with another coming soon to Nicollet Avenue.

MN Nice Cream might just have the biggest toppings menu in the Twin Cities. These soft-serve cones are designed to be heaped with peanut butter bark, gummy worms, puppy chow, and toasted marshmallows — the big kind. Each cone is swirled with an impressive flourish. Even better, it offers vegan flavors made from oatmilk, and the chocolate and vanilla soft serve is lactose-free.

Mrs. Dessert & Kumpir, one of the newest sweet shops to open in Northeast Minneapolis, serves a rolled ice cream specialty. Flavors like Oreo, pistachio, and baklava are flattened into sheets, rolled into neat spirals, and served with a treat at their center — maybe a cannoli or a caramel-drizzled Biscoff cookie.

One of the newest ice cream shops in the Twin Cities, Travail-backed Dream Creamery’s menu is infused with nostalgia. The flavors touch on familiar childhood snacks, mixing pretzels, brownies, and cookie dough into rich cream bases. Dream Creamery also serves burgers, lobster rolls, and other food.

2 Scoops is a great spot for no-frills classics, like rich, delicately salty butter pecan or fudgy Zanzibar chocolate, or banana splits heaped with whipped cream and maraschino cherries. Pair a cone with homemade pizza, a chili dog, or a pulled pork sandwich. There’s a little patch of green space across from the shop for a sweet, impromptu picnic.

A St. Paul institution, Grand Ole Creamery makes its ice cream in-house and doles out giant servings in fresh waffle cones. Popular flavors include Black Hills Gold (caramel ice cream with Oreos and praline pecans) and Macdaddy (butter pecan ice cream with Oreos).  The lines are long on hot summer nights, but they move quickly.

For classic Italian-style gelato — more dense and rich than ice cream, thanks to a higher milk to cream ratio and a slow churn — head straight to St. Paul’s Cossetta. Flavors range from pistachio to canella to amaretto, and a number of tarty, fruity sorbets are also on offer.

This West Side neighborhood staple is known for its affogatos and churro sundaes, served over a base of caramel sauce. Swing by for a cup during the West Side Farmers Market.