Six of the best freakshakes: There are only 12 days left to stuff our faces. Quick, grab one of these milkshakes with cake on top
Molly Bakes
Kingsland Road, E8, £7
Relatively new on the Dalston scene, this cafe is for the control freak(shake) inside you that just can’t leave dessert up to any old pastry chef. A simple menu of chocolate, raspberry, caramel and peanut butter awaits with the option to customise your toppings.
mollybakes.co.uk
A healthier take on a freakshake at Canvas Cafe
Canvas Cafe
Hanbury street, e1, £8-10
Vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free… the only thing these shakes aren’t free of is fun. This Shoreditch cafe makes ice cream from bananas, coconut and almond milk, then tops it with whipped coconut milk and cake made with a raw base of dates and chopped nuts. You might even be able to eat this one in January.
thecanvascafe.org
Monty Bojangles Milky Mischief
Muriel’s Kitchen
Old Compton Street, W1D, £8.50-12
Get freaky and festive at the same time with these limited edition shakes in Soho. This cafe, which also has spots in Putney and Richmond, has teamed up with truffle experts Monty Bojangles to create two new dessert shakes including the Milky Mischief (pictured above), which is made extra naughty by a dash of dark spiced rum and a splash of espresso.
murielskitchen.co.uk
The Freak Dough at Darwin Brasserie
Darwin Brasserie
Fenchurch Street, EC3M, £8.50-9.50
Live the high life by scoffing a shake on the 36th floor of the Walkie Talkie skyscraper. Released this summer with its new brunch menu, choices include the Freak Dough – a whole doughnut perched over a salted caramel shake – alongside a tropical concoction with macaroons and an option for hardened chocoholics.
skygarden.london/darwin
The Jam Custard freakshake at Burdock
Burdock
Finsbury Square, EC2A, £5
This bar and restaurant on the ground floor of the new Montcalm Royal London House Hotel has a nostalgiac approach to this millennial trend. Take its Jam Custard Freakshake, a classic of the genre, consisting of a strawberry jam and custard shake, strawberry sauce, milk ice cream, custard cream and a doughnut. Like school dinners, if they were good.
burdocklondon.com
Famous freakshakes at Maxwell's
Maxwell’s
James Street, WC2E, £7.95
Even Covent Garden, classy Covent Garden, has got fallen for le freak. These are being served around the corner from the Royal Opera House in American-style diner Maxwell’s and they’re ‘famous’, according to its menu. If by that, it means ‘branded’ then that menu is spot on. There’s an Oreo cookie variety, another one with Mars Bar bits in it and a salted caramel one doesn't seem to have picked up a sponsor. Sad.
maxwells.co.uk