A SCOTTISH-HEADQUARTERED hotel group is celebrating National Ice Cream Day in style – by serving square sausage ice cream.

Apex Hotels has given the traditional roll and lorne sausage a summer makeover, transforming it into a frozen treat presented on a brioche bun with a drizzle of sauce.

Farmhouse dairy Glen Urr joined forces with Apex to bring the concept to life. The reinvented breakfast favourite will be served up free at Apex Grassmarket in Edinburgh for one day only.

Chef Vladimirs Kruus said: “I have to say I’ve never worked with such an unusual ice cream. We decided to serve it on a brioche bun as the bread is slightly sweet, and this will be toasted and dusted with icing sugar. We have also whipped up a toffee drizzle that’s similar in colour to brown sauce, so it really is a sweet equivalent of a classic roll and square sausage.

“There’s no mistaking the distinctive taste of lorne sausage so this is definitely one for the adventurous. If you want to try something distinctly different on National Ice Cream Day drop by Apex Grassmarket.”

It’s not the first time that Glen Urr has created an unusual flavour according to owner Jane Davidson.

She said: “When I was asked to make square sausage ice cream, I thought wow, here’s a challenge – and I love a challenge.

“One of the things we pride ourselves in is working under the motto ‘if you can eat it, we can make it into an ice cream’.

"We’ve had a shot in the past at making all kinds of flavours, from haggis ice cream to vodka sorbets, and the savoury flavours are definitely the bigger challenge.”

Jane follows a traditional approach to ice cream making, with the key ingredients being milk and cream from her family business’ herd of 200 Ayrshire cows. The star ingredient of lorne sausage was sourced from Grierson Brothers Butchers in Castle Douglas before being cooked up, grated and added to the mix.

If you want to try it out, visit Apex Grassmarket this Sunday, July 15, where it will be served free of charge for one day only.

Only one batch of this special limited-edition ice cream has been produced so it will be available on a first-come-first-served basis, and when it’s gone it’s gone.