An apparatus for the preparation of comestible-containing sandwich products comprises a sandwich product assembly station and corresponding means for the fabrication and assembly of a sandwich product in the vertical direction. The apparatus includes an extruder nozzle, wafer trays and corresponding components for the location of wafers on opposite sides of the extruded product, an indexing wheel for receiving the assembled sandwich product, and sandwich transporting means for moving the sandwich to a wrapping assembly and from there to a discharge end, wherein all of the components of the apparatus are mounted in cantilevered fashion on a vertical support or base member. Each element is powered individually by a servo motor or actuator and controlled by a controller allowing the variability of throughput for each station.

The invention encompasses methods of preparing a stratified frozen confection for hand consumption and the related confection. The methods include filling an aliquot container defining a three dimensional shape with at least one open end with an amount of a frozen material, reducing the temperature of the frozen material within the scoop to about −12.2° C. (10° F.) or less; placing a first surface of the frozen material in contact with an interior surface of a first substrate, the first substrate having a length dimension an a width dimension; removing the frozen material from the aliquot container. The first surface of the frozen material is in contact with the interior surface of the first substrate and a second surface of the frozen material is positioned in a plane above the plane of the first substrate. Thereafter, the methods include manipulating the second surface of the frozen material to place at least one cavity in the second surface; disposing upon the second surface of the frozen material an amount of a filling to form a filling layer that has a first surface that is in contact with the second surface of the frozen material and a second surface; applying a second substrate to the second surface of the filling, the second substrate having a width dimension and a length dimension. Thus, a stratified frozen confection having at least two layers disposed between a first substrate and a second substrate is formed.

A system for presenting and preparing foodstuffs that include a plurality of individual foodstuff blocks provided formed into basic shapes comprises a heating device including a heatable cooking receptacle for one or more foodstuff blocks with a heatable grill surface and at least one heating mandrel projecting from the grill surface; wherein the heating mandrel is insertable into a passage opening provided in each respective foodstuff block and is adapted to the contour of the passage opening so as to avoid an air gap between the wall of the passage opening and the heating mandrel.

An apparatus for the preparation of comestible-containing sandwich products comprises a sandwich product assembly station and corresponding means for the fabrication and assembly of a sandwich product in the vertical direction. The apparatus includes an extruder nozzle, wafer trays and corresponding components for the location of wafers on opposite sides of the extruded product, an indexing wheel for receiving the assembled sandwich product, and conveying means for conveying to a wrapping assembly and from there to a discharge end, wherein all of the components of the apparatus are mounted in cantilevered fashion on a vertical support or base member. Each element is powered individually by a servo motor and controlled by a controller allowing the variability of throughput for each station.

An apparatus for the preparation of comestible-containing sandwich products comprises a sandwich product assembly station and corresponding means for the fabrication and assembly of a sandwich product in the vertical direction. The apparatus includes an extruder nozzle, wafer trays and corresponding components for the location of wafers on opposite sides of the extruded product, an indexing wheel for receiving the assembled sandwich product, and sandwich transporting means for moving the sandwich to a wrapping assembly and from there to a discharge end, wherein all of the components of the apparatus are mounted in cantilevered fashion on a vertical support or base member. Each element is powered individually by a servo motor or actuator and controlled by a controller allowing the variability of throughput for each station.

A method and system of producing extruded ice cream products includes providing a plurality of extruded ice cream products in an ordered arrangement on a plurality of trays and arranging the plurality of trays for movement along a conveyor line. The plurality of trays and the plurality of extruded ice cream products are arranged thereon for downstream processing. The method and system further includes sensing at least one of a vertical product height or a horizontal product position of the plurality of extruded ice cream products arranged on the plurality of trays using at least one sensor, and analyzing the sensed at least one of the vertical product height or the horizontal product position of the plurality of extruded ice cream products using a processor to determine suitability for downstream processing.

A system for presenting and preparing foodstuffs that include a plurality of individual foodstuff blocks provided formed into basic shapes comprises a heating device including a heatable cooking receptacle for one or more foodstuff blocks with a heatable grill surface and at least one heating mandrel projecting from the grill surface; wherein the heating mandrel is insertable into a passage opening provided in each respective foodstuff block and is adapted to the contour of the passage opening so as to avoid an air gap between the wall of the passage opening and the heating mandrel.

An ice cream sandwich apparatus for making and wrapping ice cream sandwiches. The ice cream sandwich apparatus includes a plurality of stations driven by servo motors.

An apparatus for the preparation of comestible-containing sandwich products comprises a sandwich product assembly station and corresponding means for the fabrication and assembly of a sandwich product in the vertical direction. The apparatus includes an extruder nozzle, wafer trays and corresponding components for the location of wafers on opposite sides of the extruded product, an indexing wheel for receiving the assembled sandwich product, and conveying means for conveying to a wrapping assembly and from there to a discharge end, wherein all of the components of the apparatus are mounted in cantilevered fashion on a vertical support or base member. Each element is powered individually by a servo motor and controlled by a controller allowing the variability of throughput for each station.

An apparatus and a method produce multi-layered wafer blocks which are filled with a spreading substance such as a cream, for example, in which a first wafer block component is transported along a conveying surface to a stacking area, is lifted there from the conveying surface by a gripping device, a second wafer block component is subsequently or simultaneously transported along the conveying surface to the stacking area, and the first wafer block component is placed and/or pressed onto the second wafer block component from above in a joining process.