Sugar. Fat. Cold. Heat. Honestly, it’s the four horsemen of a dessert apocalypse, but in the best way possible. If you’ve spent more than five minutes on Instagram or TikTok over the last few years, you’ve seen it: a golden, cinnamon-dusted cylinder of fried dough, hollowed out and overflowing with soft serve. It looks like a chimney. It tastes like childhood. People call it the doughnut ice cream cone, and while it looks like a modern social media invention, the history is actually way deeper than a trending hashtag.
It’s messy. Let’s just start there. If you try to eat one of these while walking down a breezy street in Prague or NYC, you’re going to end up with vanilla streaks on your shoes. But that’s sort of the point, right?
Where the Doughnut Ice Cream Cone Actually Came From
Most people think some genius in a Brooklyn hipster lab invented this. They didn't. The "cone" is actually a variation of the Trdelník, a traditional spit cake that you’ll find on almost every street corner in the Czech Republic. Historically, it wasn't even a cone. It was just a cylinder of dough wrapped around a stick, grilled over open flames, and topped with walnuts.
Then, around 2016, a cafe in Prague called Good Food Coffee and Pastry decided to seal the bottom.
They lined the inside with Nutella. They jammed ice cream into the middle. Suddenly, the doughnut ice cream cone (or "Chimney Cake") was the most photographed food on the planet. It’s a brilliant bit of culinary engineering because the dough is dense enough to hold the weight of the dairy, unlike a flimsy wafer cone that shatters the moment you apply pressure.
Why Your Local Bakery Probably Doesn't Make Them
You’d think every Dunkin’ or Krispy Kreme would have jumped on this by now. They haven't. Why? Because making a functional doughnut ice cream cone is a logistical nightmare for a standard kitchen.
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Standard doughnuts are deep-fried. If you deep-fry a cone shape, the oil gets trapped inside, making the whole thing a soggy, greasy mess that collapses under the weight of the ice cream. To do it right, you need specialized rotisserie equipment. You need "spits"—wooden or metal rollers—that rotate the dough over a heat source. This allows the outside to caramelize into a crisp shell while the inside stays fluffy and bread-like. It’s a slow process. It’s a specialized process.
Most ice cream shops want high turnover. They want to scoop and go. They don't want to wait eight minutes for a piece of dough to rotate over a heating element while a line of thirty people snakes out the door. That’s why you usually only see these at high-end specialty shops like Chloeless in California or at major food festivals like Smorgasburg.
The Physics of the Melt
We have to talk about the thermal dynamics here. It’s a problem. You’re putting frozen cream into a warm, freshly baked pastry.
- The Barrier: Successful shops usually coat the interior with a layer of chocolate or peanut butter. This creates a temporary waterproof (and dairy-proof) seal.
- The Structural Integrity: If the dough is too airy, the ice cream seeps through the pores. It becomes a sponge.
- The Bottom Plug: This is the most common failure point. If the baker doesn't pinch the bottom of the cone perfectly, you get "the drip."
It’s a race against time. You have about four minutes of peak structural integrity before the warmth of the doughnut turns your premium gelato into a puddle. It's intense.
Real Examples of the Best Versions
If you’re hunting for the authentic experience, you’ve got to look for places that call them "Chimney Cakes" or "Kürtőskalács."
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In Toronto, Eva’s Initiatives (Eva’s Original Chimney Cones) became famous for this. They don't just do vanilla; they do builds with butter tart filling and salted caramel. In the UK, you’ll find them popping up in Christmas markets. The variance in quality is wild, though. A "fake" doughnut ice cream cone is just a literal yeast doughnut cut in half with a scoop on top. A "real" one is a continuous spiral of dough.
The spiral is key. When you eat it, you don't just bite—you unspool it. You peel the warm, sugary dough away from the cold ice cream core. It’s a texture contrast that a standard waffle cone simply can’t replicate.
Is It Actually Healthier? (Spoiler: No)
People ask this. I don't know why.
You’re looking at a piece of enriched dough, rolled in sugar, often lined with chocolate, and filled with roughly 6 to 8 ounces of soft serve. A single doughnut ice cream cone can easily clock in between 800 and 1,200 calories depending on the toppings. It’s a "once a summer" kind of treat, not a Tuesday afternoon snack.
How to Make a "Cheat Version" at Home
If you don't have a Hungarian spit-roaster in your kitchen—which, let's be honest, you don't—you can simulate this.
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Get some store-bought crescent roll dough. Wrap it around a conical mold (you can make one out of tin foil). Roll it in cinnamon sugar. Bake it at 375°F until it's golden. Once it cools just enough to handle, coat the inside with melted chocolate. Let that chocolate harden in the fridge for five minutes. Then, drop your ice cream in.
It’s not "authentic," but it gets you 80% of the way there without the $15 price tag you’ll find at a music festival.
What to Look for When Buying One
Don't get scammed by a stale cone. If the shop has a stack of pre-made cones sitting out in the open air, walk away. Those things go stale faster than an open bag of crackers. A real doughnut ice cream cone should be warm to the touch when it’s handed to you.
Check the bottom. If it looks thin, ask for an extra napkin. You’ll need it.
The trend might have peaked in 2018 in terms of "virality," but the actual food remains a staple because it hits every single sensory note we’re wired to love. Crunchy, chewy, cold, hot, salty, sweet. It’s the final boss of desserts.
Actionable Steps for the Dessert Hunter
- Search for "Chimney Cake" specifically. Many of the best spots don't use the word "doughnut" in their branding because they're sticking to the Hungarian roots.
- Check the turnover. Only buy from places where you can actually see the rollers turning. If they aren't cooking them fresh, the dough will be tough and rubbery.
- Pick your base wisely. Cinnamon sugar is the classic, but a cocoa-dusted cone provides a nice bitterness to offset a very sweet ice cream.
- Eat from the top down. Don't try to be fancy with a spoon. You have to commit to the bite.
- Carry wet wipes. This is not a suggestion. It is a requirement.
The doughnut ice cream cone is a feat of gluttonous engineering. While it's a nightmare for your blood sugar, it's a masterclass in how traditional street food can be rebranded for a new generation. Just make sure you eat it fast.