A Note from Kelly: I’m thrilled to introduce Studio DIY’s new DIY and recipe contributors this month. After hearing your requests for fresh perspectives, we invited a few talented creators to share projects and recipes. First up is Andrea from Salty Canary, known for her over-the-top milkshake creations. She’s joining us to share this playful cactus ice cream cone idea — give her a warm welcome in the comments!
Hi — Andrea here from Salty Canary. I’m sharing how to make cactus ice cream cones using actual cactus-flavored ice cream. The ice cream blends nopales (cactus paddles) with grapefruit for a bright, balanced flavor — on its own nopales taste a bit like green beans, so the grapefruit adds a pleasant brightness.
The idea came from seeing mint-and-chip cones that looked like potted cacti. I decided to make the concept literal: cactus-flavored ice cream shaped in cones, dotted with white sprinkles as the “spines” (or prickles), and finished with a small candy-flower on top.
I use an ice cream maker for all my homemade ice cream and highly recommend one if you plan to make frozen desserts often — it yields very creamy results. You can usually find nopales in the produce section at many grocery stores; sometimes they’re sold whole, and other times pre-diced with the spines removed, which saves time.
Cactus Ice Cream Cones
20 mins
15 mins
35 mins
0
Ingredients
- ½ cup nopales, cleaned and diced
- ½ cup fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 5 egg yolks
- ¾ cup sugar, divided
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp sriracha
- Optional: green food coloring
- Optional: 1–2 tbsp tequila
- Ice cream cones
- White jimmies sprinkles
- Handful pink candy melts
- Handful yellow candy melts
Instructions
- Boil the diced nopales until soft, then drain and rinse.
- Blend the cooked nopales until smooth, adding a teaspoon of water if needed.
- In a saucepan, combine grapefruit juice, milk, heavy cream, half the sugar, salt, and sriracha. Heat over medium, whisking occasionally until it comes to a gentle boil.
- Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar in a separate bowl.
- Temper the eggs by slowly pouring one-third of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks while stirring, then repeat two more times.
- Return the combined mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. Do not let it boil.
- Strain the mixture through a sieve into a clean bowl, let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate 1–2 hours.
- Optional: stir in 1–2 tablespoons tequila before chilling if you want a boozy version (don’t add more or it may prevent proper freezing).
- Optional: add 6–9 drops green food coloring if you prefer a brighter green color.
- Once chilled, churn the base in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Transfer the churned ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze overnight to firm up.
- Melt pink and yellow candy melts (follow package directions) and pipe small pink flowers with yellow centers onto parchment. Let harden and set aside.
- To assemble: scoop ice cream into cones, press a handful of white jimmies into the scoop to resemble spines, and top with a candy melt flower.
- Enjoy!
Photos by Andrea Ament | Salty Canary
Want a boozier treat? Add 1–2 tablespoons of tequila to the base — enough to add flavor without preventing the ice cream from freezing. If you’d rather skip making cactus-flavored ice cream, you can simply tint vanilla ice cream with green food coloring and follow the decoration steps for the same cactus effect.