hey there, fellow dessert lover ~

Our Story

The Toasted Cone is a locally owned scoop shop & scratch bakery in West Des Moines — built on a simple belief that a great scoop can turn an ordinary day into a tiny celebration.

A young guest at The Toasted Cone counter

Est. Des Moines, IA

We're in the joy business.
Dessert is just the delivery.

We started The Toasted Cone because we think life's too short for boring desserts. So we churn wild, wonderful super-premium flavors — from old-fashioned vanilla to Gulab Jamun, from vegan oat creams to whatever seasonal experiment is bubbling in the kitchen this week.

Everything's made with true, quality ingredients, right here in West Des Moines. We're locally owned, fiercely independent, and building something we'll be proud of in ten years. No franchise playbook — just real people making real treats for our neighbors across the DSM metro.

— fiercely independent, endlessly creamy

how it all started ~

Behind the scenes

Two things shaped us long before there was ever a shop. One was those long Midwest summer evenings — the whole neighborhood chasing the jingle of the ice cream truck down the block. The other was the kitchen at home, where dessert meant warm cardamom, rosewater and slow-cooked milk, made the way our family always made it.

We looked around West Des Moines and couldn't find a single place that celebrated both worlds under one roof. So — a little stubbornly, and with a lot of love — we decided to build it ourselves. That meant months of late-night test batches in a home kitchen, notebooks overflowing with ideas, and roping in every friend and family member we could find to be a taste-tester. Gulab Jamun sat next to Blue Moon. Malai Kulfi met Birthday Cake. Some experiments were spectacular; plenty ended up in the sink.

When we finally found our little spot on University Avenue, it clicked: this was home. Today every scoop is churned super-premium right here, dairy-free and eggless neighbors are never an afterthought, and our pink truck carries that same joy to weddings, block parties and school pickups all across the metro.

We're locally owned, fiercely independent, and only just getting started. This is chapter one — and we're so glad you're here to taste it with us.

"We didn't want to open just another ice cream shop. We wanted to open the one we always wished existed."

what we believe ~

Five scoops of philosophy

Serve every scoop with a smile

We're in the joy business first, dessert second. Guests remember warmth long after the last bite.

The pink truck goes everywhere

Weddings, birthdays, block parties, corporate lawns — if there's a celebration, we'll bring the scoops to it.

Bake late. Dream loud.

We're a scratch kitchen. If there's a smell of butter at 6 AM, it means the next signature flavor is being born.

Weekends belong to sprinkles

Our busiest, happiest hours are Friday nights and Sunday afternoons — because that's when memories get made.

Grow with a family, not a franchise

Locally owned and fiercely independent. Come help us write chapter one of something we'll be proud of for decades.

A seat for everyone

Vegan, eggless, dairy-free, or team-triple-chocolate — there's a flavor here with your name on it.

The Pink Truck

Catch us rolling through the metro.

Our pink truck brings The Toasted Cone to weddings, festivals, schools, offices and neighborhoods all over West Des Moines, Waukee, and greater Des Moines. Follow along on Instagram to see where we're parked next.

Book the truck Follow @thetoastedcone