Viral Croissant Ice Cream Is The Internet’s Latest Obsession – Here’s How To Make It

Even if you’ve spent some time on the internet lately, I’m sure you’ve stumbled upon this oddly satisfying food trend. Yes, we’re talking about the viral croissant ice cream, where a warm, buttery croissant meets a cold, creamy Magnum ice cream bar. The combination has been taking over TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms in 2026, and the best part? It’s incredibly easy to recreate at home.

How the croissant ice cream trend took off

While the dessert feels like a brand-new social media invention, its roots appear to go back further. The recipe is believed to have originated at Cip e Ciop, an Italian patisserie in Naples, a city celebrated for its rich pastry culture and classics such as sfogliatella and rum babà.

The idea has now found a new audience online, particularly during the summer of 2026. Even the Danish ice cream company, Magnum, has joined the conversation, sharing its own take on the recipe on social media.

What you need

The beauty of this viral dessert is that the ingredient list is incredibly short:

1 fresh, flaky croissant

1 ice cream bar

Kitchen scissors or shears

Magnum-style ice cream bars have become a popular choice for recreating the trend, but you can experiment with practically any ice cream bar you enjoy.

How to make viral croissant ice cream at home

Start with warm croissant

Pick a croissant that is fresh, buttery and flaky. You want it warm rather than piping hot, so it is comfortable to bite into while the pastry is still soft enough for its buttery layers to melt slightly around the ice cream.

Create an opening

Using clean kitchen shears, carefully snip off one of the pointed, tapered ends of the croissant. You only need to remove enough pastry to create an opening large enough to fit the ice cream bar inside.

Push in the ice cream

Take your ice cream bar straight from the freezer and gently slide it into the opening. It may get a little messy, and some of the ice cream could smear onto the pastry, that is completely part of the experience.

The bar should be firm enough to retain its shape but not frozen so hard that it is impossible to push into the croissant.

Remove the stick

Once the ice cream is tucked inside, carefully pull out the wooden stick. This leaves the ice cream nestled inside the croissant, transforming the two separate treats into a makeshift ice cream sandwich.

Eat immediately

And that's it. Take a bite while the croissant is still warm and the ice cream remains cold. The contrast between crisp, buttery pastry and creamy ice cream is what makes this simple combination so satisfying, and so perfect for a hot day.