I stand firm in my preference for Des Moines over Omaha. However, the ice cream scene in Des Moines is painfully underdeveloped. There are a few old-timey joints and local soft-serve places, but no reliable locations for traditional hard-pack cream in interesting flavors, or the “craft ice cream” scene. Naturally I was very excited to see Black Cat Ice Cream forging the path.

Black Cat is located in a hole in the wall. No literally, it is a hole in a wall off 15th and Grand in Des Moines right next to the Pappajohn Sculpture Park. No seating, just go up to the window, order your ice cream from the chalkboard menu, and they walk two steps to the freezer and scoop your ice cream from blue lid tupperware.

This company was started by Alex Carter, a former pastry chef at Table 128 in Clive. His crazy flavored ice cream desserts were always a hit at the restaurant, and he wanted to start his own ice cream joint to see if those flavors could sell. The place is named after their cat, Boo Bear. Cute!

We stopped by on a very hot day and stood in line on the sidewalk behind families with small children eager to cool down with an icy treat. The menu is pretty simple, 6-7 flavors, one size, one price. I thought 5$ was steep, but the portions were huge, we had two heaping scoops, plenty for two to share.

We chose the Cinnamon Roll and the Chocolate Ghost Chili. Unfortunately, the chocolate is buried under the cinnamon roll, but trust me, it was beautiful. On top, the ice cream tasted like rich cinnamon laced with chunks of bready roll, cinnamon sugar glaze, and real chunks of cream cheese frosting. It was so good! What an amazing utilization of mix-ins. The Chocolate Ghost Chili was a journey, first I tasted a rich and sweet dark chocolate but after it settled, my throat was actually burning from the Ghost chili. I felt like I had eaten a red chili pepper whole from a Salween curry dish! The flavor was so rich, I felt like I was eating dark chocolate brownie batter, so fudgy!

The flavor execution is incredibly good for an ice creamery that has been around for less than a year. However, I the texture can certainly be improved. There was too much water in the mixture, resulting in an ice cream laden with ice crystals. There needs to be some tinkering with the recipe. Another small fix: give us a bigger spoon! We received a teeny spoon that was more fit for soft gelato: not big enough or strong enough to handle a hard-pack ice cream.

 

The flavors are so good, the owner’s talent and creativity is evident. However, the texture needs some workshopping. Despite some needed improvements, the ice cream is enjoyable and definitely worth a visit!

The Bottom Line

Well-developed flavors in a huge serving! A perfect treat after a visit to the Sculpture garden.

Cone Rating: 4 Cones 

Price: $ (Under 10$)

Location: Downtown Des Moines, IA

On the Internet: Black Cat Ice Cream Website, Yelp page, and Facebook page