The Return of the Popsicle: A New Playground for Ice Cream Makers and Pastry Chefs

Long associated with trips to the movies, vacation memories, and beach vendors, the popsicle—once commonly known as an “Eskimo”—seemed to belong to another era. However, in recent years, this frozen treat has seen a real resurgence in popularity and is carving out a place for itself on the menus of ice cream shops and pastry shops.

Tiana Salles Published today at 16:02

The popsicle’s success is part of several underlying trends. First, there is a return to simpler desserts, where the product itself once again takes center stage. Second, there is a demand for convenient, on-the-go formats suited to new consumption habits. Finally, its individual and accessible format meets the expectations of customers seeking simple, instantly recognizable indulgences. For artisanal makers, the popsicle also serves as a wonderful creative canvas: experimenting with textures, reducing sugar content, carefully sourcing fruit, creating unexpected flavor combinations, and developing sophisticated coatings. Behind the simplicity of its form, however, lies genuine expertise: balancing sugar levels, managing texture after freezing, ensuring fruit quality, and perfecting inclusions or coatings. All these elements explain the growing interest among professionals in this format.

Crazy Pops, Mr. Khanh’s Popsicle

When he discovered the craze for popsicles during a trip to the United States, particularly in Atlanta, Khanh immediately understood the concept’s potential. The idea of opening a shop came to him as he was planning a project in Vietnam, a country where popsicles hold an important place in popular culture. But the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in his plans. Stranded in France at the end of 2020, he finally decided to take over his daughter’s former shop—the renowned Parisian ice cream parlor La Tropicale—to launch Crazy Pops in Paris’s 13th arrondissement. An engineer by training for about ten years before turning his attention to ice cream, Khanh has solid experience in the trade. He has been working in the ice cream industry for over forty years, having trained at Lenôtre, among other places. This experience now allows him to offer recipes in which the simplicity of the format contrasts with the precision of the combinations. In his view, behind every good ice cream pop lies true artisanal expertise. “It’s simple to eat, easy to understand, but the ice cream maker’s expertise is still what matters,” he sums up. Among the most popular flavors are Passion Fruit-Raspberry, inspired by Indian kulfi; Milk Cream-Raspberry; Strawberry-Mint, and Coconut-Banana-Sesame. These creations focus more on a balance of flavors than on an accumulation of gimmicks.

Crazy Pops / La Tropicale, 180 Boulevard Vincent Auriol | 75013 Paris
@ crazypops.glacier

Popsicles © Tiana Salles © Tiana Salles

Emkipop and Jessica Préalpato: When the Popsicle Meets Haute Pâtisserie

In Marseille, Emkipop is among the pioneers of the artisanal popsicle revival in France. Since its inception, the company has championed an approach centered on the use of fresh, seasonal fruit, natural ingredients, and recipes that are intentionally low in sugar. This philosophy resonates particularly well in its recent collaboration with Jessica Préalpato. Known for her work in “desseralité,” the pastry chef—crowned World’s Best Pastry Chef in 2019 and now in charge of tea time at the Hôtel San Régis—shares Emkipop’s vision for dessert: more natural ingredients, less sugar, and a special focus on the raw ingredients. Created with the same standards as a dessert from a fine-dining restaurant, the recipe devised by Jessica Préalpato is
all about freshness: lemon verbena, tarragon, mint, and basil, all enhanced by a splash of lemon juice. Named “Fraîcheur du Jardin,” it perfectly illustrates the pastry chef’s philosophy: creating something beautiful and delicious with just a few ingredients. Those with a sweet tooth will gravitate toward the anniversary ice cream created to celebrate the brand’s tenth anniversary: a chocolate-hazelnut spread ice cream accompanied by a surprising edible cookie stick, making it both a nostalgic treat AND zero-waste. Of course, many other flavors are worth trying, such as the Raspberry Yogurt or the Orange Blossom-Pistachio. Available in Marseille and also sold at several retail locations throughout France, Emkipop confirms the format’s move upmarket.

Emkipop, 80 Boulevard Vauban, 13006 Marseille
Available for delivery throughout France
emkipop.fr

Mockup Emkipop © Dr © DR

La Maison du Chocolat, the haute couture ice cream bar

At La Maison du Chocolat, the ice cream bar is more reminiscent of a chocolate candy than a traditional ice cream bar. Slender, elegant, and almost graphic in design, it reflects the brand’s signature attention to detail. Here, every element seems precisely calibrated, from the thickness of the coating to the balance of textures. The collection features several creations. Figaro combines vanilla ice cream with a hazelnut praline center, covered in milk chocolate sprinkled with roasted hazelnuts. Jolika showcases the (very trendy!) pistachio through pistachio ice cream and a pistachio center enveloped in delicate milk chocolate. Salvador, meanwhile, emphasizes freshness with a combination of raspberry and passion fruit ice creams under a dark chocolate coating. But it is undoubtedly Quito that best encapsulates the brand’s approach. This creation combines intense chocolate ice cream, dark chocolate shavings, and a cocoa center, all coated in dark chocolate dotted with pieces of roasted almonds. A play on textures and intensities that evokes the brand’s historic expertise in cocoa.
Halfway between artisanal ice cream and luxury confectionery, these popsicles demonstrate that the popsicle can now be a true work of haute chocolaterie.

La Maison du Chocolat
Several stores in Paris and online sales

Jean-Paul Hévin: The Ice Pop Reimagined by a Chocolatier

At Jean-Paul Hévin, ice cream on a stick is naturally coated in chocolate. With his “Exquis Momo Glacé” collection, the chocolatier applies the hallmarks that have made his reputation to the popsicle format: rigorous selection of cocoa beans, meticulous attention to texture, and precise assembly. Here, the coating is intentionally thin to let the different layers of texture shine through. The cookie adds a satisfying crunch, while the ice cream takes center stage in the tasting experience. The Almond version combines vanilla ice cream with caramelized almonds, Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, an almond-chestnut cookie, and a coating of 70% Grand Cru dark chocolate from Cameroon. The Mango Yogurt version highlights the freshness of a mango sorbet and yogurt ice cream, topped with milk chocolate and crushed shortbread cookies. Chocolate lovers will enjoy the “Cacao” version, featuring a cacao sorbet, an almond-chestnut cookie, and a coating of Grand Cru dark chocolate from Cameroon enhanced with cacao nibs. Finally, the Pistachio-Morello Cherry flavor combines a morello cherry sorbet, a pistachio ice cream, and a Ruby chocolate coating sprinkled with crushed pistachios. This demonstrates that the ice cream bar has now found its place among high-end chocolatiers, without losing what makes it so popular: the immediate pleasure of enjoying ice cream right from your fingertips.