Puffle cone puts O.C. on the dessert map

Cauldron Ice Cream in Santa Ana is the home of what’s known by foodies, bloggers and travelers as the Hong Kong-style puffle cone.

The ice cream place is nestled in the Gateway Shopping Plaza, at MacArthur Boulevard and Bristol Street on the border with Costa Mesa.

The store’s owners, Desiree Le and Terence Lioe, both 28 and partners in business and romance, met during their freshman year at Fountain Valley High School. The two started dating as students at UC Irvine, where Le majored in psychology, eventually becoming a wedding coordinator, and Lioe, a business investor and day trader, studied film.

“When we first opened this place [in 2015], we were probably a little unqualified to open a restaurant on paper,” Le said, laughing. “But it was something we were passionate about. We always wanted to open up a food establishment together. It was totally unrelated to our majors, but we got to indulge — literally — in our interests and passion.”

The pair discovered the fairly complex, liquid nitrogen ice cream-making technology while visiting Singapore in 2014.

Le remembered it as “the best, smoothest, rich and creamiest ice cream” she had ever tasted.

“We didn’t have much of that kind of dessert here in Orange County and saw a need,” she said. “People aren’t looking for just regular ice cream anymore.”

They left their full-time jobs to open Cauldron. It was quite a bold leap.

“The day we opened shop, we had $47 in our joint bank account,” Le recalled. “We were the new kids on the block and had to prove ourselves when we first opened, because there are plenty of ice cream places around here. We had to stand out, and we were lucky to find this space.”

To try to find their niche in a crowded market, the partners decided to use only high-quality, all-natural ingredients and a signature item that nobody else offered.

That would be the puffle — a puffy waffle resembling edible bubble wrap that is folded into a cone to hold ice cream. They started pairing the cone with unique nitrogen ice cream flavors — shaped into colorful roses and creamy scoops and topped with cereal, candies and flavorings.

The puffle cone and nitrogen ice cream took off “like crazy,” Le recalled, after Cosmopolitan saw an Instagram post of the concoction and featured the store on its website.

“When the puffle started getting a lot of attention, there were lines all the way down the building,” Le said. She remembers one summer day when the line was at least two hours long.

The store had to shut down and renovate for a week — adding new liquid nitrogen mixers and electrical equipment to handle the crowds.

The process starts with a flavored liquid base, which is frozen quickly on the spot and mixed with the nitrogen at minus 321 degrees — giving it a smooth, creamy texture beyond traditionally hand-scooped, hard-packed ice cream.

Cauldron, which uses locally sourced ingredients, rotates unique flavors — like speculoos (cookie butter), Sun Moon & Stars (jasmine, oolong and green tea blend), milk and cereal, rose water, and Vietnamese coffee.

The puffle cones also come in multiple flavors, from chocolate to red velvet.

The store takes on a modern “steampunk,” industrial theme, with Roman numeral clocks, wood and metal tables, and hanging Edison light bulbs. A hipster coffee shop might come to mind.

“It looks futuristic with all the smoke from the nitrogen mixing machines, with a bit of an old-timey, retro feel,” Le said. “It makes a difference when there’s an aesthetic.”

Cauldron’s customers have come as far as Arizona and Utah to try the famous puffle cone. Most people hear about it through social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram.

“My friends and I love to try different dessert places in California, and we discovered Cauldron through a friend’s post on Instagram,” said Adrienne Granados, 20, who is from San Clemente. “We were like, oh my gosh, we have to go try it. It’s so attractive. I like how they have different flavors of the puffle.”

Cauldron’s biggest clientele, Le says, are young food bloggers and college students from Irvine, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Fullerton and Long Beach.

“We really appreciate when they come here and post photos of the ice cream, because with their huge following, they often reach [a market] we normally wouldn’t be able to,” Le said.

With 20 employees, Cauldron Ice Cream has a family-style vibe.

Andrew Domondon, 20, a Fountain Valley resident who has been working at Cauldron for more than a year, says he is noticing regular customers, including local businessmen and a man who always orders a medium vanilla puffle.

Lioe and Le are now focused on franchising, with plans to open three new locations sometime this year in Cerritos/Artesia, Chino Hills and Glendale.

They also want to offer a Stumptown Coffee Roasters program that would pair coffee and dessert.

“Two years ago, we honestly just thought if other people could do it, we’ll try it too. It just has to start from somewhere,” Le said about opening the business.

“We learned about construction, about running a business, about the food industry, about our community and its needs, the diverse people who live here. Everything has been a learning experience for us.”

Cauldron Ice Cream is at 1421 W. MacArthur Blvd., Santa Ana. Hours are noon to 11 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 10 p.m. Sundays. For more information: (657) 245-3442; info@cauldronicecream.com.