Just when you thought we’d reached the limit of what could be done to soft serve, one of the internet’s more unexpected dessert trends has made its way to Calgary.
Made by Marcus has teamed up with Calgary-based Terroir Artisan Butter to create a butter-dipped soft serve cone, launching August 5 at its Inglewood shop.
And yes, it is exactly what it sounds like.
The soft serve is dipped directly into warm cultured butter, which hardens into a thin shell when it hits the frozen ice cream. It’s then finished with flaky sea salt.
If that combination sounds a little unusual, there’s a reason you’ve probably started seeing it online.
Where Did Butter-Dipped Soft Serve Come From?
The current butter-dipped soft serve trend was popularized in New York by pastry chef Dominique Ansel, best known as the creator of the Cronut.
Ansel introduced his version at Papa d’Amour, his West Village bakery, in summer 2025. According to the New York Post, the idea came after Ansel visited the Isigny Ste. Mère butter farm in Normandy, France, with his family.
His version paired house-made vanilla soft serve with a thin coating of French butter, with vanilla mochi tucked into the bottom of the waffle cone and fleur de sel sprinkled on top.
The unusual dessert caught on online, with videos of the butter-dipped cone attracting millions of views and inspiring other versions of the trend.
Connecticut grocery chain Stew Leonard’s was among the businesses to jump on it, introducing a vanilla soft serve cone dipped in melted butter and salt. One video of Stew Leonard Jr. trying the creation reportedly attracted more than 16 million views on Instagram.
The trend has since spread beyond New York, with butter-dipped soft serve appearing in other parts of the U.S. and internationally.
Now Calgary has its own version.
What Is Calgary’s Butter-Dipped Soft Serve Like?
Made by Marcus starts with its house-made soft serve in a freshly made waffle cone before dipping it into melted cultured butter from Terroir Artisan Butter.
The temperature difference causes the butter to set around the ice cream, creating a thin coating similar to the shell on a chocolate-dipped cone. It’s finished with flaky sea salt for a sweet-and-salty combination.
There’s a local connection beyond the ice cream, too.
Terroir Artisan Butter is based in Calgary and makes its cultured butter using Alberta A2 grass-fed cream. The cream is cultured for 48 hours before being salted with Salt Spring Island sea salt.
Made by Marcus and Terroir are calling the collaboration Alberta’s first butter-dipped soft serve cone.
Whether butter-dipped ice cream sounds completely unnecessary or exactly like something you need to try, you won’t have forever to decide. The cone is only available for a limited time.
The Details
What: Made by Marcus x Terroir Artisan Butter butter-dipped soft serve
When: Available beginning August 5, 2026, for a limited time
Where: Made by Marcus Inglewood
Address: 1119 10 Ave. SE, Calgary