One woman’s ice cream dream: Authentic Mexican flavors made with real fruit 

In a large storefront on Willamette Street in downtown Eugene, Alma Vasquez is recreating the flavors of her childhood, one frozen fruit scoop and popsicle at a time. Vasquez’s shop, Peek-A-Boo Delight, offers authentic Mexican ice cream made with fresh fruit and significantly less sugar than traditional ice cream.

An unexpected opportunity

Vasquez’s entrepreneurial journey began unexpectedly at her daughter’s school, when a child’s parent commented that they needed to find a housecleaner. 

“I said, ‘Oh yeah, I can do that,’” Vasquez said. “But honestly, at that time, I didn’t know about business.”

Vasquez moved to Eugene as a child and later had three children of her own. While in her 20s, she grew her housecleaning business and started cleaning office buildings. After doing that for years, the chemicals she used every day started affecting her health. While cleaning, Vasquez was also pursuing her education at Lane Community College. 

“I would record my teachers, so later while I was cleaning I could listen to what they were saying for better understanding,” Vasquez said. 

She completed the English as a second language courses at LCC, and her instructors at the college eventually encouraged her to move into other areas of study, even though she thought her English wasn’t good enough. She started taking culinary classes at LCC. An encounter there changed her life’s trajectory.

She met someone who had paid for classes in New York on learning how to make ice cream, but could no longer attend the classes, so he offered the opportunity to Vasquez. 

“My daughter, Itzel, always pushes me and said, ‘Yeah, you should do this, it’s an opportunity,’” Vasquez said.

The New York ice cream classes opened Vasquez’s eyes to the possibilities and the problems in commercial ice cream production.

“I was very surprised about how they made ice cream,” Vasquez said. “They use so much syrup, more sugar, and other ingredients that are not good for our bodies.”

She started seeking help in making traditional Mexican ice cream. After connecting with instructors in California, she eventually traveled to study with a master in the art of handmade Mexican ice cream.

“In my life, it brought back memories of my childhood and my Mexican identity,” she said. “The flavors definitely made me want to make handmade ice cream.”

Vasquez started making ice cream in her home in 2009, mostly for her family and friends. As a parent, she was concerned about her children eating treats with a lot of sugar, so the process of making fruit-based popsicles and ice creams was a natural fit. She dreamed of purchasing a food cart and even made fake popsicles for decorations. 

She nurtured this dream for years. Vasquez’s daughter, Itzel Bigot, who is now a mother herself to 1-year-old Rosalinda, convinced Vasquez that she should open a physical location.

“In Oregon, it’s raining a lot and people don’t want to go outside when it’s very hot,” Vasquez reasoned. “So if you have a place, people can find you and be inside.”

Together with Bigot, who handles the business paperwork, and her son-in-law Alex, Vasquez opened Peek-A-Boo Delight La Michoacána in December, at 861 Willamette St. The name combines the traditional ice cream style from the Mexican state of Michoacán with “Peekaboo,” a word that holds special meaning for Vasquez because it was one of the first words she learned in English.

She first encountered the word during a pediatrician visit when her son, Aaron, was a toddler. As the doctor played peekaboo with Aaron during the appointment, Vasquez saw her baby laughing. The word itself captured how she wanted her ice cream business to feel: like a delightful surprise that brings people together.

More fruit, less sugar

What sets Vasquez’s ice cream apart is her commitment to using more fruit and less sugar than traditional milk-based ice cream recipes. One day she was at another ice cream shop and saw a woman asking for “just a little scoop,” and Vasquez asked her why she wanted only a little. The woman explained that she didn’t want her kids eating a lot of sugar. 

“I don’t blame anyone for wanting the ice cream,” Vasquez said. “I respect all people who make the ice cream, but as mother and as grandmother, the quality of the ice cream is very important. If you can taste the fruit, you know it’s better. My ice cream has sugar, but I reduce it.”

Vasquez also avoids artificial colors. If something could benefit from a slight red color, for instance, she makes her own coloring from thinly sliced beets that she dries and then mixes in — not enough to affect the flavor, just enough to give it color.

With 21 flavors of ice cream and 26 varieties of popsicles, called paletas in Spanish, the shop lets natural fruit, nuts, and vegetables shine through without additives. She makes sugar-free fruit popsicles for babies and young children.

The texture differs from creamy American ice cream because Vasquez’s version is mostly fruit, creating an icier consistency. Ingredients with more fat, such as avocado, create a creamier result. Real fruit imported from Mexico — pitaya (dragon fruit), passionfruit, soursop, chapote, floral pink guava, and black persimmon, among others — provides authentic flavors.

Using fruit and water instead of a milk base allows the real flavor to come through, because milk often mutes fruit flavors. One batch could contain a box or more of each fruit, all processed by hand.

“When I get the fruit it is very ripe, very ready to use, so there’s no need to add any flavors of anything else to it,” Vasquez said. “I peel the coconuts. I use the juice of the coconuts. I peel the guanabana. I mix the fruit. I put more and more fruit in for everything. It’s a long process.”

More than frozen treats

Peek-A-Boo’s menu has more than frozen treats. Fresas con crema, or strawberries and cream, are a light dessert available with bananas as well. Vasquez offers aquas frescas, or traditional fruit waters, along with fruit smoothies and milkshakes.

The menu features traditional Mexican snacks and beverages, including tamales, elote (grilled corn), and cucumber-, corn chip- and ramen-based treats. The shop also provides catering services for weddings, birthdays and other events.

Vasquez maintains strong connections with her former housecleaning clients and friends from LCC, many of whom now visit the ice cream shop. She’s also continuing her education, taking business classes and working to develop her skills. As Peek-A-Boo Delight approaches the end of its first year, Vasquez is planning to add even more to the menu, such as coffee and more food items. 

“We still have dreams,” Vasquez said. 

The shop is more than just a business. It represents her sense of identity as a Mexican woman, and as a mother and grandmother trying to make healthy treats for her family, and now, for her community. 

“The place me and my daughter make here is not only for Mexicans, not only for Americans,” Vasquez said. “Everyone’s coming and feels relaxed and enjoys our place. Everyone is welcome.”

Want to go?

Peek-A-Boo Delight La Michoacána
861 Willamette St.
11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily