Ice Cream Cone or Cupcake?

Why not have both?

I had so much fun making these cupcakes! I made a batch for a family even and then I made some more for a wedding shower the following weekend. Plus, I took [most of] these pictures all by myself. Want to see how they were made?

Ice cream cone cupcakes are one of the few baked goods that I think are actually harder than they look. Why? Quite simply, ice cream cones are not made to stand upright on their own. This makes for big problems in balancing them to bake, frost, store, and transport. The first time I made them last year was a total disaster. But now, instead of placing them on a cookie tray or cupcake tray, I put each cone in the cup of a popover pan. This is great because the high sides and narrow bottom resemble the cone shape, keeping them upright and fairly stable. Much less hassle.

So: cones in pan. Batter in cones.

I use an ice cream scoop to keep my batters even, plus it's much less mess.

Pop them in the oven and get the frosting started while the house starts to smell like chocolate cake. 

I used my favorite vanilla frosting recipe. It's a Creamy Vanilla frosting that uses a flour base and lots and lots of butter. It's very rich, but oh so delicious.

After making it, I divided it into two bowls.

One batch was raspberry...

And the other was oreo.

Now might be a good time to tell you that I injected fudge into the bottom of each cone. After the cones have cooled completely, I started frosting using a pastry bag and a very wide circle tip.

I stuck them in the fridge for a few hours to make sure the frosting was very, very firm before I started dipping. I was worried about the frosting sliding off the top and getting ungle smooshes, but with the refrigeration everything was fine.

At this point, a few urgently needed testing, so I happily obliged and sliced them open before they were frosted.  




I dipped each cone in melted chocolate mixed with a bit of vegetable oil to make it thinner and easier to work with. Immediately after dipping, each cupcake was attacked with sprinkles: red hearts for the raspberry, and rainbow hearts for the chocolate.

I love how shiny and delicious the chocolate is.

And then they're ready to box an go! I packed them in a 1/4 sheet cake box with a mini cupcake insert to keep them stable. The size was perfect for the narrow cones and they held up great on the long drive.

 All boxed up and ready for the drive!

 

Did I mention how much fun these are to eat?