Recipe 4: Ice-cream cone cupcakes

Another great recipe for kids and adults alike, these cupcakes are super fun to decorate.   It’s a recipe that will be met with a great reaction, for very little work!

Ingredients

1. 1 box cake mix, any preferential flavor
2. Ingredients needed to make regular cake batter according to the back of the box of mix; this varies, but is usually some amount of vegetable oil, water, and a few eggs
3. 1 tub of icing (1 tub will cover all cupcakes, HOWEVER, see tips #1 and #2)
4. 1 box of 24 normal sized flat bottomed ice-cream cones
5. Sprinkles, nonpareils, and any other decorations! (Optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Mix cake mix, according to directions on the back of the box
3. Fill all 24 ice-cream cones about ¾ of the way (if you used JOY ice-cream cups, you can see the picture for reference)
4. Carefully place cones on a baking sheet, and again carefully place in the over (balance is key!)
5. There will be extra batter after the 24 cones.  I used mine to make mini cupcakes; waste not, want not!
6. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, checking for the top to be lightly brown and to bounce back when pressed.
7. Allow to cool completely
8. Using either of the two icing methods*, ice the cupcakes with the flavors or colors you’ve chosen.
9. Now the fun part; decorate!  I used nonpareils

 

*Icing Methods

While regular butter-knife icing works just as well, using an icing pipe with a 6 point tip (star shaped) will make the icing look like soft serve!

 
Suggestions and Tips

To mimic soft serve, you can use chocolate, vanilla, or even strawberry icing!  As shown in my pictures, you can even get tricky and combine two flavors.  I had one tub of vanilla and one tub of chocolate

Rather than using two flavors, food coloring could be used to make any color from vanilla icing!

Don’t worry if the cupcakes overflow and start to drip!  It happens, and did happen when I made them too. You’ll be able to cover up the mishap with more icing; you can’t lose!

Add cinnamon balls to look like cherries, or use a very fine tip to add chocolate “syrup” to any white iced cupcakes. 

With hindsight being 20/20, I’d suggest putting a little dab of icing on the bottom of the cone one you’re done with icing the top, and before you need to transport them.  While the flat bottom should make them stable, that isn’t the case.   Unless you have an icecream cone carrier (they exist!), there’s a pretty good chance you’ll experience at least one “cupcake down!!!”