Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

I mean come on, how adorable are these ice cream cone cupcakes? They look like perfect parlor-served ice cream cones, but they’re actually cupcakes baked into cones and finished with a vanilla frosting and chocolate glaze. It’s such a fun way to serve cake to a crowd of kids, without extra plates or forks to clean up afterward.

Ingredients for Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

• Cake mix: Grab a regular-sized box of French vanilla or yellow cake mix from your favorite brand. Make sure you have the extra ingredients it calls for too.
• Cones: To make this recipe successful, purchase ice cream cake cones, not waffle cones. Waffle cones have pointy edges and won’t stand up by themselves. Ice cream cake cones have a flat bottom and can hold themselves up to bake a cupcake inside.
• Butter and shortening: We use a mixture of butter and shortening for the frosting. We also use shortening in the glaze to thin the viscosity and add a gorgeous shine.
• Confectioners’ sugar: We use confectioners’ sugar to make an easy vanilla buttercream frosting for that vanilla ice cream look.
• Milk: A bit of milk thins out the frosting so it’s spreadable.
• Vanilla: Two teaspoons of vanilla extract help flavor the frosting.
• Chocolate chips: Using the best chocolate chips makes a great-tasting chocolate glaze.
• Sprinkles: Rainbow sprinkles on top help mimic the look of a perfect cone of ice cream.

Directions

Step 1: Set up the ice cream cones

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Take out two pans that have 24 mini-muffin cups. Grease one of the mini-muffin cup pans. In the other pan, stand an ice cream cone in each of the mini-muffin cups.

Step 2: Fill with the cupcake batter

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Prepare the cake mix batter according to the package directions. Fill each greased muffin cup with 1 tablespoon of batter.

Editor’s Tip: An ice cream or cookie scooper makes transferring and measuring the batter much easier than regular spoons.

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Divide the remaining batter evenly among the ice cream cones (scant 2 tablespoons each).

Step 3: Bake

Bake the cupcakes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes at room temperature in their pans for five minutes. Transfer both the plain cupcakes and the cone cupcakes to wire racks. Let them cool completely to room temperature.

Step 4: Make the frosting

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Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter and shortening together until blended.

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Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla extract on medium speed until soft peaks form.

Step 5: Add the frosting

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To assemble, spread a small amount of frosting on the bottom of each plain cupcake. Attach the plain cupcake to the top of a cone cupcake.

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Spread the remaining frosting over the cupcakes, rounding the tops to resemble a scoop of ice cream. Freeze the cupcake ice cream cones until the frosting is firm, 5 to 10 minutes.

Editor’s Tip: Use a mini offset spatula for the best control. If you want a soft serve look, pipe the frosting using a piping bag with a star tip.

Step 6: Create the glaze and dip

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In a large metal bowl over simmering water, melt the chocolate and shortening together, stirring until smooth.

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Dip the tops of the frosted cupcakes into the chocolate mixture.

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Immediately decorate with sprinkles before the chocolate glaze hardens. Let the cupcakes stand until set.

Editor’s Tip: Do not let the simmering water touch the bottom of the bowl or the chocolate will burn.

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Recipe Variations

• Use your favorite cake mix: You really can use any cake mix here: chocolate, confetti, lemon, orange, strawberry. The option is yours!
• Try another frosting: Feel free to switch to a different frosting. We have tons of great frosting recipes to try, like cream cheese, chocolate and blackberry to name a few. Or, buy one of the best store-bought frosting brands instead. Just make sure the flavor matches your cake.
• Finish with your favorite toppings: Feel free to omit the chocolate glaze or sprinkles as you see fit. Channel your favorite ice cream toppings here, like crushed Oreos, chopped Reeses, candied pecans or Maraschino cherries.

How to Store Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

You’ll need a tall airtight container to store these cupcakes! A cake carrier is your best bet here. It’s just one of those cake-decorating supplies every avid baker needs. The cupcake ice cream cones can be kept at room temperature for up to three days, but know that the cones will go soggy after a day, so they’re best eaten the day they’re made.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcake Tips

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How do I prevent these cupcakes from falling over in the oven?

Transferring the cupcake pan filled with cones to the oven certainly seems daunting, but the weight of the cupcake batter keeps the cones in place. If you are having problems with cones toppling over, lightly wrap the base of each cone with crumpled aluminum foil and snuggly fit it into each cupcake compartment.

What about preventing them from falling over on a serving platter?

Once you’re ready to frost, smooth a small dollop of frosting underneath each ice cream cone and press the cone on the serving board. The frosting acts as a “glue” for your cones to sit more securely on the board.