Ice-cream Cone Cupcakes

I was wandering through the supermarket when a box of ice-cream cones caught my eye. It was a pretty coloured box with rainbow ice-creams and sprinkles, I instantly knew I had to make ice-cream cone cupcakes.

So I whipped out my Martha Stewarts Cupcakes and tried out some little cakes that I had been eyeing off for a while. That was when things went a little funny. I have been happy with all the recipes I had tried so far, but this one left me a tad unimpressed.

The cupcakes took twice as long to cook as the recipe said and ended up very dense, like mud cake dense. The taste was still good, very sweet but yummy, just not light and fluffy like I was expecting. Maybe I did something wrong, or maybe it’s just how they were meant to be. Has anyone else tried it out?

Questionable cake aside, I was very happy with how cute the ice-cream cones ended up looking. Everyone I shared them with enjoyed them a lot.


Just a quick share of some of my non baking activities. My Mum has a Nursery and gardens that she is constantly working on, this week I got to paint a big sign on her new shop.


Cupcakes ( from Martha Stewart Cupcakes)

12 sugar cones
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk

Buttercream

80 grams unsalted softened butter
2 ½ cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Small amount of milk (if necessary)

Decorations

Pink food colouring
Melted chocolate
Chopped nuts
Maraschino cherries
Assorted candy sprinkles
Funsize flakes

To make the cupcakes- Preheat oven to 180 degrees c. Gently place a cone in each cup of a mini cupcake tray. (A mini tray is the perfect size for flat bottom ice cream cones)


Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each. (watch out for batter stealing boyfriends)


Fill each cone with 2 to 3 tablespoons batter.



Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. (My cupcakes took close to 40 minutes, I wish I knew why)


Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the buttercream- beat the butter in a medium bowl until it is pale.
Gradually beat in the icing sugar, followed by the vanilla extract and milk if needed. Continue beating until frosting is light and fluffy.

To decorate the cupcakes- Tint half of the buttercream pink with gel-paste food color, if desired. Use an ice cream scoop to place buttercream (untinted or pink) on top of cupcake, then top with sprinkles. For "soft-serve" cones, use a pastry bag fitted with only a coupler (or a large plain tip) to pipe buttercream in a swirl over cone, then top with multicolored sprinkles; or, for "sundae" cones, drizzle melted chocolate over buttercream, then sprinkle with peanuts and top with a cherry or flake. For soft-serve "twist" cones, fill a pastry bag fitted with an open-star tip with buttercream, pipe swirls. Serve immediately