ice cream cone cupcakes

The beauty of ice cream cupcakes is that they are simple to make and fun to eat. But, how do you make ice cream cone cupcakes?

First, prepare any standard cake batter - either from scratch, or using a cake mix. We don't recommend either pound cake or angel food cake.

You can use a custom pan for making these, but you don't need to have one. Instead, use a mini-muffin tin to bake them; it will keep your cones upright while you are baking and decorating them.

Place flat-bottomed ice cream cones in the muffin tin, so they are standing upright. Fill each cone to the halfway mark with batter. You don't want to fill them higher or they will not bake all the way through, and they will also overflow.

Follow your recipe, with regard to baking temperature, and bake for approximately the time that is recommended for cupcakes. Check with a toothpick to make sure they are baked all the way to the center (toothpick should come out clean).

Once your cupcakes are cool all the way, place your frosting in a piping bag with an oversized star tip and pipe a swirl of icing onto the top, to simulate a soft serve cone. Add sprinkles or other toppings, as desired.

* Tips: If you store-bought frosting, try the "whipped" variety; it has just the right consistency.

We'll be bringing you a variety of ice cream cone cupcake recipes as we try them out - of course, you can use most cake mixes to make them as well.

But, meanwhile, try this recipe for ice cream cone cupcakes from the Chockylit blog.

You can get entire kits you need to make your ice cream cone cupcakes from the folks at Kupcake Konz.

Purchase either just the baking pan or a variety of kits to make whatever you need. They have options for the mini ice cream cupcakes and the full size (large ones), storage containers and include squeeze bottles, sprinkles, the works. Having a whole party to make and decorate these cupcakes? Look at the kidz party kit!

This cake uses part of a sheet cake and some cupcakes to make a frivolous, giant ice cream cone. Check out Better Homes and Gardens for a picture and instructions.