Ice cream cone cupcakes are the best way to eat a cupcake! Moist and colorful confetti cake baked into an ice cream cone swirled with smooth and creamy vanilla buttercream frosting! These cupcakes are perfect for birthday parties, bake sales, and are great for kids (and adults)!
Components of Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
Ice Cream Cones
For this recipe, you will need flat-bottomed ice cream cones, sometimes known as “cake cones“. Ice cream cones can vary in size – they have smaller ones and jumbo cones. For this recipe, I went with the standard size cone.
Confetti Cupcakes
When I think of ice cream cone cupcakes, I automatically think of confetti cake! For these cones, I used one recipe of my Confetti Cupcakes. One of the best parts about this recipe is that it is completely customizable. You can use any flavor cupcake you would like! Here are some of the most popular flavors that would taste absolutely amazing as an ice cream cone cupcake!
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
For these cupcakes, I used my Vanilla Buttercream Frosting recipe and tinted the buttercream a bright pink with pink gel food coloring. Just like the cupcakes, you can use any kind of frosting you would like! Here are some of my favorite frosting recipes that would work perfectly for these cupcakes!
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- Lemon Buttercream Frosting
- Shortcut Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Tools & Supplies for Making Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
How to Make Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
Confetti cupcakes
First, to make the confetti cupcake batter, simply whisk together the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a large bowl. Next, add the room temperature wet ingredients (milk, egg, vegetable oil, sour cream, and vanilla extract). Whisk the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together until combined. Stir in the rainbow sprinkles.
Check out my recipe for Confetti Cupcakes to learn more about this cupcake recipe.
Prepare the cupcake pan. Place a large piece of aluminum foil over the cupcake pan. Use a sharp knife to cut slits into the foil to keep the ice cream cones in place. Portion the cake batter into the ice cream cones.
Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Check that the cupcakes are done by gently touching the top of the cupcakes. The cake should bounce back when gently poked or an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool to room temperature.
Vanilla buttercream frosting
While the cupcakes are baking and cooling, make the vanilla buttercream frosting. To make the buttercream, you will need a stand mixer or electric hand mixer. Whip the butter until it is light, pale, and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and then salt and vanilla extract. Slowly drizzle in heavy cream and whip for 3 to 5 minutes until smooth and creamy.
Check out my recipe for Vanilla Buttercream Frosting to learn more about how to make this delicious buttercream!
Decorating the cupcakes
To assemble the cupcakes, pipe the vanilla buttercream frosting onto the cupcakes using your favorite piping tip. For these cupcakes, I used an Ateco 826 piping tip and created a swirl resembling soft serve ice cream. The last step is to add a ton of rainbow sprinkles!
Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes Recipe Tips
Aluminum foil trick
To hold the cupcakes in place in the cupcake pan, I recommend placing a large piece of aluminum foil on the top of the cupcake pan. Use a sharp knife to cut an “X” pattern over each cupcake cup. Insert the unfilled ice cream cones into each “X”. The foil will hold the ice cream cones in place so they do not tip over while baking. Check out this video to see how it is done!
Rainbow sprinkles
For the confetti cake, I recommend using “jimmie style” rainbow sprinkles. If the sprinkles are too small, like the nonpareils I used to decorate the cupcakes, the batter will become a grayish color as the sprinkles will bleed. If the sprinkles are too large and chunky, they will not melt into the cake and the confetti cake will be crunchy.
Do not overfill the ice cream cones
This is key for making successful ice cream cone cupcakes. It is very tempting to overfill the ice cream cones. I always portion my cupcake batter using cookie scoops. For a standard size ice cream cone, I use one scoop of batter with a medium cookie scoop (1 1/2 tbsp) and one scoop of batter with a small cookie scoop (1 tbsp). If you do not have cookie scoops, this would equal 2 1/2 tablespoons of cupcake batter. Yes, it will look underfilled, but the cupcakes will puff up when baking. If you overfill the cones, the cupcakes will spill over the top of the cone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use different flavors of cupcakes and frosting?
Yes, absolutely! You can make this recipe using any flavor combination of cupcake and frosting. All of my cupcake recipes make one dozen cupcakes, so the recipes will easily translate into this recipe. If desired, you could also use a cake mix to make the cupcakes!
How should I store the cupcakes?
Because these cupcakes are a bit taller than a standard cupcake, they are more difficult to store. I recommend keeping the cupcakes chilled after frosting unless you are serving them the same day. I store the cupcakes right in the cupcake pan covered in aluminum foil – the same way I baked them. You can keep them chilled in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days! If you would like to cover the cupcakes in plastic wrap, chill the cupcakes for at least an hour before adding the plastic wrap so the buttercream firms up. The cupcakes are best enjoyed at room temperature. Remove the cupcakes from the refrigerator at least one hour before serving to soften the buttercream.
How can I color the buttercream frosting?
To tint the buttercream frosting, I recommend using gel food coloring. Gel food coloring is highly pigmented so a little goes a long way. It also does not change the consistency or flavor of the buttercream. The best time to add the gel food coloring to the buttercream is after the heavy cream is added.
How do you pipe the buttercream swirl onto the cupcakes?
For these cupcakes, I used an Ateco 826 open star tip, but you can use whichever piping tip you would like! Another favorite is the Wilton 1M tip! Position the piping tip in the center of the cupcake. Pipe the buttercream in a swirl motion, starting in the center and moving outward. Once you have covered the top of the cupcake, continue piping and pull the piping tip up and toward the center. Once you have created a swirl, release the pressure from the piping bag and pull up! Check out this video to see how it’s done.
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Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
Equipment
- Standard cupcake pan
- Stand mixer or electric hand mixer to make the buttercream frosting
Ingredients
Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup milk room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp sour cream room temperature
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup rainbow sprinkles
- 12 ice cream cones standard size
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- gel food coloring optional
- additional rainbow sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare cupcake pan – place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the pan. Cut "X" shapes in the top of the foil over each cupcake cup. Place one ice cream cone in each slot. (See: Tips)
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Add room temperature milk, vegetable oil, sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine. Do not overmix.
- Add in rainbow sprinkles and mix in until they are dispersed throughout the batter.
- Portion the cupcake batter into the ice cream cones. Each standard ice cream cone will need 2½ tablespoons of batter. If you are using cookie scoops, this is equivalent to one small scoop (1 tablespoon) and one medium scoop (1½ tablespoons).
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops of the cupcakes bounce back slightly when touched.
- Remove from the oven and cool the ice cream cone cupcakes in the pan to room temperature.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add in room temperature unsalted butter. Whip the butter for 5 minutes on medium-high speed, scraping down the sides occasionally. The butter will be light, fluffy, and pale in color.
- Add one half of the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed setting until fully combined. Add remaining powdered sugar and continue to mix on low until incorporated.
- Add vanilla extract and salt and mix on low until combined. Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream. If you would like to tint the buttercream frosting, add a few drops of your favorite gel food coloring.
- Once the cream is added, turn the speed on the mixer to high and whip for an additional 2-3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally to ensure the frosting is well mixed.
- If desired, switch to a paddle attachment on the stand mixer and mix buttercream on low speed for 2 additional minutes to remove air bubbles to create smooth frosting.
- Pipe the vanilla buttercream frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. For these cupcakes, I used an Ateco 826 piping tip. Decorate with additional sprinkles.
Notes
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