Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Childhood memories. Not mine necessarily, but I'm sure these memories belong to someone. As for me, I just think they're cute. Ice cream cone cupcakes are actually extremely easy to make. I made them as a birthday present for my mother-in-law but spread their sweet, confectionery goodness around to a few other people. How many cupcakes can one person really eat anyway?

I had originally set out to pipe the icing on top in order to make them resemble soft serve ice cream cones, but my make shift pastry bag exploded. For years now I have refused to buy a real pastry bag and instead have used a simple ziploc with the corner snipped off. However, the last THREE times I tried to do this, the bag popped mid pipe causing not only frustration, but also non-piped icing. Darn store brand plastic bags. Alas, I have succumbed to the baking gods and will be going to Micheal's this weekend to purchase a bona fide pastry bad. I write this as I wipe away a tear shed at the loss of my ingenuity.


Enough about me...here's the recipe:
(p.s. I was way too lazy to bake these from scratch)

Ingredients:

1 box of cake mix, any flavor you like
water, vegetable oil, eggs according the box that your purchase
1 container of frosting

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place an ice cream cone in each well of a cupcake pan.
3. Fill each cone about 3/4 of the way full.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool completely.
6. Ice and decorate as you see fit!

So easy, a child could do it. Perhaps this is why they are such a birthday party staple.

There is just one problem with these cupcakes: the cake bakes inside the cones and therefore, cake can be found all the way down to the very bottom of the cone. While cake is good, it is perfectly complemented by icing. Yet, by the time you eat down to the lower half of the cone, the icing is a distant memory.

Next time I think I would tunnel a small vertical hole down the center of the cupcake and pipe in a little bit of icing so that its creamy goodness can be tasted throughout the entire experience. Probably easier said than done....

Happy Birthday Mom Ford!