Ice cream cone cupcakes are a fun, handheld treat that’s actually easy to transport with our handy tricks and tips! Kids will be thrilled as they enjoy this unique twist on a traditional cupcake. Gluten-free.
Ice cream cone cupcakes are the ultimate treat – perfect for any birthday occasion, gathering or holiday party. You can officially say goodbye to serving traditional cupcakes at your next event. Create these delicious and fun ice cream cone cupcakes instead – your guests will not be disappointed!
This tasty handheld treat is great for kids (and adults) of all ages. The first time we served these cone cupcakes, I had to beg the adults not to steal all the dessert before the kids had a chance to grab a cone. You will be amazed at how quick these cupcakes are gone. Best tip? Make a double batch!
You’ll take an ice cream cone then fill it with cake batter, and bake. Top them with frosting and your favorite ice cream toppings. A fun dessert idea for any special occasion!
Start by gathering the equipment and ingredients then follow the easy step-by-step instructions.
Equipment:
- muffin tin
- tin foil
- knife
- liquid measuring cup
- medium-sized mixing bowls (with a spout if available)
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- mixer
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups white wheat flour or whole wheat
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 12 ice cream cones
- 1 cup buttercream icing optional
- sprinkles optional
- 3 strawberries, sliced optional
How To Make:
- Preheat the oven and prepare the pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place tinfoil over muffin tin. Carefully cut x shapes into the muffin slots. Place ice cream cones into the openings. Set aside.
- Whip the sugar and the butter. To a medium-sized mixing bowl add the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Whip until light and fluffy. Gradually add eggs, one at a time, along with the vanilla. Blend for 2 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients. To the mixing bowl, add the flour and baking powder. Mix until blended. Add the milk. Blend just until the milk is mixed in.
- Fill the ice cream cones. Pour the batter into the ice cream cones, leaving empty space at the top for the cupcakes to rise. Place filled cones into the muffin tin. Place pieces of tin foil around the cones to help keep them in place.
- Bake. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Top with a little buttercream icing, sprinkles, and a strawberry slice if desired.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- Fill the cone with your favorite cake. Swap this batter with your favorite cake batter. Bake chocolate, lemon or Funfetti cake into the ice cream cones. You could even fill the cones with brownie batter.
- Mix it up. Swap the variety of cake or color of frosting and sprinkles for any holiday. You could go with red velvet cake for Valentine’s Day, green frosting for St. Patrick’s Day or add pumpkin sprinkles for Halloween.
- Make the cake batter from scratch or use a store-bought cake mix.
- Only fill each cone 3/4 full with batter to prevent the cupcakes from spilling over during baking.
- Looking to add icing to the top of your cupcakes? Our tasty Almond Buttercream Frosting is the top pick! The almond flavoring in the icing pairs well with almost any cake variety.
- Bake in a muffin tin. We first tried to make this recipe by placing the batter-filled cones on a baking sheet – let’s just say that there was a lot of clean-up involved. Lesson learned – bake these cone cupcakes in a foil-lined muffin tin for easy transport into the oven.
How To Decorate
These cupcakes are fully customizable – keep it simple or have fun with it! We swirled almond buttercream frosting on the top then added sprinkles and finished off with a strawberry slice.
Pick and choose between any of these ice cream toppings:
- white buttercream frosting
- colored frosting
- sprinkles
- chocolate shavings
- fruit slices
- mini chocolate chips
- coconut flakes
- nuts
FAQs:
The simplest way is to transport them in a tin foil-lined muffin tin. You can use the same muffin tin you made them in, cooled them in, you can decorate them still in the tin, and then transport them too.
For a prettier presentation, you can decorate or gift wrap a box. Then cut X shapes for each cone and gently place the cone in the X shapes in the box.
To prevent your cupcake cones from getting soggy, poke a hole in the bottom of the cone after baking to allow steam to escape!
More Kids Party Food Ideas:
- Hot Chocolate Bombs
- St. Patricks Day Cake Pops
- Watermelon Sticks
- Mini Corn Dogs
- Mug Pizza
- Homemade Lemon Lime Soda Recipe
- Mac and Cheese Bombs
CKC Features both Gluten-Free Guidance and Kids Cooking Instructions: If you’re new to eating gluten-free we understand it’s overwhelming trying to figure out which foods may contain gluten and which ones don’t. All of our gluten-free recipes marked with this symbol ✅ represent foods that need to be checked for gluten or cross-contamination.
The ⭐️ symbol in the recipe below denotes the steps in which kid cooks may need a helper (depending on age). If there is no ⭐️ symbol, that step (or recipe) doesn’t require a helper.
Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
Equipment
- knife
- liquid measuring cup
- medium-sized mixing bowls (with a spout if available)
- mixer
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla ✅
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder ✅
- 12 gluten-free ice cream cones
- 1 cup buttercream icing ✅ optional
- sprinkles ✅ optional
- 3 strawberries, sliced optional
Instructions
- ⭐️Preheat the oven and prepare the pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place tinfoil over muffin tin. Carefully cut x shapes into the muffin slots. Place ice cream cones into the openings. Set aside.
- ⭐️Whip the sugar and the butter. To a medium-sized mixing bowl add the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Whip until light and fluffy. Gradually add eggs, one at a time, along with the vanilla. Blend for 2 minutes.1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoon vanilla
- ⭐️Add the dry ingredients. To the mixing bowl, add the flour and baking powder. Mix until blended. Add the milk. Blend just until the milk is mixed in.1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 3/4 cup milk
- Fill the ice cream cones. Pour the batter into the ice cream cones, leaving empty space at the top for the cupcakes to rise. Place filled cones into the muffin tin. Place pieces of tin foil around the cones to help keep them in place.12 gluten-free ice cream cones
- ⭐️Bake. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Top with a little buttercream icing, sprinkles, and a strawberry slice if desired.1 cup buttercream icing, sprinkles, 3 strawberries, sliced
Notes
- Swap the batter with your favorite cake batter. Bake chocolate, lemon or Funfetti cake into the ice cream cones. You could even fill the cones with brownie batter.
- Swap the color of frosting and sprinkles for any holiday. You could go with red velvet cake for Valentine’s Day, green frosting for St. Patrick’s Day, or add pumpkin sprinkles for Halloween.
- Only fill each cone 3/4 full with batter to prevent the cupcakes from spilling over during baking.
- Bake these cone cupcakes in a foil-lined muffin tin. Make a slash in the foil for each cone for easy transport into the oven.
- Try our Almond Buttercream Frosting for a simple and delicious icing.
Nutrition
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Jeni says
We loved these. I love that they have less sugar but taste great.
Julie says
Tried these with cake mix. I poked a hole in the bottom to oet out steam, but the next day they were a soggy mess. Any suggestions?
Jodi Danen, RDN says
Hi Julie! Humm, mine weren’t soggy so I’m not exactly sure. Did you cool them completely before wrapping them for storage? The could be an issue if they were put away before they were cool.
Julie says
Thanks for the reply. They were cooled completely, for several hours prior to wrapping. Bummer. I don’t know what went wrong.
Sofia says
Such a nice Idea Keep posting such great ideas.
Greg says
A spring form topped with foil also worked in a pinch, now I need to find my muffin pans.
Carol says
Maybe put a cup cake liner under cone
I have not tried this. Just a suggestion