Pillowy buttercream frosting is piped on top of colorful red, white, and blue cake in a cone to mimic the look of an ice cream cone or sundae. These ice cream cone cupcakes are perfect for your patriotic celebrations.
15.25ouncewhite cake mixPLUS ingredients listed on the back of the box
blue and red gel food coloring
Buttercream Frosting
2cupsunsalted buttersoftened
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
8cupspowdered sugar
8Tablespoonsheavy whipping cream
Garnish
maraschino cherriesstem on
red, white, and blue sprinkles
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F.
Prepare the dry cake mix according to package instructions.
Separate the cake batter into 3 equal bowls. Add a small amount of red food coloring to one bowl, and a small amount of blue food coloring to another, leaving one of the bowls plain.
Place cake cones into a cupcake pan. Alternating between colors, pour the batter into your ice cream cones filling until they are about 3/4 full. It's easiest to add the batter into piping bags or ziptop baggies with the corners snipped off.
Remove the cones from the oven. Once the cones are partially cooled, hold them upside down and poke a small hole into the bottom side of each of the cones to let steam escape and prevent them from becoming soggy. Allow the cupcakes to fully cool off before frosting. Cool in the pan or on a wire cooling rack.
Making the Frosting
Beat softened butter in the bowl of a standing mixer using the whisk attachment until light and fluffy.
Add in powdered sugar. Mix slowly, gradually increasing the speed so that the powdered sugar stays in the mixing bowl.
Beat in vanilla extract.
Add 4 tablespoons of the heavy cream and whisk on high speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add 3-4 tablespoons more of heavy cream, beating until desired consistency is achieved (about 5 minutes).
Divide the frosting into three bowls (about 2 cups each bowl).
Leave one bowl as white frosting. Add a small amount of red food coloring to the second bowl and mix to combine. Then, add blue food coloring to the third bowl and mix to combine.
Add each frosting to their own individual piping bags fitted with a tip. Pipe on all three of the colors to one cone or alternate between the cones using a single color.
Garnish with red, white, and blue sprinkles and top with a maraschino cherry.
Video
Notes
Start with a SMALL amount of gel food coloring when adding it to the cake batter and frosting. Gel food color goes a long way and you won't need much to achieve a bright color.
Don't get overly crazy with adding different colored layers of cake batter to the cones, if you overdo it, the colors will get muddy.
To store, place the fully cooled ice cream cone cupcakes in a cupcake pan or on a cupcake cone holder. Store them uncovered at room temperature. If you place them in the refrigerator, freezer, or covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil the cones and frosting will sweat and cause them to become soggy. Be sure you are storing them in a cool, dry place.
You can make the cupcake cones up to a day in advance, preferably the night in advance or the morning of your event - any longer that night you might end up with soggy cones.
You can easily swap the homemade buttercream frosting with store bought white frosting if desired.
You will most likely have leftover frosting which you can store in air-tight containers kept in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.