Many of us in the U.S. are staring down the barrel at a three-day weekend. Not just any three-day weekend, but one that heralds the beginning of summer and all of its requisite picnics, barbecues and pool parties. Of course, ice cream is the quintessential summertime treat, but what if you’re looking for something a little more portable and a lot less melty?

Enter the cupcake cone. That’s right, a cupcake baked in an ice cream cone and topped with frosting to resemble soft-serve ice cream (or, if you prefer the “hand-scooped” look – and a real sugar fix – you can scoop on a ball of frosting). This is one adorable hand-held treat that comes with the bonus of no plates, forks or cupcake wrappers to deal with.

The cupcake cone is best made the day you plan to eat them, since the cone will absorb some of the moisture from the cupcake. I made mine in sugar cones because they’re my favorite (thanks, Martha!). However, they’re a little more challenging than the flat-bottomed cone. Don’t let this deter you — either look is completely achievable even for novice bakers. For sugar cones, you’ll need a bundt pan, tube pan, or even an oven-proof bowl and a couple of sheets of foil. For the flat bottomed cone option you’ll use a cupcake tin. No matter which cone you prefer, these cuties are so worth the effort!

If you don’t need 24 cupcake cones, just reduce the number of cones you fill and use the leftover cake batter to make a small cake or some cupcakes (which you can use immediately or put in the freezer for a later indulgence).

Make a batch of these this weekend . . . I promise they’ll make your family and friends smile!

Chocolate Cupcake Cones with Chocolate-Hazelnut Frosting
24 ice cream cones
3 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil (vegetable, canola, etc.)
2 cups water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cover a bundt or tube pan or oven safe bowl with two sheets of aluminum foil and poke small holes into the foil, leaving enough space between the holes to accommodate side by side cones. Push the cones gently into the holes until about 1″ of cone is showing. (If using flat-bottomed cones place one cone into each well of a cupcake pan — you can increase stability by surrounding the cones w/ dried beans that you don’t plan to cook with or pie weights.)

In a large bowl, add all other ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour batter into cones, filling to approximately 1″ from the top . Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven to cool completely. Frost with Chocolate-Hazelnut Frosting (recipe follows).

Chocolate-Hazelnut Frosting
1 cup butter, room temperature
1.5 pounds powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled to room temp
1/4 cup hazelnut spread (Nutella – or make your own!)
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in powdered sugar and cocoa. Mix in melted chocolate, hazelnut spread, cream and vanilla. Once incorporated, beat on high for three to four minutes. Add a bit more heavy cream if frosting consistency is too heavy or a bit more powdered sugar if consistency is too light.

Looking for more great recipes? Visit my blog at
http://culinography.wordpress.comSimilar Posts:

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Some days you just have to celebrate. If you don’t have a reason, find one because life’s too short!

Cake is always a good way to celebrate and you don’t have to have a boxed mix in your pantry to make one. Before you click away because cakes made from scratch are too much work, please give the recipe below a try. It’s seriously just as easy as a cake mix and not only will it taste great, but you’ll be able to control which ingredients go into it. As an added bonus, you can boast that you made it from scratch and let everyone believe that you toiled in the kitchen to bring them such a wonderful treat.

Some great things about this recipe:

It’s egg-free (great not only for those of you – or your friends or family – with egg allergies, but also for those of us who decide we MUST have cake when there are no eggs in the house).

There’s no need to plan ahead to let butter soften – this recipe relies on vegetable oil (but when you’re ready to start baking, put one cup of butter out to reach room temp for the frosting).

You can use a stand mixer, but it’s also easily prepared with a hand-held mixer or even by hand.

To transform it to a regular chocolate cake, omit the espresso powder. You can also substitute some additional vanilla or chocolate (either cocoa or good quality melted chocolate) for a different frosting flavor.

If you make cupcakes instead of a full cake, you’ve got another portion-controlled treat… AND you can freeze the extras to keep temptation out of sight.

This is one of the moistest cakes you’ll ever make!

Chocolate-Mocha Cake
3 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tablespoons espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil (vegetable, canola, etc.)
2 cups water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a 9×13 cake pan (or 2 6″ round cake pans and a lined 12-cavity cupcake tin… or 2 lined 12-cavity cupcake tins). Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes (or 15-20 minutes for smaller pans) until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Mocha Frosting
1 cup butter, room temperature
1.5 pounds powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon espresso powder

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in powdered sugar and heavy cream. Once incorporated, beat on high for three minutes. Add vanilla and espresso powder and beat for another two minutes. Taste and add additional espresso powder if desired… add a bit more heavy cream if frosting consistency is too heavy or a bit more powdered sugar if consistency is too light.

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Looking for more great recipes? Visit my blog at
http://culinography.wordpress.comSimilar Posts:

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