Do you remember last fall I was so excited to bake for our first preschool bakesale?
Then came one of those freakish fall heat waves we have in southern California, and by 5 minutes into the bake sale my chocolate-dipped pretzel rods had melted into a sticky mess. Didn’t sell a single one. I should have taken a photo for you but I was too sad. Picture that horror movie The House of Wax and just imagine everyone covered in chocolate and sprinkles.
Me and baking don’t naturally go together. I still confuse baking soda with baking powder. But I’m determined to figure it out. And it’s a fun activity to do with my daughter, who is suddenly an amazingly helpful person when there is a possiblity of spoon licking in her near future.
So for the spring bake sale, we went with “Cupcake Cones.” They look like ice cream cones, but the ice cream is actually a frosted cupcake, so no melting!
HOW TO MAKE CUPCAKE CONES
You need 24 flat-bottomed ice cream cones, but buy extra because some are aways broken. (And the broken ones have no calories.)
Then open up a box of cake mix, which produces about 24 cupcakes baked in muffin tins. Prepared the batter as instructed on the box, which usually involves water, eggs and oil. Don’t do like I did and forget to add the eggs until after you’ve already put the batter in the muffin tins, because that will really slow you down.
You can use any flavor cake mix – we went with Devil’s Food because duh.
The cones go right on top of the cupcake batter and survive very nicely in the oven. Bake however long the box says, roughly 18 minutes, and you can check to see when a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
While they bake, the cupcakes magically fill the insides of the cones and leave you with an ice cream scoopish dome on top.
Let them cool 30 minutes, because impatience gets you broken bits. Either way you can cover your mistakes with icing.
I opted for a a four-pack of food coloring and mixed one whole can of vanilla frosting with each color (out of sheer laziness), but we definitely had some leftovers. I think 3 cans divided would have sufficed.
Then you can decorate with sprinkles or any topping you like.
A few cones fell under the weight of my baking hubris.
But most turned out great.
Except I had a momentary, “How the hell am I supposed to get these into the car?” freakout.
Our brilliant babysitter cut cone-shaped holes in a cardboard box. You can also buy a cone stand if you are that organized.
I felt a swell of mom-petitive pride when our cupcake cones arrived safely to the bake sale and did not melt.
My pride took a hit when another mom showed up with cupcake cones made from scratch, topped with buttercream frosting swirled from piping bags. Again, I did not take a picture. Must manage my emotions better for the sake of the blog.
I know there was at least one very happy customer.
Here’s the recipe in review. There are tons of varieties on the internet, but this one I adapted from Betty Crocker is very easy:
Ingredients:
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
- 1 box cake mix, any flavor
- 24+ flat-bottom ice cream cones
- 3 containers frosting (any flavor)
- any # food coloring of your choice
Directions
Happy Baking!
Happy SITS day! I think your cupcake cones are adorable! 🙂
thedoseofreality recently posted..Would You Rather: Plan It All Or Be Surprised?
Thanks so much, Dose Girls. What a fun SITS Day!
A nice, simple recipe for a low maintenance person like me! Sounds like something fun to do with my children.
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If you like, there’s a link in the post to the other recipe I tried – for chocolate dipped pretzel rods. They were awesome other than melting in the hot sun. If you have an indoor bake sale or just want to make a fun treat, I’d highly recommend!
Hi Amy.
If I don’t get everything I have to do done today, I am blaming you. I found your blog from SITS, and I couldn’t stop reading it!
I loved your solution for transporting the cupcake cones — I have spent late nights before bake sales trying to solve that issue! Happy SITS Day!
That is the best compliment Susan, thank you! I’m glad you found me too. Will come check out yours.
This post just cracked me up!! Isn’t it funny what we get wrangled into with parenthood?? I just loved the process and thinking about “How am I ever going to transport these babies?” At least you came up with a solution and were able to take a picture for here!! Thanks for sharing and have a great day!!
Thanks Elizabath. Yes I think bake sales are a great metaphor for the whole job. As soon as you figure out once piece of parenting, there’s always a new puzzle to be solved. Thanks for commenting!
I think your cupcakes look amazing.
But I get it: I’m not the best baker. Things tend to go all wrong when I try.
Happy SITS Day!
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Thank you! They actually did sell well, so I know the kids liked ’em. I’ve got another 10-15 years of bake sales to perfect though, right?
Wow – I’m impressed! You are one busy woman – I can’t believe you have time to blog too! I really like your blog – glad I found it through SITS. Congrats on your upcoming wedding. Your cupcake cones are really cute and creative. Have a great day!
Thank you. Everything’s going to get a whole lot easier once we get past the wedding, but I know I’ll be sad when it’s over. You have a great day too!
I think your cupcake cones look delish! Happy sits day.
Aw thanks. The kids seemed to like them, and I snuck one and it was pretty tasty, but also kind of so sweet it’s gross 🙂
Happy SITS Day
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Thanks!
Love the bit about the other mother. That would be just my luck as well!
I forgot about these, after seeing them last year on Facebook. I’ll remember, when making them this summer for the area kids, that I pipe mine so as not to be outdone 😉
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I later found out that other mother was actually the bake sale coordinator, so she’s supposed to be a pro. I felt a teeny bit less lame 🙂 But I am going to try piping next time.
Adorably fun stuff! Happy SITS Day!
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Thanks Lori!
OMG, those cupcake cones are adorable! I think they turned out great (and kudos to your babysitter for coming up with the cardboard box idea). Ugh. Other mommies always have to show off, huh??
Be proud of your masterpiece 🙂
Stopping in from SITS; officially obsessed with your blog.
Thanks, you made my day!
Love the honest share, baking can be tricky at times, love the pics:)
Thanks. I’m definitely more of a cook than a baker, but I’m hoping you can still teach an old mom new tricks.