Hey mamas! Raise your hand if you’ve ever seen cone cakes before? Most people I meet fall into one of two categories – they’ve never heard of cone cakes and wonder “what are these?” or they’re like “Oh my gosh! I loved making those when I was a kid!”
Cone cakes are cupcakes baked inside ice cream cones. And I’m here to share their awesomeness with you.
First – a little background on me and my company – then I’m going to show you how easy it is to make Yippee Cone Cakes, especially for Halloween!
Hi, I’m Leilani and I own Yippee Cone Cake Co. Cone cakes have been around since at least the 1950’s, when they were published in the Betty Crocker Cookbook for Boys and Girls. My sweet mom, who was a little girl, bought that cookbook and would make cone cakes with her younger sister. Years later she became a mom (in the 70’s - I’m showing my age now) and would bake cone cakes for our birthdays. Let me tell you, they.were.the.bomb. I remember eating them with friends in our 70’s-style wallpapered kitchen, and we all loved them. A couple of decades later, I began baking cone cakes for my two daughters and just like when I was a kid, they were a huge hit.
But there’s a pesky problem with cone cakes. They fall over easily and therefore are a huge pain in the donk. Here’s where Yippee enters the scene. I set out to solve this problem and created cute holders that keep the cone cakes upright. Shortly after launching my business, I added kits to my product line, to make baking AND decorating super easy and fun.
So let’s dive into how to make cone cakes. It’s simple, especially if you follow my tips.
Today I’m showing you my Halloween kit, which comes with the holders, sprinkles, toppers and a recipe card.
To make cone cakes you need holders, cones, cake mix and frosting. A little side note: I’ve done several blind taste tests – with kids - and box mix wins EVERY SINGLE TIME. You can use your own cake recipe, but my instructions here are for using boxed mix.
Turn your oven on to 325 degrees F.
Place the holders on a light-colored cookie sheet – avoid dark sheets if possible because the bottoms of the cones may burn a bit.
Place your cones inside the holders and set aside.
Make your cake mix. My favorite is Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake Mix.
Ok, here’s where it gets serious, y’all. How much batter you put in the cones will make the difference between beautiful and delicious cone cakes and messy volcano explosions!
So Tip #1: There is a line on the inside of the cone, where the narrow meets the wide. That’s your fill line. Go much past that line = volcanoes.
If you do add too much batter and are worried about it, just use one of the baby spoons in your silverware drawer and remove a bit. I do this almost every time I bake, FYI.
Place the cone cakes in the oven – middle rack – and bake for 20-25 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness: insert the toothpick into the center of the cake and if the toothpick comes out with cake on it, they’re not done yet. If it comes out clean – you’re good to go!
Tip #2: Cool on a cooling rack. It’s tempting to skip this step but unless you like mushy food, I strongly recommend that you don’t. Here’s the deal – the holders will hold in the heat and humidity from the oven. As the cone cakes cool, that heat will have no escape and the steam will go right into the cone, turning them to mush. By placing them on a cooling rack, the heat can escape and the cone will remain firm.
Tip #3 is about storing cone cakes. This may sound counterintuitive but you want to store them on the counter NOT covered. If you cover them in a container, they will become soft. So place them either on the counter or in a container but leave the top off. They will not go stale by leaving them uncovered. In fact, they will stay ready-to-eat for 2-3 days.
Aren’t these cone cakes soooo cute? They are perfect for your kid’s class party, for a Halloween party, to send with your spouse to work, to surprise your neighbors, etc.
If you love these cone cakes, my online store is yippeeconecakes.com. I offer kits in a variety of themes, holders in 6 colors, and I also have a home-based bakery where I accept orders in the Savannah area.
Thanks for taking the time to learn about cone cakes, I hope you’re inspired to try them!
Happy baking,
Leilani