Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

It was my husband's birthday and he does love his sweets! Every night after dinner he will always be searching for ice cream, candies or some cookies. I surprised him with cake filled ice cream cones.

You can use any cake recipe you like. I made cherry flavored cake stuffed with chocolate ganache. Since cherries are still in season, I cooked some fresh bing cherries and added them to a vanilla batter. You can always use frozen cherries.

Vanilla cake

makes 8 cones

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cherry extract
• 1/2 cup cooked cherries

Whisk together the sugar, egg, vanilla extract and cherry extract. Add in the oil and mix until combined. Stir together the dry ingredients. Alternate the dry ingredients with the buttermilk. Fold in the cherries.

Fill the ice cream cones half way with the cake batter. Place in 350 degrees F oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

While the cupcakes are cooling let's make the filling.

Chocolate Ganache

• 100g chocolate, chopped small
• 120g heavy cream
  Bring heavy cream to a boil and pour over the chopped chocolate. Let the chocolate sit for a couple of minutes to soften. Whisk to combine. Place the plastic wrap directly on the ganache so a skin does not form. Refrigerate the ganache until it sets. When the cupcakes have cooled completely, use the back end of a wooden spoon and make a hole in the center of each cupcake. Transfer the ganache into a pastry bag and fill the center of each cupcake.

Using your favorite frosting, pipe a mound of frosting on top of each cupcake. You can decorate your cones with sprinkles or you can chill them and dip them into any left over ganache you have.

TIP: To melt the cold ganache, gently warm the ganache over a pot of simmering water until it melts. It's easy for the ganache to split. If this happens, add some cold cream and whisk to emulsify the broken ganache. These cupcakes are super fun and cute. You can even make this into a baking project and have a bunch of different candy toppings for kids or adults to decorate their own ice cream cone. Best part, they won't melt all over your hand on a hot sunny day.