For quite some time now I've wanted to try and make these ice-cream cupcakes. I had the idea to make them for my breast cancer fund raiser afternoon tea next week, but I wanted to give them a test run to make sure they actually worked.

I thought the cones would burn if you baked the cupcakes in them, but after looking at lots of other bloggers' efforts, and their cones were not burnt, I thought it would be ok. I saw some bloggers wrapping their cones in aluminum foil to prevent burning, and some bloggers baking cupcakes separately and shape them into cone.

So with nothing to do on a Saturday afternoon my friend Iron Chef Alana came over to assist.
We had a bit of fun and had no trouble licking the beaters either!
Iron Chef Katie had kindly sent me a link from Donna Hay's website for these cute cupcakes as she knew I was going to experiment with them (thanks Katie!). Then I realised I actually owned the magazine they came from too!

We ended up baking in the cones and it was a great success! The cake was light and fluffy and the icing was so delicious, it took me back to my childhood when cupcakes were consumed quite frequently at school when other kids had their birthdays.

Chocolate Cupcake Ice-Creams
From the Donna Hay website

125g butter, softened
½ cup (125ml) milk
¾ cup (165g) caster (superfine) sugar
100g dark chocolate, melted
2 eggs
16 store-bought ice-cream cones*
1¼ cups (190g) plain (all-purpose) flour
80g dark chocolate, extra, chopped
1 teaspoon baking powder
16 glacé cherries
2 tablespoons cocoa powder

chocolate butter cream icing:
250g butter, softened
2 cups (320g) icing (confectioner's) sugar mixture, sifted
½ cup (50g) cocoa powder, sifted
2 tablespoons milk

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F). Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well after each addition. Sift over the flour, baking powder and cocoa and beat until combined.

2. Fold through the milk and stir in the chocolate. Place the ice-cream cones on a baking tray and place a piece of the extra chocolate in the base of each cone. Spoon the cupcake mixture into the cones and bake for 20–25 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool.

3. To make the chocolate butter cream icing, place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 6–8 minutes or until pale and creamy. Add the icing sugar mixture, cocoa powder and milk and beat for a further 6 minutes or until light and creamy.

4. Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes using a star-shaped nozzle and top with the glacé cherries to serve.

Makes 16.

* Choose ice-cream cones with a flat base so they can stand up.

Voila! Bon Appétit!