A chocolate rich & moist cupcake hidden inside a homemade waffle cone that is both quick and easy to make! Not only do you get one tasty cupcake but you get a chewy waffle cone with crisp edges and a sweet buttery flavor that’s reminiscent of a sugar cookie! Not to mention a high topping of velvet smooth chocolate buttercream perfect for any and all of your favorite toppings.

Not a fan of waffle cones? No worries! This chocolate cupcake recipe will go great inside of your favorite ice cream cone just like the sugar cones I baked in last week’s recipe down below.

Waffle Cone Cupcakes

prep time: 10 MINUTES cook time: 35 MINUTES additional time: 20 MINUTES total time: 1 HOUR 5 MINUTES

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites at room temperature
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1 ½ sticks butter at room temperature
• 1 ¾ cups white sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cup warm water or fresh brewed coffee
• 1 stick butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream at room temperature

Instructions

For the Waffle Cones

1. Note: You can easily skip making your own waffle cones and buy already made cones. If though you’re feel adventurous (they are not that hard to make I promise) then I would suggest the KOJI waffle cone maker to make this process as easy as possible.
2. In a small pan over low heat, melt butter and then set aside to cool.
3. Turn on your waffle cone maker to let it preheat.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg whites and heavy cream until combined.
5. Add sugar, cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract and almond extract and whisk until well combined.
6. Add melted butter and whisk to combine.
7. Add flour and whisk only until just combined and smooth.
8. Spray waffle maker with nonstick spray on both the bottom and top grids.
9. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop batter into the center of prepared waffle cone maker, and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
10. Lay a dishtowel on the counter next to your waffle cone maker. Once the round is cooked to your desired doneness, carefully and quickly remove it and place it on the dishtowel.
11. Position the point of the form close to the edge of the round with the form resting across the diameter of the round. Use the cloth (to protect your fingers) to wrap one edge of the round onto the form, and then roll the cone forward until it’s wrapped completely around the form.
12. Hold the cone with the seam side down, gently but firmly, against the cloth and allow it to cool for 15 seconds or so. While it’s cooling, also make sure you pinch the tip of the cone so that it’s sealed! As you can see from my video, I did not do this for a few of my waffle cones.
13. Once you feel like the cone has cooled enough to hold it’s shape, carefully remove it from the form and let cool upright. 

For the Chocolate Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy on a medium speed for about 2 minutes.
3. Add eggs and vanilla.
4. Beat butter mixture at a medium speed for about 1 minute.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture while alternating with water. Be sure to start and end with the dry ingredient mix.
7. On a low speed, mix until creamy. You should not need to mix longer than a minute at most. With that said, be sure not to over mix.
8. Place a mini marshmallow into the bottom of each waffle cone to prevent any leaks.
9. Pour about 1/4 cup of cupcake batter into waffle cones. You may need to adjust the amount depending on the size of your waffle cones. This is where a waffle cone/cupcake wire stand will come in handy. I like to place mine on top of a cookie sheet to prevent any messy oven mishaps.
10. Bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
11. Once baked, remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

For the Chocolate Buttercream

1. Sift 4 cups of powdered sugar & set bowl aside.
2. Cream butter & shortening.
3. Add cocoa powder & vanilla.
4. Scrape down the sides.
5. Place your mixer on the lowest speed & slowly add in your powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time.
6. Do not worry if your buttercream looks crumbly & dry because we will fix that next.
7. Scrape down the sides one last time.
8. With your mixer on, slowly add in heavy cream.
9. Turn mixer up to a medium speed until you have light & fluffy consistency you are looking for (about a minute or so).

Assembly

1. Once your cupcake waffle cones have cooled, simply top with a generous amount of chocolate buttercream and your preferred toppings and serve.

Notes

• Room Temperature Ingredients: Be sure to allow your dairy ingredients to reach room temperature. Room temperature ingredients not only combine more effortlessly (no over-mixing needed) but they also trap air so much better. This trap air will expand and produce a fluffy texture during your baking process.
• Prepared Pan: There will always be the “next best way to prepare your pan” article. Simply put however, the most effective way i find in my kitchen is a light rub of shortening around the sides, parchment paper on the bottom of the pan, & a very light dusting of flour (cocoa powder for chocolate baked goods) all throughout.
• You can use this buttercream right away or place it in an airtight container in your fridge until ready to use. Just be sure to whip before using.
• If you’d prefer to skip the shortening, simply swap it out with 1 additional stick of room temperature butter.
• If you’d prefer a more white, stiffer, buttercream then simply omit the butter & replace with 1 additional cup of shortening. Also be sure to swap out the vanilla extract for clear vanilla extract.
• Make sure you sift your powdered sugar. This will help the sugar mix into the butter & shortening smoothly.
• When all your powdered sugar has been added in, the buttercream will appear dry. Don’t raise the alarms. When adding in your milk or heavy cream, your buttercream will start to have the fluffy texture it‘s known for.
• Keep in mind that your heavy cream should be added in 1 tablespoon at a time. I do this way to make sure I am not drowning my buttercream to the point of a soupy mess.
• Also worth mentioning, if desired, you can easily swap out the heavy cream for equal parts of your preferred milk such as whole milk or buttermilk.