Ingredients
For the cupcakes
12 sugar cones
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
For the frosting
12 ounces (1 1/2 packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners sugar
For decorating
Melted chocolate
Assorted candy sprinkles
Chopped roasted salted peanuts
Maraschino cherries
Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Remove center of a 12-inch tube pan and cover pan with a double layer of heavy-duty foil. Use a skewer or paring knife to poke 12 small holes in the foil, 2 1/2 inches apart. Gently place a cone in each hole, pushing it down until only about 1 inch of cone is showing.
Make cupcakes: Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each. Fill each cone with 2 to 3 tablespoons batter; do not overfill!. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the frosting, cream the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. When the cupcakes are cool, frost them generously. For soft-serve “twist” cones, fill a pastry bag fitted with an open-star tip and frost, then top with multicolored sprinkles. You can also make “sundae” cones, by drizzling melted chocolate over the frosting, then sprinkle with peanuts and top with a cherry. Serve immediately.
Note: the cone start to get soggy after about 4-5 hours, so it is a fine balance in timing to get these cooled, then frosted, then served.
