This One Is For You Choclette - CBC's 9 & 10

I promised Choclette from the Chocolate Log Blog a cake recipe ... so you maybe wondering why you see a 99 cone before you? 
Summer seems to have reappeared today in Edinburgh, and there is nothing better on a hot summer's day than an ice cream.  But then the weather can change so quickly in this part of the world that no sooner have you got that wonderful treat and the heavens open, so maybe a cake would be better?  These little guys have the bases covered, they are really cupcakes 'cleverly' disguised as ice creams.  Kitsch I know!  Couldn't help myself, they have been on my want to bake list for quite some time but I got put off by reports of exploding ice cream cones, overflowing batter and then finally soggy ice cream cones so there was nothing else for it but to have a try myself.

I kept in mind the comments of overflowing batter and made sure that I left about 2cm from the top of the ice cream cones, they still billowed over the top though so next time I'll only half fill them.  The cones didn't explode in the oven, though I guess if you fill them full of the batter then they may crack as the batter cooks and expands.  As for soggy cones ... well they maybe aren't as crisp as they are straight from the packet but I wouldn't call them exactly soggy either. 

These were loads of fun to make, and I've managed to tick off two Cook Book Challenges as well, the original idea came from Fiona Cairn's 'Bake and Decorate' while the cupcake recipe came from Jennifer Graham's 'The Crabapple Bakery Cupcake Cookbook'.  When I first got this book I read it cover to cover a couple of times over and employee all the tips for making cupcakes but I realised that I've never actually made any of the cupcakes.  I opted for plain vanilla cupcakes so as I could play about with the icings, next time I'll check on the old supplies of icing sugar before I start, I only had enough for one batch of buttercream which has only gone far enough to ice 8 of the cones.  Never-mind though, the rest of the cones are safely store din my cupcake carrier until I can get back to the shops and then I can play around with icing flavours to my heart's content.  Watch this space for the creations!

Crabapple Bakery's Vanilla Cakes
2 3/4 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
200g softened unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups caster sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk
Ice cream cones (I've not given a quantity because it depends on how big the cones are)
Buttercream
Flakes - I got the 99 ones

Preheat the oven to 170C/fan 160C.  Place one flat bottomed ice cream cone into each hole of a muffin tray.

Sift together the flour and baking powder.  In a separate bowl, cream the butter for 1-2 mins.  Add the caster sugar a third at a time, beating for 2 mins after each addition.  After the last addition, beat until the mixture is light and fluffy and the sugar has almost dissolved.  Add eggs one at a time, beating for 1 min after each addition or until mixture is light and fluffy.  Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Add a third of the flour to the creamed mixture and beat on low speed until combined.  Add half of the milk and beat until combined.  Repeat this process.  Add the remaining third of the flour and beat until thoroughly combined; do not over beat as this will toughen the mixture.

Spoon mixture into the ice cream cones (leave lots of room for them to expand!).  Bake for 20-25 mins or until a fine skewer inserted comes out clean.  Remove the cupcakes from the trays immediately and cool on a wire rack for 30 mins before frosting.

To decorate, i made one batch of vanilla buttercream and piped it on top of the cones in a soft serve style (or as close as my piping skills will ever get to a soft serve style!) and then added a 99 flake.

Made 23 ice cream cone cupcakes (though next time this amount will probably double!) and the buttercream made enough to ice 8 cones

The Crabapple Bakery Cupcake Cookbook