The cutest (and tastiest) party treats are here! Get creative with the kids this summer holiday and try these cupcake cones.

MAKES 12 // COOKING TIME 2 hours

INGREDIENTS
For the vanilla cake batter
250 g unsalted butter
400 g sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
375 g cake flour
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
250 ml milk
For the buttercream icing
1 kg icing sugar
500 g unsalted butter
2 tbsp milk
For the cupcake cones
½ batch vanilla cake batter
½ batch buttercream icing
1 tsp pink food colouring
12 sugar cones
80 g milk or dark chocolate, melted, to decorate
12 maraschino cherries
Sprinkles, to decorate

METHOD
For the vanilla cake batter
1. Beat butter until creamy. Beat in sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until fully incorporated. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until light and fluffy. Add vanilla essence.
2. In another bowl, sift cake flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until half-mixed. Add milk and beat until just incorporated.
For the buttercream icing
1. Beat together icing sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
2. Add the milk and beat for another 3 minutes, to make the icing a little more spreadable.
For the cupcake cones
1. Preheat oven to 160°C.
2. Line a muffin tray with cupcake wrappers (check that the wrappers fit into the cones).
3. Fill each wrapper ¾-way with batter. Bake for 12–15 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
4. Remove from the muffin tray and place on a rack to cool.
5. Mix icing and food colouring, and pour into a piping bag with a star nozzle.
6. Peel wrappers off cupcakes and place in each cone (stand upright by placing in glasses). Ice each one, piping in a swirl to look like soft-serve ice cream.
7. Drizzle with melted chocolate, and add a cherry and sprinkles.

Recipe & styling: Diane Heierli
Photography: Christoph Heierli

Obsessed with the novelty of cones? Make these pizza cones!