’99 ice cream cakes

These indulge my love of bestowing surprises, as they look like an ice cream but hide a treasure trove of soft sponge and sweets. Transportation can be tricky as they don’t stay upright easily, so I cut holes in a box and line with cake cases to hold the cones in place.

INGREDIENTS

14 flat-bottomed ice cream cones

1 large egg, at room temperature

caster sugar

butter

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon milk

gel food colouring, (optional)

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM:

165g salted butter, softened

325g icing sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

TO HIDE AND DECORATE:

350g sugar-coated chocolates

small gold chocolate coins, (optional)

14 chocolate flakes

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 170°C and place your cones on a thick-bottomed, heavy baking tray. Do not use a thin tray, as these can buckle in the oven and cause the cones to topple.

Weigh the egg in its shell and note the weight. Measure out the same weight of sugar (so for an egg weighing 65 g, weigh out 65 g of sugar) then the same of flour and the same of butter, and place in a bowl. Add the egg, vanilla, baking powder and milk and beat until light and creamy, about 3–4 minutes with a mixer or 5–7 minutes with a wooden spoon. Add food colouring if you like. Spoon 1 heaped teaspoon of batter into each cone – this seems very little but it will rise to fill three-quarters of the cone, with room for the icing. Bake for 20–25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Make the buttercream. Beat the butter until soft and creamy, then add 1 tablespoon of icing sugar at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all the icing sugar has been added, mix in the vanilla and beat for 7 minutes with a mixer or 10 minutes with a wooden spoon until light and airy. Attach a large star nozzle to your icing bag and rest in a pint glass, rolling the top over the rim. Spoon the mixture into the bag then hold the top and allow gravity to push the mixture to the nozzle end. Massage the bag slightly to remove any air bubbles. Stand it back in the glass.

Fill to the top of the cone with chocolates; I use about 25 g per cone. Hold your icing bag upright over the cone. Using one hand to guide and the other to push the icing down the bag, pipe a swirl in one steady stream, starting at 12 o’clock and gradually moving into the middle. Start taking the pressure off your pushing hand and pull the nozzle away from the cake to finish. If you have never done this before watch a video online and practise on greaseproof paper. Or you can simply use an ice cream scoop to top with icing. Finish each with a flake.

#normalmum #buttercream #cone