TGIF: Cupcake awesomeness

Sorry for the late post today, guys, but trust me it's totally worth it . . . because my mom and I just put the finishing touches on one of my all-time favorite treats - ice cream cone cupcakes.

Little cones of sunshine

If you're making cupcakes this summer, make them in ice cream cones. It won't take you much more time and they're beyond delicious. You just need to follow the instructions on the cake mix box to make your batter and line up your cones inside a pan. We used a 9x13 and a smaller, jellyroll pan.

Pack 'em in so they don't fall over

Fill your cones with batter until the batter fills the entire bottom part of the cone - it's about one ladle-full of batter in each cone.

My mom's basically a pro at these

Then simply place them in the oven as per the cake mix instructions. You will have to bake them a little longer than the box says, so just keep an eye on them. It usually takes less than 10 minutes more than the box's minimum baking time.

Strawberry is my favorite cake for these

Frost, sprinkle and you're good to go! I can't even tell you how much I love these. So cute and so good, plus I'm sharing my mom's icing recipe with you below. It's amazing so you're welcome.


My mom's top-secret, awesome icing recipe*
1 cup of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/3 cup of water
Dash of salt

In a saucepan combine sugar, cream of tartar, water and salt. Cook and stir till bubbly and sugar dissolves. (Trick: Don't stop stirring)
In a mixing bowl, combine egg whites and vanilla.
Here's where you need a second person, if you're me. Add sugar syrup very slowly to unbeaten egg whites and vanilla while beating constantly at a high speed (with an electric mixer).
Beat for 7 minutes or until stiff peaks form.

*This frosting recipe is actually from the Better Homes and Garden cookbook ("Fluffy White Frosting"). Just in case they get offended by me changing the frosting's name.