Homemade "Drumstick" Cake Cones

in a nutshell cake cones
Photo: Con Poulos
Prep Time:
20 mins
Total Time:
1 hrs 30 mins
Yield:
4

If you often feel a pang for the frozen treats of yore, this recipe will definitely indulge your inner child. A quick and crackly homemade shell and chopped nuts coat the rim of each cone, as well as on the top of the ice cream scoops. And when it's time to enjoy, everyone will discover the surprise ending: a spoonful of fudgy chocolate ganache and even more nuts at the bottom.

Ingredients

Shell

  • 4 ounces white, milk, or dark chocolate, such as Baker's, chopped (¾ cup)

  • 1 tablespoon unrefined coconut oil

Ganache

  • cup heavy cream

  • 2 ounces white, milk, or dark chocolate, such as Baker's, chopped (⅓ cup)

  • 1 tablespoon malt powder (for milk-chocolate variation only)

Assembly (see variation section)

  • 4 cake cones

  • ½ cup roasted cashews, peanuts, or hazelnuts, chopped

  • 1 pint strawberry, caramel, or chocolate ice cream

Directions

  1. Shell: Combine chocolate and oil in a heatproof bowl set over (but not in) a pot of barely simmering water. Gently stir just until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool completely, 20 to 30 minutes. Mixture should thicken slightly but still be pourable (if it thickens too much, return bowl to pot of simmering water for 10 to 15 seconds).

  2. Ganache: Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan or microwave-safe bowl. Pour over chopped chocolate; let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Stir in malt powder, if using.

  3. Assembly: Dip top of cones (about 1/2 inch) into shell, allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Roll in nuts. Transfer to freezer until set, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon nuts into bottom of each cone, then fill halfway with ganache. Return to freezer until ganache is set, about 30 minutes. Top each cone with a scoop of ice cream. Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons shell over each scoop and quickly sprinkle with more nuts. Serve immediately, or freeze, loosely covered, up to 1 day.

Cook's Notes

To prevent the cones from tipping over during transfer to and from the freezer, anchor them in a baking dish partly filled with dried beans or rice.

Variations

For our pairings, use white-chocolate shell and ganache with cashews and strawberry ice cream, milk-chocolate shell and ganache with peanuts and caramel ice cream, and dark-chocolate shell and ganache with hazelnuts and chocolate ice cream. Or create your own combinations!

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