Baking for Beginners: Ice-Cream Cone Cakes

Remember these 99 Life Hacks To Make Your Life Easier that did the rounds a few months back? If you don't, then read them immediately. They're like top tips from Take a Break, only actually useful. The one about baking cakes in ice-cream cones stayed with me.

Now that summer is over, I have an enormous box of cones and a grudging acceptance that ice-cream season is done. But my hasty bulk-buying of cornet was not in vain, as it turns out that ice-cream cone cakes are immensely easy to make and great fun to eat, whether you're 3 or 33. Even better, eating them straight out of the cones means no washing-up and nothing to throw away. To the kitchen, immediately!

Ice-cream cone cakes (makes 8)
You will need:

For the cakes

• 125g caster sugar
• 125g butter
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 125g self-raising flour
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 8 ice-cream cones with a flat base

For the icing

• 60g butter
• 120g icing sugar, sifted
• 25ml milk

Make it!

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Stand the cones in a muffin tray, one in each hole.
2. Cream together the sugar and butter for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs and vanilla essence and beat well.
3. Sift in the flour and fold it through until it's well mixed.
4. Scoop out around a quarter of the cake mix into a separate bowl and stir in the cocoa powder. Spoon it back into the plain cake mix in random blobs, and then gently swirl it all together to get a rippled effect.
5. Fill the cones about two-thirds full to give them space to rise. Either pipe the mixture in with a piping bag or use a teaspoon to make sure you get it right down to the base (unless you want a classic bit of empty cone at the bottom like a proper 99).
6. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted into one comes out clean. Leave for five minutes on the tray before transferring to a wire rack.
7. Make the butter icing by creaming together the butter and icing sugar, then adding milk to get a smooth consistency. Once the cakes are cool, use a piping bag with a star nozzle to pipe on the buttercream in a Mr Whippy style on the top.
8. Confession: I bought some Dr Oetker cupcake icing in a can. It comes with four nozzles! It's great fun.
9. Decorate your icing with sprinkles and serve.