Picture yourself wanting to give a heartfelt yet affordable gift to all your kid’s teachers to show gratitude for their care throughout the year. This waffle cone cupcake bouquet recipe is perfect for expressing appreciation to teachers, staff members, birthday guests, and so many more on those special occasions.
I’m delighted you’re here to learn how to create these adorable Lilly Pulitzer-style waffle cone cupcakes! Alongside some valuable tips I learned along, and adorable pictures, let’s dive into the delicious details.
This post is all about a waffle cone cupcake bouquet recipe. It contains affiliate links, meaning, I might receive a small commission, but at no cost to you.
You Don’t Have to be a Professional Baker
If I can whip up these adorable treats, anyone can! No need for a professional baking background. I’ve learned to bake and decorate through trial and error, plus a few pointers from my sister. 😉
I adore food that’s so beautiful, it’s almost a shame to eat it, you know? That’s why I’m drawn to bright colors, like those in Lilly Pulitzer’s clothing collections.
Creating these sweet desserts simply requires a bit of extra time and patience to transform a basic cake mix, waffle cones, and buttercream frosting into adorable masterpieces.
Tools Needed
- Muffin Tin
- Muffin Liners
- Plastic Cups
- Box with Cone Holes for Transportation Purposes
- #417 Piping Tip
- Russian Flower Piping Tip
- 2 Piping Bags
- Food Coloring- Red, Yellow, and Green
- Squeeze Bottle for the Simple Syrup- But not required!
Helpful Supplies
How to Make a Waffle Cone Cupcake Bouquet
1. Bake the Cupcakes
Bake the cupcakes according to the white cake box instructions, filling the muffin cups about 3/4 full with batter. Note: You will need one cupcake for each waffle cone.
This recipe yields around 12 cones, but you might have a few extra cupcakes depending on how full the liners are, allowing you to make 14-16 cones if necessary.
2. Melt the White Chocolate Chips and Pour into Waffle Cones
Melt the white chocolate, then pour 2-3 tablespoons into each waffle cone. Spread the melted chocolate inside the cone immediately after pouring, before it hardens, with a knife, spoon, or cake pop stick until fully coated.
Tip: Ensure you have a few extra waffle cones on hand in case some are cracked, depending on your needed quantity. This may require buying an extra box.
3. Make a Simple Syrup
Create a simple syrup with equal parts of water and sugar, approximately 1/2 cup of each. Heat on the stove until the sugar dissolves completely. Once cooled, transfer the syrup into a squeeze bottle, or use a spoon for ladling if a squeezable container isn’t available.
4. Mash the Cupcakes and Add the Simple Syrup
Take each cupcake out of its wrapper individually and mash them one by one with a fork in a small bowl. Add about 1 teaspoon of simple syrup to the mashed cupcake and mix well to reduce crumbliness.
5. Fill the Waffle Cones with Mashed Cupcakes
Fill each waffle cone halfway by adding one mashed cupcake and lightly pressing it down. If needed, add another half of a cupcake to reach the desired level. Press the top flat to create a surface for the frosting. Repeat with each cone.
6. Make Homemade Buttercream
Prepare homemade buttercream frosting by whipping 4 sticks of room temperature butter with 8 cups of powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 4 teaspoons vanilla, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla creamer, heavy cream, or milk (vanilla creamer was used here). Use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer to whip the frosting until fluffy, about 5 minutes, for the easiest mixing.
7. Pipe White Buttercream into Waffle Cones
Place about 2 cups of white buttercream frosting onto a strip of plastic wrap, roll it up, and insert it into an empty piping bag with one end of the plastic wrap left uncoiled and open. Note: This makes refilling the piping bag much easier. Pipe a bottom layer of frosting into each waffle cone, then even it out with a knife or the back of a spoon to create a flat surface for the piped tulips.
8. Create Colored Frosting Colors
Divide about 4 cups of buttercream frosting into 4 bowls (one cup in each bowl)—color with your preferred food coloring. I used red to create two shades of pink (adjusting for the color intensity), yellow, and green for the leaves. Adjust coloring to achieve your desired hues. Note: It took less than a full bottle of liquid coloring to create each color for a Lilly Pulitzer-style appearance.
9. Pipe on the Tulips
Spoon a few scoops of each frosting color in stripes onto a sheet of plastic wrap, as shown above. Roll up the plastic wrap and place it into a piping bag with a Russian flower tip. Practice piping a few tulips onto a plate before starting on the cones. Be patient with yourself—squeeze and lift, and you’ll get the hang of it quickly.
Begin by piping about 6 tulips into each waffle cone, with three on each side. For a taller look, add another layer of tulips on top of the first layer. This is what I did, and for some, I added even more. 😉
10. Pipe on the Leaves
Place the green frosting in a strip on a sheet of plastic wrap, then insert it into another piping bag with tip #417. Practice on a plate until you’re comfortable with the ruffle-like leaves. Add the leaves to empty spaces on the buttercream tulips.
11. Bon Appetit
Allow buttercream to set, and then bon appetit!
How to Keep Cupcake Cones from Getting Soggy
To prevent cupcake cones from getting soggy, coat the inside with melted chocolate. We used melted white chocolate chips, pouring enough to coat the entire inside of each waffle cone. Swirling the chocolate with a spoon, knife, or cake pop stick ensures coverage in all nooks and crannies, especially in the bottom point of the cone, creating a barrier against sogginess from the cupcake and buttercream frosting.
More Fun Posts You Might Want to Check Out
Fast and Easy Unicorn Popcorn Recipe
Irresistible S’mores Cake Pops
Favorite No-Bake Oreo Truffles
Thank you so much for joining me. I hope you enjoyed this fun waffle cone cupcake recipe. This dessert is sure to be a crowd-pleaser at your next gathering.
Feel free to let me know if you have any questions, and what you think of the recipe in the comments. I LOVE hearing from you!
Lydia says
These are so pretty!
danimardesigns says
Thank you, sweet friend! xoxo
Arin Rentz says
Looks beautiful and tasty!
danimardesigns says
Thank you, dearie! 🤍