A simple recipe for making carnival clown cupcakes using ice cream cones, M&M's, colored frosting and sprinkles. Carnival Clown Cupcakes are a fun cupcake recipe project for kids to make and eat!
First of all, I would like to start off this post with a disclaimer: In no way do I claim to be an experienced or professional cake decorator! I am perfectly happy with the title of "Fun Mom" and the squeals of delight from my kids when they see my creations.
Even though this is primarily a healthy recipe website, I feel that my kids should enjoy fun and indulgent treats in moderation. After all, that's part of the fun of being a kid! I baked these Carnival Clown Cupcakes as a treat for my daughter's spelling carnival at school.
I get most of my cake and cupcake ideas from local bakeries and online at websites like Taste of Home (where I got the basic idea for this cupcake) and Family Fun. There are so many great websites for cool and crazy baking ideas for kids. These cupcakes were fun to make and my kids loved "painting" the sugar ice cream cones with colored frosting.
Carnival Clown Cupcakes
24 cupcakes (your favorite flavor and favorite recipe)
3 cans vanilla frosting (or a double batch homemade vanilla buttercream)
Yellow, blue, red and green food coloring gel or liquid (There are natural food dyes available. India Tree is a brand that I have found @ Whole Foods)
M&M candies (I just used the red ones)
small candy eyes
baking cups (I used red and yellow)
container ice cream sprinkles
Prepare 4 bowls of frosting using one and half cans frosting or about ½ cup buttercream in each bowl. Add enough food color gel, in each bowl, to achieve a rich color and stir. Pour sprinkles in a small bowl and set aside. Using a knife or pastry brush, coat each sugar cone with icing and smooth out with finger. Put a dollop of icing on the end and dip the end into the sprinkles. You will end up with 6 cones of each color. Set aside and allow to thoroughly dry.
After cupcakes are completely cooled, frost and add eyes, a red M&M nose and (using some of the red icing from frosting the cones) draw a small mouth.
Place the leftover icing in a quart size ziploc bag and snip off the end. Pipe icing around the bottom rim of the sugar cone.
Place "hat" on the cupcake and lightly press into the frosting. Decorate with remaining frosting using your favorite tip (I used the small star tip on the hats).
*Helpful hint: Assemble the cupcakes the same day that you plan on serving them. If the cones get soft, they tend to crack. You can decorate the faces and the cones the day before serving and place the "hats" on as the last step. This way, they stay perfect! Enjoy~
How to Make Carnival Clown Cupcakes
- Prepare 4 bowls of frosting using one and half cans frosting (or about ½ cup buttercream) in each bowl. Add enough food color gel in each bowl to achieve a rich color and stir.
- Pour sprinkles into a small bowl and set aside.
- Using a knife or pastry brush, coat each sugar cone with icing and smooth out with finger. Put a dollop of icing on the tip end of each cone and dip the end into the sprinkles. You will end up with 6 cones of each color. Set aside and allow to thoroughly dry.
- After cupcakes are completely cool, frost and add eyes, a red M&M nose and (using some of the red icing from frosting the cones) draw a small mouth. Place remaining icing in a quart size ziploc bag and snip off one corner. Pipe icing around the bottom rim of each sugar cone.
- Place “hat” on the cupcake and lightly press into the frosting. Decorate with remaining frosting using your favorite tip
Carnival Clown Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 24 cupcakes your favorite flavor and favorite recipe
- 24 sugar cones
- 3 cans vanilla frosting or a double batch homemade vanilla buttercream
- Yellow blue, red and green food coloring gel or liquid
- 24 red M&M candies
- 48 small candy eyes
- 24 baking cups
- container ice cream sprinkles
Instructions
- Prepare 4 bowls of frosting using one and half cans frosting (or about ½ cup buttercream) in each bowl. Add enough food color gel in each bowl to achieve a rich color and stir.
- Pour sprinkles into a small bowl and set aside.
- Using a knife or pastry brush, coat each sugar cone with icing and smooth out with finger. Put a dollop of icing on the tip end of each cone and dip the end into the sprinkles. You will end up with 6 cones of each color. Set aside and allow to thoroughly dry.
- After cupcakes are completely cool, frost and add eyes, a red M&M nose and (using some of the red icing from frosting the cones) draw a small mouth. Place remaining icing in a quart size ziploc bag and snip off one corner. Pipe icing around the bottom rim of each sugar cone.
- Place “hat” on the cupcake and lightly press into the frosting. Decorate with remaining frosting using your favorite tip
Notes
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The Better Baker
Oh.My.Goodnes! These are just adorable! You did a fine job "Fun Mom"....I'm sure your kids are the proudest ones at school. I love kid-friendly ideas like this. SO glad you shared!
The Carters
These are so cute!! I used to love making fun treats for my kids classes but up here in MN everything has to be store bought for safety reasons.... I know the kids loved the cupcakes!!
La
These are absolutely adorable. I am hosting an ice cream social this weekend. I hope you will join us.
Heather Lynne
Adorable and perfect for a child's birthday party!
Six Sisters
These are so cute! They would be perfect for a birthday party!! We're so glad you linked up to "Strut Your Stuff Saturday" We loved having you! Please come back next Saturday and share more of your great recipes and ideas! -The Sisters
Kristi
Amee- These are so cute I can hardly stand it!! Love everything about them...especially the multicolored cones. And super cute sprinkles on the tops! They're fantastic! Thank you bunches for linking up with Mop It Up Mondays at ishouldbemoppingthefloor. So happy you could stop by!{HUGS},kristi
Kristi
Me again! I just can't quit thinking of all of the adorableness of these. I featured you on this week's Mop It Up Mondays: http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/2012/02/mop-it-up-mondays-3.html. Feel free to stop by and link up some more fabulousness if you get a chance!{HUGS},kristi
Amee
Awwww, thank you all so much!! Kristi, what an honor to be your feature this week!!!
Mama Jodi
These are really cute. I'll have to file this idea away for future birthday parties.
Six Sisters
These turned out super cute!!!! Thanks for sharing it with Six Sister's Stuff Link Party. We hope to see you back next Saturday! -The Sisters
Anonymous
Amee, thanks so much for this idea. I looked for other recipes, but they said to cut 2 inches off the top of the cone -- a dangerous proposition, I think, because I can just see every one of them crumbling. I'm glad you found a creative way to use the whole cone. We will be having these for my daughter's 5th Circus Birthday Party!
Amee
So glad you love them!! My best tip with making these cupcakes is to assemble them as close as possible to the serving time. I have assembled them in advance and covered them and the cones can get soft and crack. If you assemble the day of serving. They stay perfect!
Christina
Love this idea but all the cones I find are so much bigger! They topple over on the cupcake. Where did you find these small cones??
Amee Livingston
Hi Christina! These are actually the regular size sugar cones (not the large ones) and I believe that I found them at Kroger. I would just go for the smallest ones you can find.