There’s a fair few cupcakes out there that have been decorated to look just like old fashioned “drugstore” ice creams and sundaes – chocolate on top, sprinkles, cherries – they look so pretty and cartoon-like. And I’ve made a few iterations too, like these choc chip Neapolitan Ice Cream Cupcakes:

… and these Choc Dipped Marshmallow Ice Cream Cupcakes:

When I posted these on my Cakeophilia facebook page last year, I promised that the recipe was coming soon. But since then, I’ve realised that there is something else with marshmallow that I really want to tell you about, so my ice cream cupcakes are getting yet another makeover. There was one challenge – the makeover had to be purple – because I was making them for Purple Day for Epilepsy this week. And because colouring things purple with food colouring is so unimaginative, (and because I wanted to make sure my treats would stand out from the crowd of baking at our work morning tea), I wanted a flavour. What to do? One option would be lavender. I have had amazing lavender ice cream and shortbread in the Victorian Alps region where the lavender farms live. But would that be the right flavour for a cutesy take on a sundae? Luckily nature makes something else that’s purple and delicious. Meet the Blueberry-Mud Ice cream Cupcake.

These babies are made in store-bought chocolate/vanilla waffle cones, and have a cone full of delectable dense chocolate mud cake, with a real blueberry “ice cream” frosting, and a smooth chocolate ganache topping. The cones are coated inside with melted chocolate first, to make sure the cake doesn’t make the cones go soft. My Mudcake recipe is an adaptation of a chocolate lava cake recipe from Juile Le Clerc’s “Little Café Cakes”. The cakes are baked until they are cooked through, rather than leaving the centres liquid. It’s the simplest quick mix recipe too – melt the chocolate and butter, stir in the sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, and flour, baking powder, done.

The Blueberry Ice Cream Frosting takes a little longer, and is a cross between swiss meringue buttercream and butter roux frosting. It is creamy and marshmallow-fluffy at the same time, with an awesome pop of blueberry flavour. Yum.

My cupcakes were so admired that I got to thinking about other flavours. I’d already made some vanilla bean mud cake ones – they are hiding in the pictures here and there. Then I hit on the obvious – banana cake. Who doesn’t kinda love the banana split, even if you could never finish one when you were a kid? It’s a perennial combo and I couldn’t wait to try it out. Behold, the Banana Split Ice Cream Cupcake.

Waffle cone. Chocolate coating. Soft, fragrant banana cake. Vanilla bean Ice Cream Frosting. And a surprise inside… A center of salty caramel hidden in the frosting.

Can you even wait to try them?

The recipe for Blueberry-Mud Ice Cream Cupcakes is here! You’ll find how to make Banana Split Ice Cream Cupcakes here! Make them and bask in your gorgeous treats. Beautiful and delicious.

Enjoy! xx