How To Decorate Ice Cream Cones

There’s something undeniably magical about a decorated waffle cone—crispy, golden, and dressed up with all sorts of delightful toppings. In this How To recipe, I’ll show you how to take your plain cones to the next level with endless customization options. Think crushed toasted nuts, chocolate vermicelli, sprinkles, or even crushed cookies—the possibilities are as limitless as your imagination! The trick? Just like bartenders rim cocktail glasses with syrup and colored sugar for that sparkling crystal effect, we’ll dip the top edge of our waffle cones in melted chocolate, then roll them in your favorite toppings.

How to Decorate Ice Cream Cones

Course: frozen desserts

Cuisine: French

Keyword: ice cream

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 0

Can be made ahead of time: 0

Servings:

Calories: 50kcal

Cost: $8

Custom your ice cream cones!

Equipment

1 Ice cream cone holder
5 Serving bowls
1 Narrow container
1 Saucepan
1 Digital thermometer

Ingredients

16 each Wafer ice cream cones

Fancy Ice Cream Cones Decors

500 g Tempered chocolate Recipe
50 g Crushed hazelnuts toasted
50 g Crushed pistachio toasted
50 g Unsweetened shredded coconut toasted
50 g Chocolate vermicelli
50 g Sparkling sugar heart

Chocolatey Ice Cream Cone

200 g Bittersweet chocolate
100 g Cocoa butter or coconut oil

Instructions

Place wafer ice cream cones in the freezer an hour before starting.

Fancy Ice Cream Cone Decors

Any tempered chocolate will work for coating waffle ice cream cones, but since ice cream is naturally sweet, dark chocolate is often the best choice.
Once your chocolate is tempered, coat about an inch/2.5cm in chocolate.
And gently press on crushed nuts before the chocolate sets.
Using toasted crushed pistachios…
Using toasted crushed hazelnuts…
Using toasted coconut…
Using sprinkles…

Chocolatey Ice Cream Cone

Using chocolate enrobage (with cocoa butter) allows the cone to get a thiner chocolate coating. The cone can also be dipper immersed in chocolate. Gently melt chocolate over a bain-marie, and remove from the heat. Transfer the barely melted chocolate to a narrow container. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan melt cocoa butter. When melted, add it to the chocolate and mix with the immersion blender. Sieve.
Use chocolate enrobage at ≈113ºF/45ºC. Coat the tip of the previously frozen cone first.
Flip and glaze about a third of the cone. Repeat until done.