Geode-Inspired Ice Cream Cones

Maybe you have one in your family — a child with an obsession with all things nature or a love for collecting objects found in the wild. If that description sounds familiar, you might have a budding natural scientist on your hands.

Natural science and the shimmering beauty of geodes, or rocks lined with crystals and other mineral matter, spurred us to create our own geode-inspired ice cream cones. Using colorful rock candy, white frosting, cake mix, and Joy Cake Cups, we designed portable works of art reminiscent of blue celestite crystal clusters, pink quartz geodes, and rainbow crystal geodes.

These hand-held creations are sure to fascinate your budding geologists, rock or gem collectors, paleobotanists, and archaeologists, as well as kiddos who just love a beautiful dessert or interesting craft project.

You can even double up on the education aspect of this one by picking up some crack-your-own geodes from your local toy or craft store, perusing the gift shops of your state or regional natural history museum for geode mementos, finding geode-related lessons online, or mining your local plant shops for these earthy decorations.

Chalk it up to our affinity for all things colorful, shimmering, and Joyful, but we think these geode cones will be a hit with families looking to work a little natural science and history into the mix.

What You’ll Need:

• Cake mix in any flavor — typically requires water, 3 eggs, and ½ cup of cooking oil
• Box of 24 Joy Cake Cups
• White frosting             
• Rock candy in white   
• Rock candy in desired interior colors
• Spoon or melon baller
• Sandwich-size plastic zip-top bags   
• Knife

What To Do:

1. Mix the cake mix according to the directions on the box.
2. Once the cake mix is ready, fill the cake cones ⅔ full of cake mix.
3. Place the filled cake cones in a muffin or cupcake tin and gently put in the oven. Bake the cones filled with cake mix for 15-17 minutes at 350 degrees.
4. Remove the cones from the oven and allow to cool.
5. Use your melon baller or spoon to spoon out a small section of cake from each cone. (You can save the insides to make cake pops or another dessert, or let your little ones snack with you during the baking process!)
6. Frost the cake that’s now showing in each cone and place all cones in the freezer to harden the frosting.
7. When the frosting has hardened, remove cones from freezer and let sit for 30 minutes.
8. Place rock candy inside plastic bags, keeping each color separate. Crush candy into small pieces using the underside of a mug, a mallet, or another safe, heavy object.
9. Sprinkle your favorite color (other than white) into the divot, then press the white rock candy into the outer edges of the cake, ensuring the whole cake is now covered with candy.

Discover other ways ice cream cones can transform into unexpected desserts with these posts from the Joy blog:

• Instagram Contest Winner: #MyJoyCone Creations
• Syracuse Grape Pie Cake Cones
• Churro Ice Cream Sugar Cones

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