The Differences Between Sugar Cones and Cake Cups

The Differences Between Sugar Cones and Cake Cups

These two ice cream holders look very different, but do you know the ways in which they’re the same?

Well, both Joy Sugar Cones and Joy Ice Cream Cups are the top selling, most popular ice cream cones and cups in America. Plus, they both can serve as delicious containers for…not only ice cream…but a variety of treats from candy to cake, and we urge you to visit our recipe page for many more creative ideas. But there are several differences between the sugar cone and the cake cup.

The sugar cone is a relative of the waffle cone and, like the waffle cone, is made with a touch of brown sugar in the recipe. The difference between those two is that, despite the name, the waffle cone is a bit sweeter; however, the sugar cone is sturdier than the waffle cone and has a rim that goes completely around the top to help hold in the ice cream.

The cake cup (which we don’t call a cone simply because it’s not conical in shape) is a more recent invention than the sugar cone and owes its popularity, to a large extent, to the baby boomers.

The cake cup first appeared in the late 1930s or early 1940s. It has a wafer-like texture and is cylindrical in shape, with a larger area at the top to hold more ice cream.

It was originally intended to make it easier to serve ice cream in ice cream shops because the cup, with its flat bottom, could be set down on a counter after being made. But when the baby boomers came along, parents discovered it was the perfect cone for kids.

For one thing, because of its being lighter and thinner, it’s easier for kids to take a bite out of. Plus, the flat bottom is a big plus for kids because it means that little hands can set the cup down for a second or two if they need to take a momentary break from holding it.

The cake cup also has a bonus: The bottom is reinforced with upright wafer walls that not only make the cup stronger at the base, but also provides perhaps the perfect finish when eating the cup. That last bit of delicious wafer and ice cream is many people’s favorite part.

As the baby-boom generation got older, many stuck with the products they knew while growing up, and that includes the cake cup, proving that it’s not just for kids. Of course, many new generations of kids have since come along, all enjoying the many advantages the cake cup provides to the very youngest ice cream aficionados.

Another, more recent perk that cake cups provide is the variety of styles that Joy Cone supplies to consumers. There are Joy Cone Birthday Cake Dipped Cups, a limited-time treat where we’ve coated the bell of the cup from the rim, just above the nesting ring, in a red, orange, & blue-sprinkled white confectionery coating.

We also have the Joy Cone Chocolatey Dipped Cups. We’ve coated the top of our popular cake cup with a creamy milk chocolate. It’s like eating a chocolate sundae in a cone!

Other varieties of cake cups include Color Cups, which includes an equal number of pink, blue, and purple cups in each box, Jumbo Cups, and Mini Cups, and even a Gluten Free Ice Cream Cups for those with an intolerance to gluten.

It’s safe to say that, no matter your taste or your specific cone/cup needs, Joy Cone has something for everyone!