

Ice Cream Sundae cupcakes
There's no wrong season for ice cream, and these delicious Ice Cream Sundae cupcakes look just like mini ice cream sundaes!
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Calories: 308kcal
Equipment
- 2 Cupcake pans (24 cups total)
- 1 large cookie scoop (for decorating - and makes transferring cupcake batter much easier!)
- 1 Squeeze bottle (or small piping bag, for decorating)
- 24 Mini spoons (for decorating; I used tiny dessert spoons similar to these!)
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour (350g)
- 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar (450g)
- 1 ¼ cup cocoa powder (100g)
- 1 tsp baking soda (5g)
- ¾ tsp salt (4g)
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks/250g; room temperature)
- 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk (350mL)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese (one package; softened)
- 1 cup butter (two sticks, softened)
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
Decorations
- 6 oz semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
- 6 oz heavy whipping cream (¾ cup)
- Sprinkles (of your choice; we used rainbow jimmies)
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (180C) or 325 F (160C) for a convection oven. Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners.
- Mix together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle (or with a hand mixer or whisk) until well combined. Add in bits of softened butter, mixing until no lumps of butter are visible and the mixture looks crumbly.
- Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl and beat for another 20 seconds.
- Fill each paper 3/4 of the way (using a large cookie scoop to transfer the batter into the cupcake liners makes this a quick and easy process!)
- Bake for 20-25 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow them to cool completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting. (The hang time while your cupcakes are cooling is a great time to make your frosting!)
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with milk until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency. I recommend making it fairly thick for this recipe, so that the frosting ‘scoops’ hold their shape. Add vanilla and salt if needed and beat until well combined.
Chocolate ganache
- Place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Add whipping cream and microwave on half power in 30-second intervals, stirring in between until smooth.
Noooow – onto the fun part!! Decorating!
- Transfer about one cup of frosting to a separate bowl and add 1-2 tablespoons of milk, until easily spreadable. Cover cupcake tops thinly with frosting (this makes it look a bit like the ice cream is melting).
- With a large cookie scoop, scoop frosting onto the top of your cupcakes to make the ‘ice cream’ on top! Chill for 5-10 minutes (this will help the ganache drips set).
- Allow ganache to cool to a moderate temperature – it should feel slightly warm and still be fairly liquid. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or piping bag. (A spoon will work; I've just found spoons to be a little bit more difficult to work with.)
- Slowly drizzle ganache over the top of the cupcakes – I found it easiest to start from the center and push drips outward a bit, working my way around the cupcake. When I made these with my nieces, they preferred to drizzle it on over the top – no bad options!
- Add your sprinkles before the ganache sets, and place them into the fridge for 10-15 minutes to set the ganache.
- Step back, give yourself a high-five, and admire your adorable cupcakes!
Video
Notes
(Please note nutrition information is an estimate and may not be exactly accurate.)
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 2.4g | Fat: 20g
Did you make these Ice Cream Sundae Cupcakes?
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Mentioned in post
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
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