Recipes and Cooking Desserts & Baking Cakes Birthday Cake Birthday Party Hat Cakes Be the first to rate & review! A birthday party wouldn't be complete without birthday hats and cake--and now you can combine the two! These cute, cone-shaped cakes are the perfect way to celebrate that special day. Decorate them with colorful frostings and your favorite candies in fun, graphic patterns, and don't forget to add a licorice string as a finishing touch. By BHG Test Kitchen BHG Test Kitchen The Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen has been in continuous operation for nearly 100 years, developing and testing practical, reliable recipes that readers can enjoy at home. The Test Kitchen team includes culinary specialists, food stylists, registered and licensed nutritionists, and other experts with Bachelor of Science degrees in food science, food and nutrition, or culinary arts. Together, the team tests more than 2,500 recipes, produces more than 2,500 food images, and creates more than 1,000 food videos each year in the state-of-the-art test kitchen. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on August 29, 2016 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Prep Time: 45 mins Bake Time: 25 mins Cool Time: 10 mins Total Time: 45 mins Servings: 14 Yield: 14 cakes Ingredients 28 6 ounce heavy-duty paper snow cone cups Dried beans Heavy-duty foil 1 package 2-layer-size white or yellow cake mix 1 recipe Creamy White Frosting (see recipe below) Desired-colors gel food colorings Assorted small decorative candies Desired-colors shoestring licorice Creamy White Frosting 1 cup shortening 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla ½ teaspoon almond extract 1 16 ounce package powdered sugar (about 4 cups) 3 tablespoon milk Directions Preheat oven to 350°F. Adjust oven racks so you can bake these on the lowest rack. Stack snow cone cups to make fourteen double-layered cups. Fill fourteen 2 1/2-inch muffin cups with dried beans. Cover pan with heavy-duty foil. (You may need to bake half at a time if you only have one muffin pan.) Press down the foil so you can see the impressions of the round muffin cups. Using the tip of a sharp knife, make a slit in the foil over the center of each muffin cup. Place the double-layered snow cone cup, point side down, in each of the slits. Set aside. Prepare cake mix batter according to package directions. Spoon batter into snow cone cups, filling each about half full (1/4 cup). Bake about 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool cakes in muffin cups on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from muffin cups. Invert cakes and cool completely on wire racks. Carefully cut or peel paper cups away from cakes. Remove some of the Creamy White Frosting and divide into desired number of portions. Tint each portion using a desired food coloring. Frost cakes with the remaining white frosting, spreading frosting as smoothly as possible. To decorate cakes, spoon tinted frostings into separate decorating bags fitted with desired decorating tips. Pipe lines, borders, and/or other designs onto frosted cakes. Press candies into frosting on cakes as desired. Insert the ends of a piece of licorice into the bottom of each cake to resemble an elastic strap. Creamy White Frosting In a large mixing bowl beat shortening, vanilla, and almond extract with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add about half of the powdered sugar, beating well. Beat in 2 tablespoons of the milk. Gradually beat in the remaining powdered sugar and enough of the remaining milk to reach spreading consistency. Rate it Print