Animal Ice Cream Cake Pops

Cake pops are always a hit with kids at birthdays. There's just something special about eating a treat on a stick. Cake pops on lollipop sticks. Cake pops on popsicle sticks. And now, cake pops on ice cream cones! I've done ice cream cone cake pops before, but never in cute character form! 

Kawaii Animal Ice Cream Cake Pops

Inspired by Instagram influencer Vickie Liu, I had the opportunity to create some kawaii animal ice cream cake pops as giveaways for a school birthday party. Well, a couple of kids at the school are allergic to eggs, so those guys got tubs of chocolate-dipped shortbread instead. 

chocolate-dipped shortbread

Anyway, back to the cake pops. Now I'm really wishing that I took more pics of the cake-pop making process, but I guess words will just have to do. So, since these were going on ice cream cones, the first thing to do is prep the cones. Yep, you gotta prep the cones. Firstly, it's hard to find mini ice cream cones here unless you are willing to pay a pretty penny for those gourmet Italian mini waffle cones. Secondly, they only sell the regular-sized ones at the supermarket! So, to be cost-effective, I buy those regular-sized sugar cones and cut them down to mini size! Just saw off the top 1/4 off of the cones (I use a regular steak knife and saw gently) and snack on the scraps if you like. Boom, you've got yourself mini ice cream cones. 

chocolate-coating the sugar cones

The cones will get soggy and stale if you leave them in contact with the moist cake pop, so it's a good idea to coat the inside with dark chocolate first, just like the cones in Drumstick and Cornetto ice creams. About a teaspoon of melted dark chocolate is more than enough to coat the inside of the cones. Flip them upside down and let the excess choc drip out. 

ice cream cake pops in progress

Then, dip the top 1/4 of the cone back in the dark choc and, while the choc is still wet, sprinkle on your fave sprinkles to give it that real ice cream feel. I used rainbow rice sprinkles and rainbow nonpareils for these guys, but feel free to use your favourite sprinkle mix or even coloured sanding sugar. Let the choc set completely. I used shot glasses to help stand the cones up while they dry cuz I don't have a special ice cream cone display stand or holder.

Dog ice cream cone cake pops

Now for the cake balls, I crumbled some chocolate cake and swirled it with a little vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream, rolled the mixture into balls and then put 'em in the freezer to firm up. You can read up on more cake pop tips in my post here. I don't dip my cake pops while they are at room temperature cuz it'll leave crumbs in the dipping choc. 

can you bear to eat these little cuties?

To stick the cake balls on top of the cones, first I stabbed a toothpick in the cake ball, and then dipped it in melted white compound chocolate, tapping gently to let the excess drip off. Then, while the choc was still wet, I placed the cake ball on the cone. Gently twist the toothpick off and cover the hole with a dab of melted choc. Working quickly, stick the ears on before the choc hardens. For the bear and panda ears, I used mini m&m's. For the pig & cow ears, I stabbed in melon seeds (yep, whole pack leftover from making mooncakes). If the choc sets before you get the ears on, don't worry, just dip the ears in a little bit of melted choc and stick 'em on the cake pop. 

chick ice cream cone cake pops

While you're waiting for the white choc to set, make the other fondant accents for the animals. like spots, noses, eyes, wings etc. Don't make them too far in advance cuz you want the fondant to still be flexible when you attach them onto the cake pop so they are able to take on the round shape, except for the flowers and the chick's beak and feet. You can make those in advance if you want to. 

Moo cow ice cream cone cake pops

Give the cake pops their final chocolate coat, using oil-based or powdered food colouring to colour the white chocolate. I mixed dark chocolate with the white chocolate to get the brown colour. You can stick on your fondant accents while the choc is still wet, or you can wait 'til the coating is set, and then use a little melted choc to stick on. 

Panda ice cream cone cake pop party

For the panda's ears, I dipped them in dark chocolate coloured black, using powdered black food colouring. I used this same black chocolate to draw on the eyes and finer details like eyelashes using the tip of the toothpick.

Once all the choc had set completely, these cute little animal ice cream cake pops were all ready to be wrapped up individually. Ribbon-tying is my nemesis, but I'm getting faster with practice :)

6 ice cream cake pops in one hand!

Hope the birthday girl and her friends enjoy these kawaii animal ice cream cake pops! (and weirdly, I always imagine the cake pop animal "screaming" when someone takes a bite out of them! haaaa)

"Noooo don't eat me!" :P

Animal ice cream cake pop goodies