A scoop of ice cream is always a treat, but the cone it’s served in can take the experience to a whole new level. Ice cream cones come in a variety of types, each offering a different taste and texture.
Here you will learn about the types of ice cream cones and discover how they differ from each other. Get ready to discover your next favorite way to enjoy ice cream!
Cake Cup Cone
The cake cone features a crispy wafer-type texture that is baked to a light brown color. The taste of the cone is subtle which allows for the ice cream flavors to shine.
These cones feature a flat bottom, which allows the cone to be placed on a table to rest even when filled. The flat bottom also allows for the ice cream to stay in the cone and not leak out the bottom as it melts.
These cones are generally low in calories. The cone you see above has only 20 calories. Add a small ice cream scoop to it and you’ll have a relatively tame dessert in regard to calories.
Overall, this is the go-to choice for parents to give to their kids given its small size, minimal calories, and convenience factor of being able to set it down without creating a mess.
Jumbo Cake Cup Cone
This is a larger version of the cake cup cone featured above. The Joy brand variety of these cones is said to hold 50% more ice cream compared to the standard cake cups.
Waffle Cone
Waffle cones are produced from a batter that is typically made with water, flour, sugar, and oil as its primary ingredients. The batter is placed on a waffle iron that is heated, which allows it to form into a thin, flat waffle. The waffle is then transferred to a cone shaper which rolls the waffle into its familiar cone shape.
The appearance of a waffle cone is commonly medium brown with the signature waffle iron squares indented into it. Their cone shape allows them to comfortably sit in just about any hand.
This type of cone can hold much more ice cream compared to the standard sugar or cake cones. In other words, they may not be the best choice for small children or people who don’t want to consume a lot of ice cream. However, waffle cones are ideal for people who like loading their cones with multiple ice cream scoops or who wish to add bulky toppings.
Sugar Cone
Sugar cones look similar to waffle cones but there are some key differences between the cones.
Sugar cones feature a flat brims compared to the ridged brims on waffle cones. Furthermore, sugar cones are more durable compared to waffle cones due to the batter used.
Their strength allows them to hold multiple scoops without cracking under pressure. They also hold up well to melting ice cream since the cones tend to not get soggy or leak. Additionally, the cones are considered one of the best choices to pre-fill with ice cream as you’ll find them used for many coned novelties such as Nestle Drumsticks.
Sugar cones are typically made with brown sugar, molasses, flour, and vegetable oil as their primary ingredients. They are a bit smaller than waffle cones but feature a similar lattice pattern from the plates used during the baking process.
Waffle Bowl
The waffle bowl isn’t a type of ice cream cone given its obvious bowl shape. However, there are certainly many fans of cones who do appreciate them.
These bowl can generally hold about two to three scoops of ice cream with a reasonable amount of toppings. The bowl you see above is made by Joy. It has about a 4-inch diameter from inside rim to rim with roughly a 2 inch depth to give you an idea of its size.
These bowls are typically sturdy under the weight of ice cream. You won’t feel like the bowl will collapse in the hand when loaded with your favorite ice cream flavors.
Furthermore, most waffle bowls are made to not leak. They can handle melting ice cream or juice from fruits without creating a complete mess of the table or your clothing.
If you are serving these bowls to younger children, we suggest putting the waffle bowl in a real bowl. We say this because its super fun for kids to chip away at the bowl right away which can quickly lead to the contents getting all over the place.
Chocolate Dipped Cone
This type of ice cream cone features a chocolate dipped rim. The chocolate rim commonly includes sprinkles, nuts, or just plain chocolate. Both waffle and cake cup cones may contain this type of rim.
Chocolate Cones
While not extremely popular, these cones have their niche with chocolate lovers. Chocolate cones incorporate cocoa powder into the batter to give them a rich chocolate flavor.
These types of ice cream cones are typically found as a waffle cones. Pair them with your favorite chocolate ice cream flavor or balance the flavor cone flavor with something simple like vanilla.
Color Cones
These cones have coloring added to the batter (typically artificial) to create a bit more excitement when dessert time comes. These cones are popular with kids who can pick their favorite color to enjoy or match the cone to the flavor of ice cream.
Multiple Scoop Cones
Multiple scoop cones (pictured to the right & left above) have a traditional cone shape at the base where you hold the ice cream. However, they differ from other cones at their top where they contain two or more spots to hold scoops.
These cones are ideal for creating a bit of separation between different flavors of ice cream. They don’t hold a lot of ice cream in each opening but they certainly offer a unique presentation of the ice cream on top of the cone.
