Homemade Waffle Cones for Ice Cream
Wafer cones with a hint of butter and vanilla. One batter to make them in the oven, without a cone maker, or with a waffle cone maker: you roll them while hot and they turn crisp as they cool.
The grid pattern on a cone comes from the plates of the waffle cone maker. The same batter spread on a baking tray comes out smooth: the finish changes, not the cone.
Ingredients
For 1 kgTick each ingredient as you get it ready.
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Step by step
9 steps · follow the order for the best result
Chef's notes
- ·An even thickness matters more than a perfect circle: a thick patch takes longer to dry.
- ·Cook just a few at a time until you get into a rhythm: a cold wafer won't roll any more. If it has cooled, a little heat makes it flexible again.
- ·Judge the cone once it's cold: straight out of the oven it's flexible precisely so you can shape it.
- ·Don't cover the cones while they're warm: the steam stays inside and softens them.
- ·Store them once cold in an airtight container, somewhere dry, and fill them just before serving.
- ·Times and yield are estimates: about 12 cones from 332 g of batter and 10 to 15 minutes per batch in the oven.
Equipment
The texture
spot on
A thin, dry wall that snaps cleanly once cold, a closed tip and a firm seam. Made with a waffle cone maker it has a grid pattern, as in the photo; baked in the oven it stays smooth.
All about these homemade waffle cones
A wafer batter, the kind you spread very thin, used to shape the cones. You'll also find them simply called cones or ice cream cones. 332 g of batter (the weight before cooking) makes about 12 cones, between 11 and 13 depending on the portion and the diameter.
The ingredients and what they do
The flour and the egg whites build the structure of the wafer. The sugar sweetens and, as it dries, is part of what makes it crisp. The butter adds flavour and makes the wafer less brittle, and the small amount of cream rounds off the dairy note. The salt balances and the vanilla comes through without masking the ice cream. To make more, multiply all the ingredients by the same number and keep the size and thickness of each cone the same.
Timings
Batter, about 10 minutes, plus 10 resting. In the oven, 10 to 15 minutes per batch: baking two per tray, allow 60 to 90 minutes of oven time for all 12, and an hour and a half to two hours in total. With a waffle cone maker, timings depend on the appliance. These times and yields are estimates.
What matters most
An even thickness matters more than a perfect circle: a thick patch takes longer to dry. Cook just a few at a time until you get into a rhythm, because a cold wafer won't roll any more. Judge the cone once it's cold: straight out of the oven it's flexible precisely so you can shape it. And don't cover the cones while they're warm, as the steam stays inside and softens them.
What you'll need
Scales, a bowl, a whisk and a sieve; a small spatula for spreading and a thin one for lifting the wafers; a cone mould suitable for working with heat; a heat-proof glove or a clean tea towel; a wire rack and an airtight container. For the oven, baking trays and paper; for the alternative, a waffle cone maker with thin plates. A waffle iron with deep pockets won't give the same thickness.
If something goes wrong
It cracks when you roll it: the wafer has cooled down or been over-baked. Work one at a time and, if it has only cooled, give it a little heat to make it flexible again.
It's soft once cool: the centre didn't dry out, the wafer was too thick or it has picked up moisture. Spread it thinner and only store it once it's cold.
The edge burns while the centre stays pale: the thickness wasn't even or the heat is too strong. Even out the layer and adjust the oven or the height of the tray.
The seam opens: it wasn't held until it hardened. Keep it on the mould, pressing the overlap.
Ice cream drips out of the bottom: the tip was left open or the cone got damp. Close it as you roll and fill just before serving.
How to store them
Once completely cold, in an airtight container at room temperature, somewhere dry. For the best result, make them close to serving time and fill them at the last minute. Don't keep them in the freezer with the ice cream.
The ingredients and what each does
Every ingredient has a technical job: cream brings fat and creaminess, milk powder raises the non-fat solids, the sugars set the sweetness and the freezing point, and the stabiliser controls crystal growth during storage.
Technique and controlling the numbers
Adjusting the POD (sweetening power) and the PAC (antifreezing power, given as a target temperature) lets you match sweetness and hardness to your taste and your machine. With the selectors in the side bar the formula recalculates itself and you will see how the amount of each ingredient changes.
Storage and common mistakes
Store at -18 °C in an airtight container and avoid freeze-thaw cycles. The commonest faults are not ageing it enough, too much sugar so it never freezes properly, and over-churning, which whips in too much air and wrecks the texture.
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Equipment and ingredients that make the difference.
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