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This Gluten-Free Ice Cream Cone Recipe is incredibly quick to make and utterly delicious. A light buttery biscuity cone made with gluten-free flours which enhance the flavour of your ice cream with no xanthan gum needed. These cones are an absolute treat served with your favourite ice cream. If you are used to buying your gluten-free cones from the grocery stores then you will be blown away by the buttery flavour and crisp texture of these homemade versions.
Table of contents
Going out for ice cream with the whole family is such a treat. All of us have a weakness for it and we are so lucky that recently a fancy new ice cream shop has opened up five minutes from our house. If I'm out then I will always order the ice cream in the tub as I can't really be bothered with the mass produced tasteless gluten-free waffle cones. But when we have them at home I'll never skimp on the cones since these homemade gluten-free ice cream cones are as much of a treat as the ice cream itself.
This recipe is great as you don't need a fancy waffle cone maker (or pizzelle maker) but if you are going to be making these more than once (and I guarantee you'll be wanting to make them again and again) then I do recommend you buying a wooden cone roller for creating that traditional cone shape. You can get by without but this is a very inexpensive kitchen gadget and does make the process easier. Once you have shaped the cones you can leave them to set in a tall narrow glass, or you can also buy the ice cream cone holder which you can see in these image. Again if you are going to be making a habit of baking this cone recipe then it's worth the small investment.
One of the pleasures of baking with gluten-free flours is the opportunity to boost the flavour of your bake by choosing the right gluten-free flour. This ice cream cone recipe has a sort of ‘choose your adventure’ element to it. Depending on which flavour you are serving in your cone you can customise the gluten-free flour to best match your favourite ice cream.
These gluten-free ice cream cones are so easy to make and I’ve got all the tips to help you make them perfectly first time.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Gorgeous biscuity flavour -this cone is a treat in itself.
- This recipe uses two gluten-free flours (sorghum and tapioca) but these options are totally customisable depending on the flours you have to hand. And even better you can tailor the flavour of your cone to the flavour of ice cream you are serving it with just by switching up the flours.
- No guar gum or xanthan gum here. READ MORE >>> Why I never bake with xanthan gum
- Quick and easy recipe.
Ingredients Needed
Sorghum flour. This whole grain flour is lovely in gluten-free baking recipes due to its mild, earthy sweet flavour and smooth texture. It blends well with other flours and sits well alongside a variety of flavours so is a versatile choice.
Tapioca starch (tapioca flour). Needed to help with binding the ingredients together.
Egg Whites. This recipe uses medium sized egg whites which are about 30g per white. I recommend weighing your eggs to ensure the correct amount. They give lightness to the cone whilst holding it together.
Unsalted Butter. We need unsalted so we can control the salt content of the recipe. It needs to be melted and cooled for this recipe. The butter gives the cones a rich biscuity flavour.
Caster sugar. A fine white sugar which gives lightness. You can substitute for granulated white sugar. The sugar gives a little sweetness so it’s just like holding your ice cream in a light crisp biscuit.
Vanilla extract. Use a good quality extract for a lovely deep flavour, I like Nielsen Massey.
Salt. I like to use kosher salt in my baking as it has a round gentle flavour. Using salt in your baked goods lifts and sharpens all the other flavours.
Variations and Substitutions
Dairy-free & Vegan option. You can switch out the melted butter for coconut oil if you need a dairy-free version. And if you need them to be vegan you can swap the egg whites for the same amount of aquafaba.
Chocolate. A real treat is if you turn the cooled cones upside down and dip into a little melted chocolate so the top of the cones are coated in chocolate. You could even double dip into sprinkles - just like in the ice cream parlour! And if you were to drip a little melted chocolate into the bottom of the cones then you could also re-create that Cornetto effect. So good!!
Gluten-Free Flours. I don't recommend switching the flours for an all purpose gluten-free flour blend as the recipe won't work the same. For a go-to ice cream cone which will taste delicious with any ice cream you pair it with then the best gluten-free flour to use is sorghum flour. We also need a bit of tapioca flour whisked into the sorghum flour as the starchiness is needed to hold the cone together and give it a little bit of elasticity. A starchy flour is essential and you can swap the tapioca out for potato starch if you need to. However, the real fun is in experimenting with changing the wholegrain choice as the sorghum flour can be switched out for numerous different wholegrain flours, depending on the ice cream flavour you wish to serve them with.
- Vanilla – sorghum, oat
- Chocolate – teff, buckwheat, sorghum, oat
- Nuts - buckwheat
- Fruit – sorghum, oat
- Caramel – oat, teff
- Coffee - teff, buckwheat, oat
- Spiced – sorghum, teff
- Floral or herby – oat
How To Make Gluten-Free Ice Cream Cones
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Whisk the sorghum flour and tapioca flour together with the salt and set aside.
- Stir the egg whites, sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl.
- Stir in half the flour mix.
- Mix in melted butter then the rest of the flour mix.
- Rest for 10 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
- Drop 2 tablespoons of batter onto one half of the baking parchment and using an offset palette knife, swirl the batter into a circle of 12cm diameter.
- Repeat to create another circle of batter on the other half of the baking parchment.
- Bake these two cone discs for 8 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet and hold a palette knife in one hand and the cone mould in your other hand. Lift one of the pliable cone discs with the palette knife and shape it round the cone mould. Carefully place the cone into the cone holder to set its shape.
- Repeat with the other cone disc.
- Whilst the cones are cooling, make a second batch. Repeat the baking process until you have used up all the batter.
Expert Tips
- Resting the batter is essential for the flours to absorb the liquid. It helps to stiffen the batter so it is easier to spread into circles.
- You can draw two 12cm circles onto your baking parchment and drop your batter into the centre, swirling out until the batter is exactly the right size.
- Bake for exactly 8 minutes. The cone discs can burn very easily as the batter is so thin.
- The cone mould and the ice cream cone holder are essential tools for making the cones as easy as possible. I tried using every day kitchen utensils that I already had around but it was more time consuming and the results just were not as good. If you can go the extra mile then both of these pieces of kit are under £10 each.
- Using a large baking sheet is ideal for this recipe.
FAQs
Make a batch of ice cream cones and store them in an air tight tin for up to a week. They taste best for the first couple of days after baking.
You can. My favourite way of doing it is to fill your cone with ice cream, drizzle on some toppings then wrap loosely in greaseproof paper. Store carefully in the freezer and you have an instant ice cream cone. Best to eat within a week though.
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✨Have you tried this Gluten-Free Ice Cream Cone Recipe? If you liked it, please leave a 5-star ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well! I would love to hear about how your recipe turned out and your feedback also helps other readers✨
Gluten-Free Homemade Ice Cream Cones
Ingredients
- 90 g sorghum flour
- 60 g tapioca flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 90 g egg whites
- 110 g caster sugar
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 45 g unsalted butter - melted
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan assisted /gas mark 4 / 350°F.
- Whisk the sorghum flour, tapioca flour and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Stir the egg whites, sugar, vanilla together in a large bowl. Then whisk in half the flour mix.
- Whisk in the melted butter, then the rest of the flour mix.
- Rest the batter for 10 minutes.
- Line a large baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
- Drop 2 tablespoons of batter onto one half of the greaseproof paper and using an offset palette knife, swirl the batter into a circle of 12cm diameter.
- Repeat to create another circle of batter on the other half of the greaseproof paper.
- Bake these two cone discs for 8 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet and hold a palette knife in one hand and the cone mould in your other hand. Lift one of the pliable cone discs with the palette knife and shape it round the cone mould. Carefully place the cone into the cone holder to set its shape.
- Repeat with the other cone disc.
- Whilst the cones are cooling, make a second batch. Repeat the baking process until you have used up all the batter.
- Once your cones are cool then fill with ice cream!
Notes
- You can customise your ice cream cone by swapping out the sorghum flour for another wholegrain flour of your choice. Try teff flour, buckwheat or oat flour.
- Do rest the batter. You can even make the batter up to 1 day in advance and keep in the fridge until ready to use.
- For uniform cones draw two 12cm circle on the greaseproof paper so you can make sure you are spreading your batter out to exactly the right size.
- Don’t overbake the cones, if they are overbaked they will crisp too much which will make them difficult to mould.
- Work as quickly as you can whilst shaping your cones. The more you do the faster you become. It’s all about practice.
- I tried using everyday kitchen utensils to mould the cones and it is possible but I do recommend buying at least the cone roller which was under £10. The cone holder means that you don’t have to hold the cone in place whilst it is cooling (you could use tall narrow glasses instead). If you plan on making ice cream cones regularly then the right equipment is essential.
US customary measurements
These US measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cupsNutrition information
Please note that the nutrition information provided below is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use. Please seek a professional nutritionist’s advice for further clarification. The nutrition serving is for 1 cone.Nutrition
C.S. Frank says
Help, pls.! I’m an experienced home baker and attempted this recipe TWICE without success for our friends’ allergy-ridden little boy’s 3d birthday. He’s been begging for ice cream in a cone he can hold and safely eat. Despite my precise measuring of the ingredients and exact timing of the bake, the baked circles were impossible to roll around the form and kept splitting into irregular pieces every time I attempted to
lift them from the sheet and begin wrapping them around the form. I have one more batch chilling in the fridge overnight which I will attempt one final time to turn into cones.
I’d appreciate any advice you can supply.I read and heeded your whole post, but somehow it’s just not working for me.
I will say this, however:The broken pieces
truly do taste delicious. My husband is happily munching away. I’m just desperate to shape these into functional cones for this little guy’s birthday dessert. Ty in advance for any assistance you can provide!
Georgina Hartley says
How frustrating! If you are experiencing problems with the breakage of the cones then switch out the sorghum flour for almond flour or chickpea flour as the high protein content will strengthen the recipe. I don't experience breakage with mine but if you are following the recipe exactly then I'm not sure what the problem is.