The 99 flake ice cream cone is one of the great icons of a British summer— a delicious swirl of soft serve ice cream with a Cadbury’s flake jammed jauntily into one side and—sometimes, but not always—drizzled with raspberry sauce. It belongs to windy seaside towns where beach goers are bravely pretending that the weather is warmer than it actually is, or to suburban streets, where the tinkling melody of the Wall’s ice-cream van drifting on the air—the national anthem of summer childhoods—causes children everywhere to come hurtling out of doors.
There seems to be no agreement as to the provenance of the 99, or how it got its name. Something to do with Italy? Or Scotland? A price point? Nobody knows. No grand origin story, just myth, speculation, and pure nostalgia.
The flake itself, however, was born of a happy accident, when a chocolatier in a Cadbury’s factory noticed thin streams of excess chocolate creating delicate folded layers as they cooled. Rather than tidy up the mess, Cadbury leaned fully into the chaos and created the world’s messiest chocolate treat.
As sweet treats go, it is fundamentally imperfect: it melts too quickly, the raspberry sauce drips and the flake crumbles everywhere . But the 99 has become forever intertwined with the memories of boardwalks and arcades, battered piers and salt air, or fleeting summer afternoons where the sun pops out bravely for a few moments.
Here, I’ve turned the classic ice cream cone into a cupcake. Buttery sponge, whipped cream, a drizzle of raspberry and the iconic flake. Just as delicious but not as prone to dripping down your wrist.
~ 99 Flake Cupcakes ~
~ Cake
- eggs, 3 large
- unsalted butter, 12 T. — always room temp for baking
- sugar, 3/4 C.
- all-purpose flour, 1-1/3 C.
- baking powder, 1-1/2 tsps
- salt, 1/4 tsp
- vanilla extract, 1 tsp
- milk, 1T.
- raspberries, 1 cup —entirely optional. I added some to mine, but really not necessary
~ Raspberry Drizzle
- frozen raspberries, 1-12oz bag, thawed
- sugar, 1/2 cup
- water, 3T.
- lemon juice, hefty squeeze
~ Icing
- cream, 1 cup
- mascarpone, 4oz
- icing sugar, 1/4 cup
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line a 12 count muffin pan with liners.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar for several minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, just until incorporated.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and then fold into the batter.
- Stir in the vanilla and milk and the raspberries, if using, then divide the batter between the cupcake liners.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until a nice golden brown and firm to the touch in the middle.
- Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
- Put all the raspberry drizzle ingredients into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes. The raspberries should break down and become slightly jammy. Strain through a sieve and cool.
- Whip the cream, mascarpone and icing sugar until nicely thick, but don’t overdo it.
- When the cupcakes are cool, pipe a rosette of cream on top, drizzle with some raspberry syrup and stick half a Cadbury’s flake in at a nice jaunty angle.