The Viral Hack For Making Ice Cream Cones When You Don't Have Ice Cream

Have you ever had a hankering for an ice cream cone, just to realize you only have ½ of the equation on hand? The situation isn't exactly day-ruining when it's the ice cream portion of the dessert you're stocked with, as you can still enjoy the frozen dairy treat from a bowl, layered between two cookies, or even pressed between two pieces of toast in an ice cream sandwich. On the other hand, when there's a box of cones sitting in your pantry but no ice cream to be found, you certainly have a right to be bummed — though a can of whipped cream can help turn things around.

As demonstrated by Instagram user Melissa Kate (@bymelissakate), the dessert topping can be a quick fix in times like this by taking the place of ice cream in the beloved dish-less treat. Simply squirt a generous amount of whipped cream into a flat-bottomed cone until it resembles a soft-serve ice cream cone. Then, place the filled cones flat side-down in a cupcake pan and put them into a freezer so the whipped cream will harden, which the Instagrammer said will give them an "icey ice cream texture." After about 20 minutes, your makeshift ice cream cones are ready to enjoy.

Many people applauded Melissa Kate's clever whipped cream ice cream cones when they shared the "hack"' in May 2024, which one commenter also pointed out was also a tasty low-sugar treat. Another person in the comments also suggested experimenting with different flavors of canned dessert toppings or, if the treat is for adults 21 and up, you could even fill the cones with Cardi B's boozy take on whipped cream. Toppings like sprinkles, cookie crumbles, or chocolate sauce can also give this easy sweet treat some extra pizzazz, and filling the cones with fruit or dipping them in chocolate can be delicious upgrades.

Unfortunately, some who tried to re-create the viral dessert found that the whipped cream started to melt and sink before the cones went into the freezer. Melissa Kate advised immediately placing the filled cones in the freezer to combat this and also offered the idea of adding an extra squirt of the dessert topping before they go in.

Canned whipped cream isn't the only fix for when you want an ice cream cone but don't have any ice cream available: Cool Whip can also do the trick when mixed with an instant pudding pack and frozen. If you have a little more time on your hands, you can also try making a batch of two-ingredient, no-churn ice cream to fill your freezer's ice cream void.