Dreamsicle Cupcakes with Lighthouse Ice Cream Cones

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To Make the Cupcakes: Combine sugar, eggs, and shortening in a stand mixer. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla, and pour into mixer with wet ingredients. Add orange juice, lemon juice, and water, to the mixer, and combine.

Once combined, pour batter into paper cupcake cups, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are slightly browned.

While cupcakes are baking, add a splash of blue food coloring to store-bought buttercream frosting. Once cupcakes are baked and completely cooled, pipe frosting onto cupcakes.

To Make the Lighthouses: Make royal icing (you will decorate the ice cream cones with it) by combining confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, and water. Add a bit of food coloring to create your favorite colors (we used red and blue) for decorating.

Turn the ice cream cones upside down. Paint stripes or other designs of your choice onto the ice cream cones. (We used clear squeeze bottles for decorating, but you can also use a paintbrush for a more whimsical look.) Affix a yellow gum drop (this is the light!) on the bottom of each cone with a drop of corn syrup. Place the upside down cone on the iced cupcake.