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1
Preheat oven to 350F.
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2
Remove center of a 12-inch tube pan and cover pan with a double layer of heavy-duty foil.
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3
Use a skewer or paring knife to poke 12 small holes in the foil, 2 1/2 inches apart.
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4
Gently place a cone in each hole, pushing it down until only about 1 inch of cone is showing.
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5
Make cupcakes: Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
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6
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
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7
Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
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8
Beat in vanilla.
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9
Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.
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10
Fill each cone with 2 to 3 tablespoons batter.
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11
Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.
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12
Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
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13
Decorate cupcakes: Tint some of the buttercream pink with gel-paste food color, if desired.
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14
Use an ice-cream scoop to place buttercream (untinted or pink) on top of cupcake, then top with sprinkles.
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15
For soft-serve cones, use a pastry bag fitted with only a coupler (or a large plain tip) to pipe buttercream in a swirl over cone, then top with multicolored sprinkles; or, for sundae cones, drizzle melted chocolate over buttercream, then sprinkle with peanuts and top with a cherry.
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16
For soft-serve twist cones, fill a pastry bag fitted with an open-star tip (Ateco #828) with untinted and chocolate buttercreams, placing them side by side in bag; pipe two-tone swirls.
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17
Serve immediately.
