Why is it that everything on a stick tastes better? That will remain a mystery but while you are pondering, why not make a fiery and delicious volcano on a stick?

Inside the volcano lies a chocolatey and surprising surprise that can be enjoyed with no lava crisis on your hands.

Step 1: Gather Ingredients

To begin you will need the following ingredients:

6 ounces of cream cheese
1 and 1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup chocolate chips
1 and 1/2 cups flour
one hot chocolate mix packet (or equivalent in cocoa powder)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tblspoon white vinegar
one packet of instant pudding (and milk/other ingredients necessary for pudding)
ice cream cones
skewers

Optional:
red decorating icing
sour patch kids or teddy grahams

Note: For a simpler process it is possible to use packaged cake or brownie mix instead of the above ingredients. If you choose to do so, you will still need the skewers, the pudding, the cones, and the optional ingredients (if you so choose).

Step 2: Baking

First preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Prepare your “volcano” cones by cutting off the bottom point so that the bottom of the cone has a hole with about a 1/2 inch diameter. Wrap the big end of the cones in tinfoil and place them big side down in the cupcake tray. The tinfoil will prevent the batter from spilling out of the cones.

Prepare the pudding mix by following the instructions on the package. I reccomend using an “instant” pudding mix as you know it will be ready by the time you need it. You can also buy pre-made pudding if you would prefer. Put the pudding aside until later once it is made.

Take out the 6 ounces of cream cheese and beat with 1/3 cup of sugar and the egg until the mixture is smooth. Once smooth, add the 1 cup of chocolate chips after melting them in the microwave.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, 1 cup of sugar, the cocoa powder (or hot chocolate powder), the baking soda, and the salt. Once the dry ingredients are mixed add the vinegar, the water, the vegetable oil, and the vanilla. Stir until the mixture is smooth.

Combine this mixture with the earlier cream cheese mixture and stir until smooth.

Using a small spoon or dropper put the batter into the top cones until they are just under half full. Do not fret if some of the batter drips on the side of the cones. This will create a cool lava effect on the side of your volcanoes.

Once the volcanoes are half full of batter put the pan in the oven for 20 minutes.

Step 3: Final Steps

After 20 minutes check if the batter is done. If so remove the volcanoes from the oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes.

Take the volcanoes out of the pan and remove the tinfoil from the bottoms.

Fill the volcanoes at the top the rest of the way with the pudding you prepared earlier. If you wish, you can add some pudding to the outside of the volcano as well to make it look like lava. You can also use red food coloring or other decorating supplies to make your volcanoes look even better. A cherry on top makes a nice lava bubble. As a fun touch, we added Sour Patch kids to our volcano sticks as people climbing the volcano. Decorating can be a lot of fun and can get very detailed if you wish. Don't forget to add the skewer for a mess-free snack on a stick. It is best to add the stick after decorating as this allows for easier decorating.

Enjoy a delicious treat! The combination of cake, pudding, and cone (as well as whatever sweets you add) is quite magnificent and eating it on a stick keeps your hands clean from the messy lava.