What Is The Elusive Dairy Queen 'Cake In A Cup'?

When we were growing up, having a plain old birthday cake was nice, but upgrading to an ice cream cake — especially one from a beloved chain like Dairy Queen — was pretty much a guarantee that your party would rock. Nothing wows a sweet-toothed crowd like customizable layers of ice cream in convenient cake form, making it the perfect dessert for special occasions. The only downside of ice cream cake, however, is that it's difficult to enjoy as a treat for one since it's liable to melt or develop freezer burn when stored at home. But what if you could treat yourself to your own single-serve ice cream "cupcake" on a whim? Enter the so-called Dairy Queen "cake in a cup."

You may have heard whispers of this secret Dairy Queen menu item on social media, as fans have taken to the internet to reveal its existence and rave about it. Sometimes called a cake in a cup or just a Dairy Queen cupcake, these adorable sundaes are essentially an individual serving of the chain's standard ice cream cake. After the treats went viral on TikTok, one Dairy Queen franchisee posted a video showing how to make the cupcakes, starting with a generous serving of chocolate soft-serve, followed by layers of cold fudge and cookie crunch, and finished with a layer of vanilla soft-serve that is then topped by cute seasonal frosting and decorations. And there you have it: a perfect mini ice cream cake that doesn't even have to be thawed.

Since the Dairy Queen cupcakes aren't on the standard menu, acquiring one requires a bit of insider knowledge and may vary between locations. Dairy Queen operates based on a franchise model, meaning that each location is independently owned, so some stores may choose not to sell the ice cream cupcakes at all. Unlike Dairy Queen's many discontinued menu items, however, these mini ice cream cakes are still reportedly widely available, though some stores advertise them more than others.

Once you've determined if your local location offers the item, the next step is to order it at the counter or drive-thru by simply asking for a cupcake or a cake in a cup — the employees will know what you mean! At some locations, customers and employees alike report that the treats are pre-assembled and kept in the grab-and-go freezer in stores, meaning you don't even have to decide which nomenclature to use in your order. Even at stores that keep their cupcakes under wraps, though, plenty of customers have successfully gotten them made-to-order, with extra-special decorations to boot.