Cherry Coke Cupcakes - Everyday Annie

Cherry Coke float cupcakes – what a cute idea, right? Right! These are essentially a chocolate cupcake base with maraschino cherry juice and Coke added for flavor and more importantly, an almost bubbly texture! They are drizzled with a powdered sugar-Coke glaze after baking (though I’m not sure that is really necessary), topped with whipped cream and a cherry. Easy and cute! Baking them in red foil liners really adds a nice touch to achieve that Coke bottle look.

Ben and I tasted an unfrosted cupcake and agreed that we could taste the subtle Coke flavor, but I think once topped and garnished, the Coke mainly contributes the light, airy texture and the flavor is difficult to discern. The original recipe uses only one maraschino cherry inside the cupcake itself, but next time I will add probably 4 or 5 because they added a great cherry flavor. These are a really cute treat though, and were a big hit with all who tried them!

Yield 10-12 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup sugar
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
½ cup buttermilk
¾ cup Coca-Cola
¼ cup maraschino cherry juice
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Maraschino cherries, stemless

For the glaze (optional):
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp. Coca-Cola

For topping:
2/3 cup heavy cream
3-4 tbsp. powdered sugar
Maraschino cherries

Directions

01
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a muffin pan with foil or paper liners. In a medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar and butter. Mix on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg until incorporated. In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, Coke, maraschino cherry juice, and vanilla extract; stir to combine. (This mixture may look disgusting and/or curdled – it’s okay!)
02
Mix the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture on low speed, alternately with the liquid ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners. Drop 4 or 5 stemless maraschino cherries into each cupcake well and push them down into the batter. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
03
To make the optional glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and Coke in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Spoon or drizzle a small amount of the top of each cupcake. Allow to set.
04
To make the whipped cream topping, add the heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Begin whipping on medium speed, slowly adding the confectioners’ sugar and gradually increasing the speed to high as the cream holds soft peaks. Whip until the cream holds stiff peaks, being careful not to overbeat. Spoon or pipe the whipped cream on top of the cupcakes and top each with a maraschino cherry.

Source

adapted from Coco Bean