Coca-Cola Cupcakes

Although I like cupcakes, I never really jumped on the whole cupcake craze bandwagon. To be honest, I can't even remember the last time I even made some. The thing is, they are so easy to make and they make a pretty fun dessert, so I'm not sure why I don't make them more often.

I'm not sure how I originally saw this recipe but it looked pretty good and after looking at a few others I decided to give it a go. I was intrigued to see what effect both in flavor and texture that the coke would have on the cupcakes. The flavor was definitely present but not overly so. There's only a small amount of chocolate in these and I think if I made them again I would increase it even more, although that might make mask the coke flavor a little more. They were super moist and I think with a little more chocolate they would be just about perfect.

The meringue frosting I made for the top made the cupcakes look pretty amazing but I honestly don't think it tasted that great and would probably not make it again. It just didn't have that much flavor and the kids wouldn't finish it either.  I think I'd do a raspberry butter-cream or just a sweetened whipped cream next time.

Ingredients

Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup cocoa-cola
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Meringue Frosting

1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
6 large egg whites
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions

Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or line cupcake tins.

In a small bowl, sift together the sugars and flour. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa and coca-cola and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and combine with the flour mixture. Stir until combined.

Mix together the baking soda and buttermilk and fold into the other mixture. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir to combine.

Divide mixture between 20-21 cupcake tins filling each approximately 2/3 full.

Bake until toothpick comes out clean about 20-25 minutes. Remove from tins and cool completely.

Frosting

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture boils, allow it to continue boiling without stirring until mixture reaches 230 degrees.

Meanwhile, beat egg whites until soft peak form. Add the 2 tablespoons of sugar and continue mixing to combine. 

As soon as the sugar mixture reaches 230 degrees, pour it slowly into the egg whites in one continuous stream with the mixer still running.

Continue to mix until the mixture is completely cooled, about 7 minutes.

Using a pastry bag, pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Using a kitchen torch, lightly toast the top of the cupcakes.