Cherry Coke Cupcakes

Kacey's Kitchen has moved again, but this time away from the bitter cold of New England, where this weeks temperature is averaging the mid 20's - Yikes! Instead, I will find myself cooking, baking, blogging, and doing all sorts of fun stuff from the Sun Shine State! Yesterday 's temperature: 65 degrees. Fahrenheit. And I already have tan lines from reading outside yesterday. More on that later (the new kitchen, not the tan lines), today I want to show you the first baked goods to emerge from the new kitchen!
Cherry Coke Cupcakes, cute huh??? They were pretty damn delicious too. I made these for two reasons. One, because I received a brand new KITCHEN AID STAND MIXER!!!! (Ooooo!!!!) and I just had to make something with it as soon as possible. (I'll also tell you later about my stand mixer and how ridiculously excited I was am). Two, we were having a little mini dinner party (1 guest) in the new apartment and I needed a dessert.

Not all of my kitchen stuff is down here yet, and because these little individual silicone baking cups packed well in my suitcase, cupcakes it was going to be!!! My cookbooks and baking binders haven't arrived either, so I hit up a few of my favorite food blogs I follow, including Annie's Eats where I found these awesome Cherry Coke Cupcakes.

Everyone seemed to really like these, they look pretty and it takes no time at all to decorate them. I wish I had found maraschino cherries with stems, just for appearances, but these worked fine. In this recipe, the glaze is listed as optional, but I strongly recommend using it. It just gives it that extra Coke kick. The whipped cream topping is perfect on these also, it gives it the light and airy, almost foamy texture that you would get with pouring a Coke.

Enjoy!

Cherry Coke Cupcakes
Printable Recipe
by Annie's Eats

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 tsp. 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

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a muffin pan with foil or paper liners.
   
2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside.
   
3. 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.
   
4. Mix in the egg until incorporated.
   
5. 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!)
6. 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.
   
7. 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.
   
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.