The day I finished frosting these cupcakes, the only thing on my To-Do List was “frost cherry cola cupcakes.” (I live a very difficult and busy life, clearly.) The night before, I got an email from Dahlia about their menu update… including a new Cherry Cola Cold Brew! I very rarely receive such clear cosmic signs from the universe my email, so I decided I needed to go to Dahlia. Their Cherry Cola Cola Brew was incredible. Like… so good I’m looking for an occasion to return and I hope they keep it on the menu for a while. I came home and frosted these cupcakes, and they were also delicious. What can I say… I’m all for cherry cola now that I like Diet Coke!
Stopping by Dahlia was also a fun Friday treat for my first full week back from vacation. Not that my work week was at all taxing, but I had been sick and it was a vacation come-down. So it was fun to go to a bakery and play vacation again! I am all for being a tourist in your own town. Also, the croissant sandwich I got was incredible. I devoured it. It had egg, cheese, and… apricot jam?? It had me re-visiting my thoughts on apricot.
My brother likes to randomly cut foods out of his diet, when he concludes he just does not like them and only eats them out of obligation or complacency. And I respect that. But there’s been a few times now (such as with Diet Coke, or pickles) where I have re-visited something I thought I didn’t like, and I ended up liking it. Apricot jam may be latest on that list! I’ll have to keep re-visiting.
I’m digressing. These are cherry cola cupcakes. I based them off of these iconic Root Beer Float Cupcakes, which were one of the first big posts on this blog where I was proud of the photos. I think maybe my first photos accepted on to Foodgawker? Which was such a milestone in 2013. And it’s also where I discovered root beer extract, and has led to a whole slew of other root beer treats! So… an iconic post in The Batter Thickens canon.
(Also, reading that post back… I put in 8 photos and wrote maybe 50 words… I was clearly proud of those photos.)
These cupcakes use the same recipe, but sub cola soda and cola extract. Then, cherry frosting to use up some freeze dried cherries I still had in the pantry. My brother recently fixed up my pantry to have SLIDING SHELVES! So now I can see everything that I have inside my bizarrely deep pantry! And that reminded my of the freeze dried cherries. A brilliant upgrade already.
I enjoy eating cold cake in general. But these, specifically, feel appropriate to have cold. It’s summer now! And just like a refreshing Diet Coke out of the fridge in the afternoon, this cupcake can really hit the spot.
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PinIngredients
Cola Chocolate Cupcakes
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cola extract
- 1/3 cup coca cola
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons sour cream or yogurt
- 1 1/8 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Cherry Frosting
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 to 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1.2 oz bag of freeze dried cherries
- 1–2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Make the cupcakes: Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain.
- Add cream, melted butter and vanilla, and mix until combined. Stir in sour cream.
- Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture. Fold to combine. When close to combined but no entirely, add the cola extract and cola. Mix until batter is smooth.
- Line a muffin tin with liners and using a heaping 1/4 cup measure, add batter to each cup.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool before frosting.
- Make the frosting: Pulverize your freeze dried cherries in a food processor until they are a dust, with no big chunks. You can run it through a fine mesh sieve to make the frosting come out smoother, if desired, but it’s not necessary.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until soft, about 1 minute.
- Add 2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar and salt. Beat on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated.
- Add your freeze dried cherries, another ½ cup sugar and the cream. Add more sugar as needed to thicken the frosting. Beat on medium speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Frost cooled cupcakes generously.