Cherry Coke Cupcakes

Yield: 12

Cherry Coca-Cola (Coke) Cupcakes

Cherry Coca-Cola (Coke) Cupcakes

These delicious Cherry Coca-Cola (Coke) Cupcakes are perfect for those Coca-Cola fans like myself. Made using deliciously sweet Cherry Coke and topped off with Cherry Coke buttercream frosting and a sweet fresh cherry.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

Cherry Coke Cupcakes

  • 113g (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
  • 145g (¾ cup) brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 125ml (½ cup) cherry coca-cola/coke
  • 63ml (¼ cup) buttermilk
  • 125g (1 cup) self-raising flour
  • 15g (1 tbsp) cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
  • a few drops of cola extract (Sainsbury’s or Lorann’s oils)
  • a few drops of cherry flavouring (Lorann’s oils or any extract)

Cherry Coke Frosting

  • approx. 50ml (¼ cup) Cherry Coca-Cola
  • 110g (almost ¼ cup) unsalted butter, softened
  • approx. 350g (2¾-3 cups icing (confectioners’) sugar
  • a few drops of cola extract (Sainsbury’s or Lorann’s oils)
  • a few drops of cherry flavouring (Lorann’s oils or any extract)

Decorations

  • (optional) 12 fresh cherries

Instructions

  1. To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas Mark 4. Place 12 cupcake liners into a muffin pan and set aside.
  2. Beat the butter with the sugar until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix the cola and the buttermilk together in a jug. In a bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) together.
  3. Pour about a third of the cherry coke and buttermilk mixture into the creamed butter and sugar, the sieve in about a third of the flour, cocoa powder, soda mix and stir well. Repeat this process until all ingredients are added and stir until blended and smooth.
  4. Taste test the batter. If you feel the cherry cola flavour needs a little lift, add a few drops of both the cherry and cola extract/flavouring until desires taste is reached.
  5. Pour into each cupcake liner to about ½ to ¾ full and bake for 20-25 minutes until a skewer comes out clean, then remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  6. To make the frosting, cream the butter with the icing sugar adding the cherry coca-cola a little at a time until smooth and creamy.
  7. Again, taste test the frosting. If you feel the cherry cola flavour needs a little lift, add a few drops of both the cherry and cola extract/flavouring until desires taste is reached.
  8. To decorate, use a piping bag with a large star tip and pipe swirls onto each cupcake. Top off with a fresh cherry.

Notes

Notes:

When stirring the cupcake batter after the cola/buttermilk and self-raising flour has been mixed, it will become rather frothy. This is normal and the chemical reaction between the ingredients in the cola and the raising agents.

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49 Comments on “Cherry Coke Cupcakes”

  1. Rebecca July 18, 2013 @8:38 pm Reply

    Oh my these look amazing! I will have to make them for my mother in law soon as she loves cherry coke! I would love for you to link these up with me this week! The party starts at 8pm!

    http://www.livingbettertogether.com/2013/07/tgif-link-party-no-5.html

    1. Stacie August 28, 2013 @4:58 am Reply

      Does someone have the recipe amounts adjusted for English system vs Metric system?

    2. Christine September 24, 2013 @8:06 pm Reply

      Is there an ENGLISH measurement version of this recipe?

  2. Winnie July 18, 2013 @9:18 pm Reply

    Lisa - these cupcake are looking fantastic!

  3. CCU July 18, 2013 @9:37 pm Reply

    I don't think I have seen such perfect cupcakes for a long time :D
    These look delicious!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    P.S I will not be commenting for 4 weeks due to exams - see you afterwards :)

    1. Lisa Crunkhorn July 19, 2013 @3:43 pm Reply

      Oh Uru, I'm sure you'll do amazing anyway.

      I'll be thinking of you. Good luck!

  4. Tara July 19, 2013 @12:10 am Reply

    These are simply gorgeous!! Great recipe!!

  5. Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust July 19, 2013 @2:37 am Reply

    I love cherry coke! These cupcakes are gorgeous Lisa!

  6. Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel July 19, 2013 @6:15 am Reply

    I LOVE THESE. In the US there's a restaurant called Johnny Rocket's and as a kid, I was obsessed with their cherry cokes and vanilla cokes! SO stinkin' good. These cupcakes look gorgeous AND delicious!

  7. Slummy single mummy July 19, 2013 @11:14 am Reply

    These look AWESOME! I am a big Diet Coke fan, but I tend to buy it when I'm out rather than have it at home. Somehow then it feels like much more of a treat - a cold can straight from the supermarket fridge :-)

    1. Lisa Crunkhorn July 19, 2013 @3:47 pm Reply

      Hehe, I know what you mean. I used to buy the bulk cans of cherry coke from Makro all the time. There's just something more special drinking from a can rather than from a bottle. In fact, it's even better when you're on holiday abroad after a long hard day relaxing by the sea or pool and you order a coke and get it in a authentic glass bottle - bliss!

      Can't say I'm much of a fan of the diet drinks though. They taste funny to me without the proper sugar. I'm just a sugar fiend, but I guess you figured that out anyway! ;)

      Thanks for stopping by, Jo.

  8. Rachel Cotterill July 19, 2013 @11:44 am Reply

    Oh, these look lush! Beautiful :)

  9. Louisa @ My Family & Abruzzo July 19, 2013 @2:15 pm Reply

    Love these! Cherry cola can be hard to get in the uk sometimes, so I think people go crazy when they can get it!

    1. Lisa Crunkhorn July 19, 2013 @4:15 pm Reply

      I'm in the UK and have had absolutely no problem buying Cherry Coke. It's available in cans, small bottles and large bottles in all the supermarkets here in the east midlands. Where abouts are you in the UK? I had no idea it wasn't available all over the UK, that sucks. Even Asda and TESCO do their own brand of cherry cola (I won't drink it though).

      You can sub out the cherry coke for regular coke and just add cherry flavouring though if you're not able to find it. Just make sure you don't use diet as you need the sugars in the coke for this recipe.

      Thanks for stopping by. :)

      1. Louisa @ My Family & Abruzzo July 19, 2013 @4:40 pm Reply

        Hi! We're in East Anglia and where we are if you find cherry coke it is major excitement. Even the big supermarkets rarely stock it. I have no idea why. >:(

        1. Lisa Crunkhorn July 19, 2013 @6:31 pm Reply

          Well that sucks. I think I'd go crazy too and get overly excited once I found it if I were in that area.

          I do know that the other flavours that are available in the US, Australia, etc. aren't available here. The vanilla and the other ones I can't think of right now.

          I hope it manages to find its way over to your area and soon.

  10. Chloe July 20, 2013 @3:27 pm Reply

    Um, YUM. These sound and look absolutely amazing, I have a proper craving now!

  11. Carolin July 21, 2013 @12:14 am Reply

    These look absolutely amazing. I never even thought of using Coca Cola in baking. I might have to give this a try x

  12. Lisa@ Cooking with Curls July 21, 2013 @3:21 am Reply

    Your photos are amazing Lisa!!! They look delicious :)

  13. Emma T July 21, 2013 @8:44 pm Reply

    I love chocolate coke cake, so these look great to try as an alternative. They look beautiful (although I'm not sure about your obsession!)

  14. Paula July 22, 2013 @12:43 am Reply

    Thanks so much for linking with us at Marvelous Mondays, pinned to my Marvelous Mondays board!

  15. Melissa @ The Alchemist July 22, 2013 @1:07 am Reply

    Thanks so much for the party! Your cherry coke cupcakes look amazing! I've pinned them, so I don't lose it. I wish you a great week!

    Melissa @ The Alchemist

  16. Tenns @ New Mama Diaries July 22, 2013 @1:21 am Reply

    These are too cute and I bet they taste yummy too! I love the fresh cherries as a topper.
    Found you through Marvelous Monday's Link Party.

  17. Jenni July 22, 2013 @1:55 am Reply

    I love cherry coke and these look delicious. Cupcakes are my favorite desert to bring to parties so I'm always trying new recipes.

  18. Maria L. Rios July 22, 2013 @4:25 am Reply

    OMG.. Cherry and Coke cupcakes... These look amazing and I am sure they taste the same.... Yummy.

  19. CJ at Food Stories July 23, 2013 @5:18 am Reply

    I haven't had a cherry coke in ages ... Bet this recipe is amazing :)

  20. Dru Falco July 23, 2013 @7:20 am Reply

    These cupcakes are gorgeous! The frosting is just right. Sorry, though, I can't stand Coke- Pepsi all the way!

  21. Diane Roark July 24, 2013 @12:41 am Reply

    Great post! Your cupcakes look wonderful! I need to bake these one day. I found you from Ducks in a Row blog hop. Blessings Always and visit me anytime! Diane Roark recipesforourdailybread.com

  22. Julie @ This Gal Cooks July 24, 2013 @8:52 pm Reply

    Oh my, these look wonderful, Lisa! I wish I had one right now. Pinned and sharing on FB, Twitter and G+! Thanks for sharing at Marvelous Mondays!

  23. Carrie @ Frugal Foodie Mama July 25, 2013 @1:10 am Reply

    These cupcakes are so pretty! And we love Cherry Coke in our house. ;)
    Thank you for sharing at this week's Marvelous Mondays Party.

  24. happysuz July 26, 2013 @1:55 am Reply

    These look wonderful and I really want to try them. Any advice as to where to buy Cola Extract? They don't seem to sell it in the grocery stores here in the US. Thanks!

    1. Lisa Crunkhorn July 28, 2013 @11:06 pm Reply

      I'm not in the US, but I know that LorAnn oils comes from the US. We have to import them here. I used the LorAnn oils in this recipe (apart from the frosting since the LorAnn flavouring since it's dark cola coloured).

      I can't really answer on where to purchase them from since I've never been to the states - le sigh. Perhaps from the LorAnn Oils website? Hopefully someone may chime in with some info on where to buy them in the states. I'd imagine that any decent cake decorating store sells them though. That's where I bought mine from locally.

      If you're still troubled on finding some, I could probably send you some over. But that would work out more expensive since they're quite pricey here with the export costs being added to the retail price then shipping back to where they came from in the first place. :lol:

  25. Sande Sivani July 26, 2013 @2:20 am Reply

    The gang at My Personal Accent thinks your post about Cherry Coca-Cola Cupcakes is fantastic and we would like to invite you to party with us at starting at 5:00 Thursday nights at our new Blog Strut Peacock Style Link Party to share your creative ideas. Come on over!! http://wp.me/p2Vf55-XA

  26. Vera Zecevic – Cupcakes Garden August 19, 2013 @3:42 pm Reply

    These look really awesome. I've featured this recipe on my blog, hoping that you don't mind, but if you do, please contact me and I'll remove it. All the best.

  27. Claudia August 23, 2013 @4:00 pm Reply

    Hi there!

    I'm just amazed with your site, and just fell in love with this recipe.
    I found only one problem as I was planning to try it....here in my country (Brazil) we don't have cherry cokes... could you help me and suggest an substitute for it that will keep it good and so delicious as it seems on your pics?

    I'm afraid just mixing normal coke with cherry with maraschino liqueur ... using the maraschino liqueur would work as well?

    Thanks for this lovely and delicious recipe!

  28. nicola February 7, 2014 @2:31 pm Reply

    Would these be ok without the cola essence? I cant get hold of any obviously short notice and am planning on making these tomorrow. didn't realise it was so hard to get hold of! Im planning on getting some for next time but need it for tomorrow! :-/ help!!

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