These festive, incredibly moist and decadent Coca-Cola Chocolate Cupcakes utilize the iconic coca-cola flavors and are irresistible when combined with a creamy peppermint buttercream frosting! For other amazing cupcake recipes, check out my Gingerbread Cupcakes, Strawberry Cupcakes, Vanilla Cupcakes, Red Velvet Cupcakes and Lemon Cupcakes!
Disclosure: I am excited to announce I work with Coca-Cola however all opinions expressed here are my own.
Perfectly Decadent Coca-Cola Chocolate Cupcakes
Christmas is in full swing everybody! The lights are strung, mistletoes are dangling above doorways and Santa’s sleigh is polished and ready to fly (or so I’ve heard). I absolutely love the Holiday season! There’s nothing like nights spent with family sipping hot chocolate and binging our favorite Christmas movies.
For me, part of the joy of Christmastime is the baking. Whether it’s pies, cookies or cakes, I can’t get enough of it. Oddly enough, it’s pretty rare to come across unique Christmas cupcake recipes. So I’ve decided to change that this year. Coca-Cola Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream are my latest holiday obsession and they’ll be yours too! This is a slight twist on my perfect Chocolate Cupcakes.
Using Coca-Cola in Baking for Coca-Cola Cupcakes
I know, the idea of using Coca-Cola in baking sounds a bit left field. But let me tell you, I LOVE using cola in my recipes. If you take the time to identify the flavors in a bottle or a can of cola you’ll notice the traces of vanilla, cinnamon and citrus oils.
By using cola in these cupcakes you’re infusing those same flavors in your cake while also adding moisture. The sugar in the cola also deepens the flavor of the chocolate so that each bite is richer than the next.
These cupcakes will go down in history as the most incredible chocolate cupcakes ever. And if you haven’t tried my Coca-Cola Cake, you are missing something truly special.
Peppermint Buttercream Frosting
At this point, you might be asking yourself where the Christmas in these Christmas cupcakes is. Two words: Peppermint Buttercream. Peppermint is the quintessential flavor of Christmas. Candy canes, peppermint bark and peppermint hot chocolates are just a few of the things that make up the holiday season.
Chocolate and Peppermint go together like peanut butter and jelly. Each bite of the buttercream balances out the density of the chocolate perfectly. I can guarantee you that this treat will become a Christmas favorite for years to come. It certainly has become mine.
The key ingredient for this buttercream is of course butter. It must be room temperature to whip up perfectly. I also add a hint of heavy cream because it makes the consistency almost like whipped cream, which I love. I talk more about amazing frostings in my Perfect American Buttercream recipe.
How To Make Perfect Coca-Cola Cupcakes
This recipe is intended to be very straightforward and simple enough for anyone to make. But I’ve had my fair share of dry, sugary cupcakes that could have been so easily prevented. Here are a few tips to help you get the best result possible!
Use a Scoop to Fill Cupcake Liners
I’ll be the first one to admit that when I’m feeling a bit lazy I eyeball it. But, there’s nothing worse than pulling your cupcakes out of the oven to find that they’re all cooked unevenly. The best way to avoid this is to put the same amount of batter in each liner.
Use a large scoop for standard sized cupcakes and a small cookie scoop for minis. Fill each liner about ⅔ of the way.
Don’t Peak!
Baking is super exciting and I find myself constantly wanting to open up the oven and take a sneak peak. But opening up the oven during baking can cause the fragile air bubbles in the cake to pop and that means a dense cake. This is a moment to exercise a little bit of patience this holiday season.
Don’t Be Stingy with the Frosting
Frosting acts as a seal to help the cupcake retain its moisture and prevent it from drying out too quickly. Be sure to cover the entire cupcake top as best you can. This step is essential if you plan on making these for an event where they will be sitting out for a long period of time.
Use this opportunity to get creative with piping tips, ganaches or fun toppings that will make your cupcakes stand out
I could only think of one thing that would make these cupcakes better (if that was even possible), and that was a creamy and smooth peppermint buttercream. Peppermint is the quintessential flavor for Christmas. I can guarantee you that this treat will become a Christmas favorite for years to come. It certainly has become mine.
If you Love These Coke Cupcakes, You Will Love These:
If you like this dessert recipe, you’ll some of my other great peppermint and Coca-cola flavored recipes.
- COCA-COLA CAKE
- PEPPERMINT ONE BOWL BROWNIES
- ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE
- PEPPERMINT FRENCH SILK PIE
Coca-Cola Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream
Ingredients
For the Coca-Cola Chocolate Cupcakes:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Coca-Cola
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Peppermint Buttercream:
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- Pinch salt
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- Garnish: 2 candy canes, crushed and round peppermints for cupcake tops
Instructions
For the Coca-Cola Chocolate Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In your stand mixer, beat butter, oil and both sugars together on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Next add the egg and incorporate.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
- Turn mixer down to low speed and add half of flour mixture and incorporate.
- Next add half of Coca-Cola.
- Incorporate final half of flour mixture and then remaining Coca-Cola.
- Finally mix in vanilla extract and make sure the batter is well-mixed.
- Add cupcake liners to muffin pan and using an ice cream scoop, scoop batter into liners filling 2/3s of the way.
- Bake cupcakes for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake.
- Cool cupcakes to room temperature.
For the Peppermint Buttercream:
- In your stand mixer, add butter and salt at medium low speed.
- Next turn the mixer down to low and slowly add powdered sugar in small portions until all is added then turn the speed to medium high to combine.
- Add peppermint extract then heavy cream and mix until nice and fluffy.
- Pipe buttercream on room temperature cupcakes and sprinkle with crushed candy canes then top each cupcake with a round peppermint and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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I tried this recipe, and it turned out really good. What else can I add to the recipe? Thanks for the recipe.
If I use this recipe for a sheet cake, will it still be just as moist?
Do you use sweetened or unsweetened cocoa powder in the cupcakes. thanks!
Unsweetened.
Just made these cupcakes for a Christmas party I am going to and they taste great!! The mix only made about 15 cupcakes but that could be because I made bigger cupcakes, and I struggled with the frosting. It is a little runny so I thought maybe putting it in the fridge for a little bit would help it set better, but I haven’t tried putting it on the cupcakes yet. They are still cooling! Super excited to try them out!
Hi Bailey, the frosting should be pretty stiff. I hope they turned out well.