I Dream In Buttercream

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Chocolate Cherry Coke Hi-Hats (from The Busty Baker)

The finished product

As soon as I saw these beautiful little cupcakes, I knew I HAD to bake them! They were so delicious and a huge hit! I agree with the Busty Baker though, they are not picnic cupcakes. They need to stay cold or else things start to droop and melt all over!

The chocolate cake is very moist with just a hint of the cherry cola flavoring. There is a hint of the red coloring from the cherry juice and pop color, which makes it a lovely shade of dark reddish brown. Maybe I need to bring one in to my hairdresser and tell her to give me that color!

The meringue frosting is absolutely delicious, very marshmallow-y with a nice pink color and cherry flavor. It held up well to the dipping.

My camera that was used for the in process pics does not do the frosting color justice. Its really a pretty shade of pink but the lighting/cheap camera didn’t mix well.

Chocolate Cherry Coke Hi-Hats Recipe

Makes about 24 cupcakes (mine made 21)

Cake:
Adapted from Zen Cupcake

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups cherry cola flavored beverage (I used Cherry Dr. Pepper)
1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp cherry extract (I have been unable to find this so I used Almond Extract, which tastes cherry-ish)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cupcake pans with 24 liners. Set aside.

2. Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In another medium size bowl stir together cola, cherry juice, oil, vinegar, vanilla, and cherry extract. Slowly add liquid mixture to the dry mixture and beat until just smooth. Scoop into cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full.

3. Bake for 20 minutes (mine took 23) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Frosting:

Adapted from Taste of Home
Makes 4 cups

3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 egg whites
1/8 cup water
1/8 cup maraschino cherry juice
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cherry extract (Almond extract here too)

1. In a heatproof bowl, or the top of a double boiler, over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water, combine the sugar, egg whites, water, cherry juice and cream of tartar. With a hand mixer, beat on low speed for 1 minute. Continue beating on low over low heat until frosting reaches 160° on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes.

2. Pour into the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer; add extracts. Beat on high until stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes.

3. Place frosting in a large pastry bag and pipe onto cupcake, starting about an 1/8-inch from the edge of the cupcake, and spiraling up into a 2-inch high cone-shaped mound on top. Refrigerate while you are making the coating. (I refrigerated for at least 30 minutes before dipping. This did not make enough for all 21 of my cupcakes. I only got 14 piped)

Coating: (I halved this recipe and still had plenty left over)
Adapted from Cupcakes by Elinor Klivans as well as assembly instructions

4 cups (24 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate
6 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

1. In a heatproof bowl, or the top of a double boiler, over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water, stir together chocolate and oil until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Scrape the coating into a small bowl and cool slightly, about 15 minutes. (I popped this in the microwave for about 30 seconds in a jumbo mug and it was all good to go!)

2. Holding each cupcake upside down by the bottom, dip the mound of frosting in the chocolate coating, covering completely. Let any excess drip off by rotating the cupcake several times above the chocolate. Returning the cupcakes to the tray or cookie sheet, top with a cherry, and let sit for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for about 30 minutes to set the coating. Once set, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve cold.

They drip quite a bit (see drops of chocolate in my fridge…) so if you don’t want to clean up counters and fridge shelves, put some wax paper under them to catch the extra! I stuck these 2 in the freezer after this pic because they were going to my friends Rita and Julie and I had only about 20 minutes before I left. They held up just fine!

Tags: cherry coke, cupcakes, hi hats