Superbowl Sunday Coca-Cola Cupcakes!

So hey, it's Superbowl XI something something something! How shall I celebrate? With baking, of course!

I'm not a fan of football. I don't know the difference between a field goal and a touchdown, nor could I tell you one single rule of the game (apparently it's legal to bash other players in the face with your elbow, I saw some of that going on). But we were invited to a Superbowl party with some family, and I figured if they would be there then perhaps I could tolerate the ludicrous display of testosterone that is football. And it was an ideal excuse to whip out the flour and sugar and add some girliness to the day.

Now I love themes. I make Red Velvet cupcakes for Valentines, patriotic cupcakes for the Fourth of July, etc. But what on earth could I do for the Superbowl? Then I found this recipe for Cola cake from the fine people at Coca-Cola. Perfect.

Our family does enjoy their Coke, and I figured a dessert made with a beverage that can rust a nail was about as manly as I could bake. Not to mention Coke would probably be featured in every other commercial throughout the game. It seemed like a match made in heaven. Well, in my oven.


Aside from the typical sugar, flour, egg, butter, etc., the recipe also called for marshmallows and buttermilk, and for the Coke to be boiled with the butter (along with the cocoa) before adding to the dry ingredients. Huh. I believe this was to melt the marshmallows, but it still took a good 10 minutes of stirring before they all melted.

When it was all said and mixed, the batter tasted rather strange. Not bad, just different. But when they came out of the oven....


Boy, howdy! They weren't half bad! I chose to use prepared vanilla frosting, in lieu of the Cola frosting suggested in the recipe, purely as a time saver. Also, I just really like vanilla frosting and thought it would make a nice contrast with the dark cupcake and chocolate sprinkles. I do love sprinkles.

And people seemed to enjoy them. And, much to my own surprise, I kind of enjoyed the game. Kind of. I still can't say I care much for football, but I must admit that 100 yard run in the second quarter was pretty awesome.

So would I make these again? Probably. I definitely got some compliments on them. Though I would have liked to have had red cupcake papers, kind of like a Coke can. See what I mean about me and themes? I might also like to pipe the frosting on, rather than spread it. And maybe use some red sprinkles....I could go on and on.

Hope everyone had a great Sunday, whether you're a Steelers fan or not!