Cupcake Week: Cherry Dr. Pepper Cupcakes

SODA cupcake day #2!
Dr. Pepper is by FAR my favorite soda (the only other thing I enjoy drinking is Ocean Water from Sonic) so I had to make a Dr. Pepper cupcake.  This cupcake is good, but really only has a hint of Dr. Pepper flavor.  I'm not sure how to make it taste exactly like DP, but I will be working on it.  The good news is, these cupcakes as "healthy" as far as cupcakes go.  Instead of using oil and eggs, you just use the soda, so there is not as many calories and fat.  These are not things I often care about then eating or making cupcakes, but if you do, there it is.  These have about 80 calories per cupcake (without the frosting), as opposed to 115 per cupcake.

Cherry Dr. Pepper Cupcakes


Ingredients


Cake:
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 can (1 1/2 cups) cherry Dr. Pepper
Cherry Dr. Pepper for brushing on tops 


Frosting:

3 sticks unsalted butter

6 cups confectioner's sugar

1/2 tspn pure vanilla extract

between 1/4 & 1/2 cup Dr Pepper

Maraschino cherries for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 and put 24 cupcake liners in 2 cupcake pans.

Mix cake mix and soda on low for 30 seconds, then on high for 2 minutes.  Scoop immediately into the cupcake pans, or you will loose the fizz, and that is never good.

Bake for 15 minutes, NO MORE.  When they come out of the oven, poke with a toothpick and brush or spoon some Dr. Pepper on top.  Let them cool completely.  I took some great pictures of these steps in my Mt. Dew cupcakes for yesterday.  

For the frosting, cream the butter and vanilla.  Alternately add the powdered sugar and Dr. Pepper.  Work with it until you get a good consistency that you will be able to pipe onto cupcakes.  I used a large star tip (1M) and my awesome new 18" frosting bag.  Pipe the frosting on!

Cut about 12 cherries in half and soak in the fridge overnight in Dr. Pepper.  I baked my cupcakes last night and put the cherries on this morning before I brought them to school.  Dry the cherries off on some paper towels before pressing them into the frosting.  Once again, I wish these tasted more like DP, but they were still yummy!