"Have a Dr Pepper fan in your life? Then they're going to love these! Rich chocolate buttermilk cupcakes with a hint of their favorite fizzy soda."
I talk a lot about the nerdy gaming nights The Boyfriend and I participate in every Friday, and I love them for two reasons:
For one, I’m a nerd, so I’m all about playing D&D or whatever the latest in tabletop adventuring is.
And for two, having all these people in my house means I get more test subjects to cook and bake for more people.
It’s becoming my own personal mini-game, learning what foods they like and trying to find recipes I can make that they’ll enjoy.
Which, of course, brings me to these cupcakes.
Because you see, when I’m stocking our fridge for game night, Dr Pepper is always on the list of must-have beverages for our guests, even though it’s not a soda The Boyfriend and I usually keep in the house.
It’s not that we don’t like Dr Pepper – I can kick a few back just like the next person – it’s just not a soda we typically keep on hand.
So when game night is over, our fridge is usually cleaned out, which includes our special stash of Dr Pepper… but this past week a few cans managed to survive the night and were left alone, lingering and unwanted in our fridge.
Which, of course, got me to thinking:
If they like Dr Pepper so much, are there ay cool recipes I can make with it for next week’s game night?
Turns out, yes, there certainly are recipes I could make…
Like these cupcakes infused with Dr Pepper!
These cupcakes have a mild Dr Pepper taste, but still very much there – and it’s all wrapped up in delicious chocolate.
It’s hard to go wrong with chocolate buttermilk cupcakes, so it’s hard not to like them even if you’re not a Dr Pepper fan.
I’m happy to report these little guys were a total hit at our last gaming night, which is always a great feeling… and I totally think the good food karma helps my dice rolls, too.
Try as I might, I’m not very good at the games we play, so I can use all the help I can get!
And at least I can enjoy a Dr Pepper Cupcake after I lose.
Dr Pepper Cupcakes
Ingredients
Chocolate Dr Pepper Cupcakes
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 egg room temperature *
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup Dr Pepper
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
Dr Pepper Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 6 oz cream cheese softened
- 4 tbsp Dr Pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Chocolate Dr Pepper Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare muffins tin by adding cupcake cup liners (22-24 total).
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and coca powder. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer (or a hand mixer + large bowl), add in butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on low until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Keeping mixer speed on low, add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix in the Dr pepper. Add the other half of the dry ingredients as well as the buttermilk. Mix until just combined - try not to overmix. Batter should be thick and fluffy.
- Pour cupcake batter into prepared muffin tin, filling cups 2/3 full.
- Bake cupcakes (in batches of 12 or so) for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick tester comes out clean.
- Place muffin tin on a wire rack to cool for 5-10 minutes, then pop cupcakes out and allow to finish cooling on the wire rack. Wait until cupcakes are completely cooled before applying the frosting.
For the Dr Pepper Cream Cheese Frosting
- Use a stand mixer (or a hand mixer + large bowl) on high speed to beat the softened butter until smooth and creamy, roughly 2 minutes.
- Drop speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar. Frosting may be and clumpy at this stage - that is okay.
- Keeping speed on low, slowly beat in cream cheese. I'd recommend cutting the cream cheese into 4-5 pieces and mixing in one piece at a time.
- Finally, add in the Dr Pepper. This frosting is very forgiving and easy to balance to your tastes. You can add up to 6 tablespoons of Dr Pepper (total) or up to 5 cups of powdered sugar (total) to get the flavor and consistency you'd like.
- Decorate cupcakes as desired.