Rum & Coke Cupcakes

 I recently asked my friends and family on Facebook to give me some cupcake flavor ideas and my Aunt suggested rum and coke. I knew coca-cola cake was a fairly popular recipes and thought that  rum frosting would go well with it.
I mainly chose the recipe that I used because I found the method of heating the coke and the cocoa together and then stirring in the mini marshmallows to melt them very interesting. And I would also like to note that this was my first successful attempt at making Swiss meringue butter cream.The texture is very interesting; lighter than butter cream but it still has a lot of richness to it.

Recipe found at Coffee and Cannolis

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes 2 cups AP flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter 
1 cup Coca-Cola©
3 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cup mini marshmallows 

For the Frosting 5 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
4 sticks of butter, diced and softened
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup rum (I used a dark rum)

Directions:

For the Cupcakes Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line pan with cupcake liners.

In stand mixer fitted with a flat beater, combine flour and sugar; set aside. In saucepan, combine margarine, cola and cocoa and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.  Add marshmallows and stir slowly until melted.

Remove pan from heat and pour over flour and sugar. Mix thoroughly to combine. Add buttermilk, eggs, baking soda and vanilla. Mix well.

Fill cupcake liners about 1/2-2/3 full and bake for about 17-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool before frost.

** Don’t worry if the batter seems a little thin; it will bake up fine!

For the Frosting Combine egg whites and sugar in a bowl placed over simmering water.  Bring mixture to 150 degrees F while whisking constantly.

Transfer mixture to stand mixer bowl, fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on medium high speed (8 on a KA mixer) until mixture cools and doubles in volume, forming soft medium peaks; about 10-12 minutes.

Add butter in one piece at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition.  The mixture may appear clumpy and almost curdled looking at first – this is normal for Swiss Meringue Butter Creams!  Keep mixing – it will become even and smooth again!

Add salt and rum and mix to combine.