Did you grow up loving Cactus Cooler soda as much as I did?
It was a big treat in our house to get it, so to this day there’s something special about sipping on one. Which is what gave me the idea to make Cactus Cooler Cupcakes! Well, that and the fact that everyone loves our Dr. Pepper Cupcake recipe so much I thought we should maybe try another soda turned into dessert!
The great thing about this recipe is that we’re starting with a boxed cake mix so you can spend a little extra time making your cactus candies for the top.
Preheat your oven to 350. Next, line a cupcake tray with cupcake papers and set to the side.
For batter start with a white box cake mix and mix all ingredients per the package instructions. Add in 1 cup of Cactus Cooler soda and 1 Tablespoon of orange extract.
*If you happen to have pineapple juice I’d do 1 teaspoon of orange extract and 1 Tablespoon of pineapple juice. But if not, orange extract works just great.
Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean when inserted into the middle. Remove from the oven and allow them to cook completely.
While your Cactus Cooler cupcakes are baking, its time to make the icing.
Mix together butter, powdered sugar, one teaspoon of orange extract and one tablespoon of soda. Once cupcakes have cooled use a butter knife or a piping bag to ice them.
To make the candy cactus, melt down green candy chocolate and then use a piping back (or a ziplock with one corner snipped off) to “draw” out a cactus on parchment paper. Add green sprinkles and candy flowers (both from the baking section of the craft store) before the cactus hardens completely.
Allow cactus to harden completely in the refrigerator for at least thirty minutes before sticking them down into the Cactus Cooler cupcakes. Keep cupcakes stored in a cool place before you’re ready to serve… if it’s a hot day, store in the fridge just to be safe your cactus doesn’t decide to slide right off the top.
Looking for more cactus inspiration? Check out these adorable little centerpieces I made or that one time I dressed up as a cactus for Halloween.
- Icing
- 1 cup of softened butter
- 3 cups of powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon of Cactus Cooler
- 1 teaspoon of orange extract
- Cupcakes
- 1 white cake mix box
- eggs and oil per package instructions
- 1 cup of Cactus Cooler
- 1 tablespoon of orange extract
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Line cupcake tray with cupcake liners
- Mix together white cake mix, eggs and oil per package instructions. Add in 1 cup of Cactus Cooler and 1 tablespoon of orange extract.
- Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way up and bake 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely
- For Icing
- Mix together softened butter, powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of soda and 1teaspoon of orange extract.
