Jack and Coke Cupcakes are the site’s most popular recipe of all time! Luxurious chocolate cola cupcakes topped with a creamy whiskey buttercream frosting and filled with a Jack Daniels whiskey chocolate ganache. Serve them with bourbon balls, white chocolate champagne truffles, alcoholic angel food cupcakes, and champagne cupcakes for a 21+ party!

This Jack and Coke Cupcake recipe is by far my most popular.

Readers have commented, pinned, and left images as comments on Pinterest, tweeted, shared on Facebook, and even contacted me to express their appreciation. It amazes me how much you all like this dish, but I entirely understand. It’s really tasty.

Tips for making Jack and Coke cupcakes

Let’s start with the cupcakes:

• I recommend using aluminum liners or silicon cupcake holders. Paper liners coated with nonstick spray will still work, but aluminum liners are very easy to peel away from the cupcake without losing precious morsels of chocolate cake.
• You have to use regular Coca Cola. You cannot use any of the reduced or sugar free versions – it won’t work for the purpose of this recipe. So, I repeat: use the original Coke.
• Only stir the cooled cocoa mixture and flour mixture until just combined. This is very important, or you’re going to end up with a tougher cake texture in the end.

The obsession with muffin tops is practically compulsive. They’re simply so lovely. My obsession with their cracked, fluffy cupcakes

Now, about the ganache:

• When you’re making the ganache, don’t jump ahead and add the whiskey too soon. Make sure you add it right at the end, otherwise you’re going to cook off some of that flavor!
• You have to find the balance between having the ganache too cool or too warm. Too cool, it won’t be fluid enough to work with. Too warm, and it’ll melt through your piping bag and just plain cause a mess! Wait to pipe it in until it’s cool enough not to give you trouble when you’re placing it in a piping bag. 
• I like to use a cupcake corer (aff link) to remove the center of the cupcake, but you can also just use a small paring knife to carve it out. Save the cores and make some cake pops with them later! Or just eat them… ’cause that’s what I actually do.

Last but not least, the frosting:

• Make sure you whip the butter until it’s light and fluffy – it’s key to getting the texture we want.
• Add the powdered sugar slowly, a little bit at a time. If you try to add it all at once, you’re going to end up with a big mess and you’ll have a sugar explosion all over your kitchen and make it appear as though a blizzard blasted through your window. 
• Alternating adding powdered sugar and whiskey helps keep the mixture moist enough to work with until you have all ingredients combined.
• You can add a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract if you want it to be less whiskey-y, but isn’t that whiskey flavor why we’re making it? Maybe just add 1/4 teaspoon for a little balance.
• I love adding little gummy cola candies on top because it’s the perfect garnish. You could also add candied lime slices, crumbles of some of your cupcake cores, or nothing at all! Let the frosting stand alone in all its glory.

After eating one, I’d think this email from a colleague speaks for itself:

Subject: I may need the services of a designated driver.

Message Body:I just swallowed your cupcake (as she put it) and it was… well, after that first mouthful, everything was a haze.

That frosting is very wonderful, and I could eat a whole cake pan full of it. In fact, I’m going to rehab this afternoon as a result of that.

You’re a baking prodigy. Thank you very much for honoring me with one of your very few!

… and now I’ll try to walk in a straight line.

Yet, just so you know, these cupcakes will not make you drunk.