Three Ingredient Soda Can Cupcakes

Seriously.  This entire cupcake is made up of only three ingredients.  And, they're Henry Friendly.

I have been seeing a lot of soda cake recipes around the web and really wanted to give it a try.  But, there was a lot of controversy over diet soda vs non-diet.  One website claimed you absolutely could not use anything but diet, or it wouldn't work.  Others claimed that heating up the artificial sweeteners made it dangerous.  Still others said it's really not dangerous, but the artificial sweeteners lose their sweetness when heated.

While I'm not a chemistry expert, I know lots of people who have baked with artificial sweeteners and lived to tell the tale, so if you'd like to try with diet soda I say go for it.  If you're worried about it, don't do it.  I, however, decided to give non-diet a go.  Here's what I did.

I got a box of Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme cake mix, because that particular cake mix is Henry Friendly, and a can of Orange Fanta to keep it citrusy.

Mix it until well combined.  It'll look like this:

Then, fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full.

Bake at 350F for approximately 18 minutes.
What's the third ingredient?

Marshmallows!  Get the campfire sized ones.  When the cupcakes are just barely done, place one marshmallow on top of each.  Once I had done that, I pushed them back into the oven, closed the door, and turned off the oven.  The residual heat is enough to melt the marshmallows without making them toasty, which I didn't want for this particular cupcake.  If you want toasty marshmallows, leave the oven on and let it bake for about another 5 minutes.  Here's what mine looked like right out of the oven:

After they've been sitting for a bit, the marshmallows kind of flatten out and give a nice frosted look, much like the first picture in the post.  The citrusy flavor of the cupcakes went really well with the marshmallows.  The kids and adults I fed these to all thought they were really great.  And, once you pull it out of the oven, no need to wait for it to cool!  Enjoy them warm, too!

Three Ingredient Cupcakes Print Recipe Ingredients   1 box cake mix of choice   1 12ox can soda of choice   1 bag of large marshmallows (or substitute with frosting of choice) Instructions Mix together cake mix and can of soda until well combined Fill cupcake liners in pan about 2/3 full Bake at 350°F for approximately 18 - 20 minutes When cupcakes are just done, place a marshmallow on top of each.  Turn off and close oven door.  Leave until marshmallows have melted to desired softness. Remove from oven and enjoy!

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