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Katie Quinn / TODAY.com
Coca Cola and potato chip cupcake from 4Rivers Smokehouse in Orlando, Florida.
Americans love junk food. Americans love cupcakes. John Rivers put the two together and created cupcakes that incorporate his favorite indulgences: chips and soda.
“I love dishes that mix the sweet and savory,” he told TODAY.com. “I’m just having a lot of fun developing these recipes.”
Rivers, the man behind 4Rivers Smokehouse in Orlando, is opening a bakery called 4River Sweetshop that will feature some wild new treats, including Coke and Ruffles cupcakes, Mountain Dew and Doritos cupcakes, Cheerwine cupcakes and, still in the works, Nehi grape soda cupcakes.
We got a chance to sample some and we have to say, Coke and Ruffles come together to make one beautiful cupcake, baby. The soda-flavored icing is not too sweet and balances really well with the salty, crunchy chips that top the cupcake and are also added to the cake batter.
Rivers says that he hopes to create a whole line of chips and soda cupcakes. He’s currently looking for a mate to go with Nehi grape soda, after deciding that pretzels just weren’t the right fit.
Katie Quinn / TODAY.com
Mountain Dew and Doritos cupcakes from 4Rivers Smokehouse in Orlando, Florida.
“Another one I want to find a way to build in is Fritos. The trick is that I really gotta find something not so sweet – maybe a cornbread,” he said.
4Rivers Sweetshop will also carry cupcakes in more traditional flavors, along with flavored ice cream whoopie pies including red velvet ice cream, coconut cream and carrot cake.
Rivers tells us that the baked goods will be available for online purchase – just in time for the holidays! But if you want to experiment with your own chips and soda cupcakes, Rivers shares a couple of tips.
- The key secret to using soda in cakes is to create a syrup out of it; boil it and reduce to about 25 to 30 percent, until it’s nice and thick – you can use that in place of some of other liquid in the batter recipe. You can also use it in the icing, but you only need a little bit; otherwise it will become runny.
- You can use potato chips in the batter and they will turn out fine when baked, but chips like Doritos should be reserved for a topping ,as they turn black when baked.
Vidya Rao is the TODAY.com food editor. She's known to leave crumbs in her wake, especially on her keyboard.
Leave a Comment:
how can I get a copy of this recipe,for the coke and potato chip cupcakes? sounds delicious!
recipe please
Ick!
Hey food fans! We tried to get the recipe, but weren't able to. Try the tips John suggests in the post and go forth in experimentation!
They forgot to add the bacon, french fries, deep fried candy bars and other healthy goodies to these cupcakes.
the trick is the reduction- i do a chicken dish with a sauce based off an energy drink, and if you reduce it too far, it solidifies if you let it cool. with coke, you do have an easy solution- the fountain syrup is already at 15 to 20%. although you usually have to buy a 5 gallon bag-in-a-box to get it, there are also gallon jugs available.... and if you haven't had a milkshake with dr. pepper syrup, you are missing out, doesn't taste ANYTHING like you'd think it should....
While I was reading this article, I was wondering when Joan Rivers ever learned to cook, much less experiment with cupcakes. I was becoming more confusedthe further I read. Why is Joan Rivers wanting to open a bakery in Orlando? Is her career that much off track? What is going on here? Upon reading the article again, I discovered that John Rivers is the person twisting taste buds with his concoctions. I think I will skip the coke and chips cupcakes lest I risk triggering another dyslexic episode. Just give me a bottle of coke and a bag of chips and send me on my way.
Halfway through reading this comment my heart skipped a beat as I thought I'd made a horrible typo. Thanks for the laughs, LEB!
Is she going to sell them on QVC? I would buy them from her there, she has great products my wife and mother in law love. I never knew she was a baker though!
I wouldn't say that all Americans love junk food,only the fat ones.I hope he's a success because I have alot of stock in healthcare companies and it looks like they're gonna be real busy.............
Yeah, if you munched on them all day, every day. This is a cupcake, not a whole cake and it's dessert, not the main course. You don't ever have any 'spice' in your life...at all?!
Yikes, as if regular cupcakes didn't pack on enough fat and calories, eh?
He’s currently looking for a mate to go with Nehi grape soda, after deciding that pretzels just weren’t the right fit.
Cheetos, of course!