Cherry Cupcakes
Homemade cherry cupcakes flavored with cherries and cherry juice, with a cherry buttercream frosting on top.
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Calories: 366kcal
Cost: $3
Ingredients
Cherry Cupcake Batter
- 10 oz maraschino cherries plus juice
- 1 cup milk whole, or 2%
- ½ cup butter (1 stick), softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract clear, if possible
- 3 large egg whites
- 2 cups cake flour can substitute all purpose
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Cherry Frosting
- ½ cup butter (1 stick), softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla clear, if possible
- 4 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice from the jar
Instructions
Cherry Cupcake Batter
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Reserve one dozen of the best looking maraschino cherries, set aside, cover and store in the refrigerator.
- Remove stems (if any) from remaining cherries in jar.
- Add those cherries to the milk in a medium bowl and pulse with an immersion blender, or food processor or other blender until only tiny pieces remain. Set cherry milk mixture aside.
- In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, sugar and vanilla until creamed together.
- Add egg whites, alternating with flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.
- Fold in the cherry milk mixture plus 2 tablespoons of the cherry juice until evenly combined.
- Fill lined cupcake pan three quarters of the way full with cherry cupcake batter and bake for approximately 20 minutes until set and springy.
- Allow cupcakes to cool for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Cherry Buttercream Frosting
- Beat softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and 4 tablespoons of the cherry juice until smooth.
- Pipe onto cupcakes, or spread with a spatula.
- Top frosted cupcakes with the reserved cherries.
Notes
Recipe Notes, Tips and Tricks:
- For a lighter, sponge-cake cupcake texture, whip the egg whites separately and fold them into the cupcake batter at the end after the maraschino mixture.
- Don't overmix the batter or the cupcakes can become flat.
- Reserve about a dozen of the best looking, most perfect cherries with stems to garnish the tops of the cupcakes once frosted.
- Maraschino cherries can be purchased stemless, or with stems, so check the label on the front of the jar to determine which ones you want to use.
- If you don't have a food processor or immersion blender, the cherries can be crushed in a zip lock bag with a rolling pin and whisked into the milk. (For the cupcake batter.)
- For a chunkier studded cherry cupcake, just give the maraschino cherries a rough chop.
- You can substitute canned cherries, such as red tart cherries, but be aware that the coloring will be more violet, and the cherry taste not as pronounced.
- Sifting the powdered sugar before beating it into the frosting will ensure that the cherry buttercream is smooth.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 366kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 196mg | Potassium: 96mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 67g | Vitamin A: 77IU | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 1mg