Sour Cherry Cupcakes

These Sour Cherry Cupcakes are fresh tasting, not too sweet and even better when topped with a very light cream cheese buttercream.

I made the cupcakes by whipping up my favorite buttermilk cake recipe and adding a splash of almond extract and three cups of sour cherries that I cooked down with a bit of sugar and cornstarch.

When it comes to the frosting, I'm almost too embarrassed to share my recipe because it's so basic and takes just a few minutes to make. It's only cream cheese whipped with unsalted butter, a bit of powdered sugar and vanilla —  and I hope proves that difficulty doesn't correspond with deliciousness. There really is no need to ever use sickly sweet frosting from a can.

Here are the recipes:
Sour Cherry Cupcakes
(makes 30 to 36) 
3 cups frozen or fresh pie cherries
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs plus 2 egg yolks, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature

In a saucepan combine the cherries, 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch. Heat the mixture over medium high heat until simmering and the juices exude and thicken. Use a potato masher or back of a spoon to break apart the cherries as they cook. This takes a good 5 to 7 minutes.

The cherry mixture after cooking.

Let the mixture cool completely to room temperature.

Now for the cupcake batter — Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with papers.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy, about 6 minutes.

Beat in the eggs plus egg yolks, one at a time, until combined. Beat in the vanilla and almond extract.

In another large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. With mixer on low, add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating to combine. Beat in 3/4 cup buttermilk, another third of the flour mixture, another 3/4 cup buttermilk, and remaining flour mixture until just combined. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Once the batter is mixed, add the cooled cherries.

The cupcake batter and the cooled cherries are ready to be combined.

Pour the cherries into the batter.

Fold the cherries into the batter just until they are combined.

Gently fold in the cooled cherry mixture. Don't over mix.

Fill the cupcake papers 3/4 full.  Bake for 18 to 22 minutes in a 350-degree oven or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Before baking.

After baking.

Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Easy Cream Cheese Buttercream
12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and whip again.

Frost the cupcakes after they have cooled completely. I used a piping bag fitted with a 1M tip to add the frosting but you could also just plop on a few spoonfuls and spread it with a table knife. 

Black Forest Cupcakes

I made these Black Forest Cupcakes for my friend Fred's birthday. To create them I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe from the back of the box of Trader Joe's cocoa powder and then made a cherry filling using dark Morello cherries.

I like the homemade filling because it isn't too sweet and the flavor of the cherries really stands out as opposed to canned cherry filling that tastes more like straight sugar than cherries.

To finish them off I made a Swiss Meringue chocolate buttercream and topped them with a stemmed Maraschino cherry. These treats are pretty and festive and would be a great addition to your holiday table.

Here's the recipe:

Black Forest Cupcakes
(makes 24 to 30 cupcakes)

"World's Greatest and Easiest Chocolate Cake":

 3 1/3 cups flour

1 1/3 cups cocoa powder

3 cups sugar

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 teaspoons salt

12 ounces butter 

3 cups buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla 

5 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers.

Place all ingredients in electric mixer bowl and beat on high speed for 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl once during mixing. Pour into muffin tins.  Bake cupcakes for about 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cupcakes ready for the oven. This recipe makes a lot so you might have to bake them in batches if you don't have enough muffin tins.

Cherry Filling:

1 cup Dark Morello Cherries, drained (I buy mine at Trader Joe's)

1 tablespoon of the cherry juice

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/8 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

In a saucepan, combine cherries, sugar and almond extract. Cook over medium heat for five minutes until simmering and try to smash the cherries as much as possible. 

Simmering cherries, try to smash them up as much as possible as they simmer.

In a small cup combine the cornstarch and milk. Mix until smooth and add to the simmering cherries, stirring constantly. Simmer another 4 minutes or until the mixture is thickened.

Transfer the cherries to the mixing bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Beat for three minutes to help break up the cherries more. Let this mixture cool completely before adding the final ingredients.

After breaking up the cherries more by using your whisk attachment, let this cool completely at room temperature before adding the butter and cream cheese.

When the mixture is completely cool, add the butter and cream cheese and whip until smooth. 

Your filling will look like this after adding the butter and cream cheese.

Transfer to a pastry bag with just a coupler inserted. Push the coupler into the center of each cupcake and pipe about a tablespoon of the cherry filling into each one.

Filled cupcakes ready to be frosted.

Chocolate Buttercream:

6 large egg whites
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch of fine sea salt
1 teaspoon espresso powder, dissolved in 1 teaspoon hot water, cooled

2/3 cup dark chocolate pieces, melted and cooled

Place the whites in a clean mixing bowl. Whisk in sugar and cream of tartar.

Place bowl over a double boiler on medium heat, stir frequently until the mixture is very hot (120 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit).

Move to mixer and whip whites on high for 2 to 3 minutes; turn down to medium low until cool (use the bowl as your guide).

In a separate bowl with a wooden spoon, stir butter to soften.

With mixer on medium/high speed, add the butter one tablespoon at a time, adding the next tablespoon just as the previous one is blended in. Once all the butter incorporated, add in vanilla, salt, coffee and chocolate whip on high speed until fluffy.

Garnish: 

Maraschino cherries, drained.


Frost each cupcake and top each with a cherry.

All done!