I am not a professional baker, but I do love to bake. There are several times where I try to come up with something new, and fail completely. However, I would not consider this tasty treat one of them.
So what prompted me to make these?!? My dad. He loves chocolate covered cherries. You know, the ones that come in a box? Yes those! When I was little he always had a stash of them somewhere. When I would find them I would eat all the chocolate on the outside and leave the cherry center. I didn’t like anything cream or fruit filled. I still don’t. My dad definitely didn’t think it was funny when I did that.
For the actual cupcakes, I used store bought chocolate cake mix. It’s just easier sometimes. And why try to recreate the wheel when Betty Crocker has been doing this a lot longer than I have…
While gathering all my ingredients for the frosting, I asked my husband, who is a certified executive chef, how to make cherry flavored buttercream frosting. He told me that I should use cherry extract. Well cherry extract didn’t make the grocery list because who actually has cherry extract on hand?!? And I definitely wasn’t going to the store with a toddler that has a set of lungs that will put an opera singer to shame, so I improvised.
It only took me two failed batches to get one that worked, but it was worth it. My dad LOVED them and that’s all that mattered. I don’t think my dad would of loved them as much if I would of given him one of my first two batches. See batch 2 below. What can I say…you live and you learn. #bakingfail
Buttercream Frosting Recipe
This might be the easiest recipe of ever. I have to thank my hubby for it. I’ve made buttercream frosting before, but used heavy whipping cream. Since I didn’t have any and was too lazy to go to the store my hubby said to use whole milk. It worked like a charm! Perks, of having a chef for a hubby. 😊
If you are looking for an easy and quick recipe for buttercream here it is!
Tip: This recipe made enough for me to add a layer in between two 8 inch cakes and a layer to the top. If you have more than 2 cakes and want to add a layer of frosting to each, I would recommend doubling this recipe.
Frosting Ingredients:
2 sticks of unsalted butter (softened)
4 1/4 cups of powdered sugar
3 tbsp of whole milk (can substitute heavy whipping cream)
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp of almond extract
18-20 fresh cherries (10 for the frosting, 8-10 for the drizzle)
Before you start the frosting, I will warn you the making of the frosting is very messy! So make sure you don’t have nice clothes on and wear gloves if you have them on hand or don’t wear gloves and have red dyed hands for a couple days.
Step 1: Whip the softened butter in a mixer until fluffy. Don’t over beat the butter. THIS IS KEY!
Step 2: Add in the remaining ingredients and mix until peaks form.
Tip: I like to use almond extract, but you can substitute vanilla extract if you aren’t a fan of almond.
Step 3: Squeeze the juice of 10 cherries directly into the mixing bowl with the buttercream frosting. Fold the juice in with a rubber spatula instead of mixing it in to prevent the butter from separating. This is where I messed up the first batch.
Tip: I used the juice of 10 cherries to achieve the light pink you see below. If you want a darker shade of pink use more cherries until you reach the desired shade.
Step 4: Pipe the frosting onto your cupcakes.
Tip: I always use a gallon size ziplock bag and cut one of the corners off of the bag. You can also use frosting bags and a tip if you prefer. When I use a tip I tape the tip to where I made the cut in the bag. Easy peasey.
This batch looks way better, huh?
Step 5: Using the 4-5 cherries (for the drizzle), squeeze a small amount of juice from one cherry on the top of each cupcake. I was able to use the juice from one cherry for three cupcakes. Once you have drizzled the cherry juice onto all the cupcakes, set them aside to make the chocolate coated cherries.
To make the chocolate covered cherries follow the instructions below.
Chocolate Covered Cherry Ingredients:
24 fresh cherries
1 bag of girahadell dark chocolate
Tip: I made cupcakes, so counted out 24 cherries to dip before making the chocolate.
Step 1: You’ll melt the chocolate with the bain-marie method i.e. fill a medium sized sauce pan halfway with water, turn the stove on to medium/high, then set a heat safe bowl (I use a stainless steel one) on top of the sauce pan.
Step 2: Lay out a piece of wax paper big enough to put all your dipped cherries on.
Step 3: Add the chocolate to the heat safe bowl and continually mix with a spoon until all the chocolate is melted.
Step 4: Dip one cherry at a time into the chocolate then set on the wax paper to cool.
Step 5: Repeat step 4 until all cherries are dipped.
Tip: make sure to space the cherries out and allow the chocolate to completely solidify before using. Depending on the humidity, the chocolate should solidify with 20 minutes.
Step 6: Once the chocolate on the cherries has solidified place one on each of the cupcakes.
Step 7: Enjoy!
These cupcakes were a big hit at my families 4th of July cookout! I will definitely be making them again. I would also recommend telling everyone that the cherries are pitted before serving.
Well friends, that’s all for this post. I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions please leave a comment below or message me on Instagram. My handle is @acarriedaffairdesigns You can also follow along with me on Pinterest. My username is acarriedaffair.
Until next time. Xo
