August 30, 2009 8 comments

Mini Cherry Cupcakes

Pretend that your favorite boutique cupcake bakery is located halfway across the country.  Pretend that despite this geographic divide you are a loyal subscriber of their email list which constantly updates you of their new seasonal cupcake offerings.  This, of course, leaves your mouth watering for key-lime pie or Irish cream cupcakes that you simply can’t get your grubby little hands on without boarding a plane.

Then they send out the announcement for their limited edition cherry cupcakes.  Gasp!  Oh good lord!  The craving overtakes you.  Rational thinking ceases to exist.  Suddenly you must find a way to make cherry cupcakes.  You know that they will likely pale in comparison, but you simply must have something cherry-flavored in the form of a cupcake.  Immediately.

Folks, let me give you a little heads up — if you, like me, decide that you simply must make these cupcakes from fresh cherries (rather than frozen, pre-pitted cherries), please do yourself a favor and make sure you have a cherry pitter before you embark on this adventure.  You wouldn’t think a cherry pitter would be that hard to find.  Let me assure you, it is.  They are cheap, they are obscure and, for anything cherry-related, they are completely necessary.  Buy one now.  You will thank me later.

My search for a cherry cake or cupcake recipe from scratch was as disappointing as my search for a homemade strawberry cake.  All of the recipes called for canned cherry pie filling or maraschino cherries.  Um, no thanks.  Instead, I decided to adapt a strawberry cake recipe I found after creating my own.  The cherry flavor is mild but you can definitely taste it.  I suppose you would need some cherry extract to get a very strong cherry flavor.  Regardless, this cake is moist, light, airy and melt-in-your-mouth satisfying.

Several of my cupcakes ended up pulling away from the liners after baking.  I’m not sure if this was because the recipe was so light and airy or if I was simply a victim of oppressive humidity.  They were still crazy delicious.  I ended up just removing most of the wrappers before serving them.  If you have an insatiable cherry craving like I did, let me know how these turn out for you.

Cherry Cupcakes with Cherry Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: 50 mini cupcakes

Cook Time: 14-15 minutes

Ingredients-

For the Cupcakes:
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
heaping 1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 cup cherry puree
4 egg whites
1/3 cup milk
red food coloring (optional)

For the Frosting:
1 8oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3-4 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup cherry puree

Directions-

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a mini-muffin pan or line with paper liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend for 30 seconds with an electric mixer.
- Add the butter and cherry puree. Mix until blended. Once blended, increase the speed of the mixer and beat until light and fluffy, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. The batter will be thick and creamy.
- Add a few drops of red food coloring, if using.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg whites and the milk. The mixture will be slightly frothy.
- Add the egg mixture in two additions. Scrape the bowl after each addition. Only mix to fully incorporate. Do not over mix.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan.
- Bake 14-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack.
- To make the frosting, mix together the softened cream cheese and the butter until smooth.
- Add the confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time. Scrape down bowl after each addition.
- Mix in the vanilla extract. Mix in the cherry puree.
- Frost cupcakes when they are completely cooled.

Adapted from Sky High's Strawberry Butter Cake

Cakes & Cupcakes, Desserts & Sweets

8 comments