I do love maraschino cherries, probably because they are deliciously sweet. Baking a Moment adds chopped cherries to a moist and delicious vanilla cupcake…with the end result being so very pretty! The cream cheese frosting is flavored with a bit of bourbon for a little extra kick. Wonderfully different!
Cherry Chip Cupcakes with Bourbon Vanilla Frosting
Makes about 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cherry Chip Cupcakes:
- 1¼ cups all purpose flour
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅔ cup buttermilk
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon white vinegar
- ½ cup maraschino cherries, drained and finely chopped
For the Bourbon Vanilla Frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese (half a brick; do not use the kind in a tub)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon good bourbon whiskey (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup heavy cream, cold
Instructions
To Make the Cherry Chip Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a cupcake pan with papers.
- Place the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- Stir the buttermilk, oil, egg white, extracts, and vinegar together, in a large liquid measure.
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry, and mix on low speed until smooth, about a minute. Stir in the chopped cherries and fill the prepared pan no more than ⅔ full of batter.
- Bake for 18 minutes or until a bamboo skewer inserted in the thickest part of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Do not brown. Cool completely and frost with Bourbon Vanilla Frosting.
To Make the Bourbon Vanilla Frosting:
- Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl, along with the sugar, bourbon (if using), and extracts. Beat on medium speed (using the paddle attachment) until smooth and creamy.
- With the mixer at medium low speed, pour in the cold cream in a slow and steady stream.
- When all of the cream has been incorporated, stop the mixer, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, switch to the whisk attachment, and then whip on medium high until the frosting holds stiff peaks (about a minute). Take care not to over-whip, or the frosting could thin out and become runny.