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Cherry-Almond Vanilla Cupcakes

I saw these on Pinterest a while back, and couldn't wait to make them! In fact, I had a dream I was making these last night. Great. Now I'm even dreaming about food blogging. 

I'm a huge fan of gourmet cupcakes. Locally, we have some really tasty places to fill that craving: The Sweet Tooth Fairy, The Chocolate, The Cocoa Bean, and Cupcakes Take the Cake. Lucky me, eh? Recently, on the Food Network, they had The Sweet Tooth Fairy on 'Cupcake Wars'. And guess what? THEY WON the whole dang thing! Kudos, guys. I'm so happy I can just drive down the street and have one of their fantastic cupcakes whenever I want (or whenever the purse will allow). Their cake bites are ridiculous. My favorites are their vanilla coconut and salty caramel.

Even if I went to a cupcake cafe every so often, it wouldn't be nearly enough to fill my sweets cravings (again, it's a good thing I'm a runner). So, it was time to bust out my D e s s e r t s board on Pinterest, and get to work on these tasty lovers. They're obviously not as beautiful as Sweet Tooth Fairy, but I think they'll satisfy perfectly until the next time we meet again.

The almond extract takes the cake - er... cupcake. I love the way the flavor folds in with the cherries so perfectly. One cupcake is enough for a while, though. They're super-rich. Make sure you buy the big bottle of maraschino cherries if you make this - you're going to need the juice in both the cupcakes and frosting.

Also, doubling the frosting is a must.

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Cherry-Almond Vanilla Cupcakes
recipe adapted from Better Homes

cupcake:
1/2 c butter
4 egg whites
2 c all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
3/4 c buttermilk
1/3 c maraschino cherry juice
1 1/2 c sugar
1 t vanilla
1/2 t almond extract
12 maraschino cherries, halved

frosting:
1/2 c butter, softened
4 c powdered sugar
3 T maraschino cherry juice
1/2 t almond extract
milk

For starters, make sure your butter and egg whites have reached room temperature (takes around 30 minutes). While they're reaching room temperature, line your muffin tin with paper muffin cups. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a small bowl, also combine buttermilk and cherry juice. Set both aside.

Preheat your oven to 350 F. With your stand mixer, beat butter on medium/high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, vanilla, and almond extract - beat until combined. One at a time, add egg whites, beating well after adding each one. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after adding each until combined.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, about 2/3 full. Use a spoon to smooth batter. Press a cherry into batter in each cup.

Bake for 15-18 minutes - until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool on wire racks after cooling cupcakes in muffin tin for about 5 minutes.

Make frosting: Fluff butter in mixer, add in maraschino cherry juice and almond extract. Slowly (about 1/2 cup at a time) add in powdered sugar. After all powdered sugar has been added, add milk to desired consistency. Using your pastry bag fitted with whatever tip you choose, pipe your frosting on your cupcakes. Top with cherries! This makes about 24 cupcakes.

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Comments

  1. This looks so good, thanks for sharing!

    New follower :)

    Stephanie
    www.chocolatecoveredbuttons.com

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for following, Stephanie! I've followed you right back :)

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  2. Do you push the cherry into the middle of the batter for each cupcake or just centered on top?

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    Replies
    1. Both. That's why I suggested buying the bigger bottle of maraschino cherries (so each cupcake can have a cherry center and cherry topper!)

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  3. I think they hand these out at the door of heaven, so beautiful and they sound scrumptious. Please share these on my foodie friday linky today.

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    Replies
    1. You're a sweetheart! That's the cutest thing I've heard today! Thanks Diane :) I've linked it up to your party.

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  4. These are the cutest cupcakes! And I've got a birthday party coming up soon.
    Thanks for the great idea. I've tried twice to pin it, but I think Pinterest is swamped with pinners this [Saturday] morning. :-) So I copied and saved. I'm your newest follower. I hope you'll stop in at Cranberry Morning and follow me back?

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  5. Your cupcakes are beautiful. I would enjoy one of those at this moment..........I posted a cake today that I saw on pinterest that site is addicting.......Andi thewednesdaybaker

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  6. These look and sound fabulous!

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  7. Yum! Those look SO good! New follower via Six Sisters'.

    Jessica @ http://www.athometake2.blogspot.com

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  8. Those are beyond beautiful! Love those photos. I want to lick my screen!

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    Replies
    1. Dorothy! You're a sweetheart - these cupcakes are by far my husband's favorite!

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  9. Replies
    1. I snuck a couple of these lovers over to my sister, her husband, and my mom that evening - they loved em! Wish I could share them with my readers!

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  10. Those look amazing! Thanks again for sharing on SweetTalkin' Sunday!

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  11. oh wow.. have to pin this! They look great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Woo hoo! Thanks for pinning. You won't regret it.

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  12. These look too pretty to eat!

    -Four Sisters

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    Replies
    1. Oh, eat it we did. I think these are by far my favorite I've made so far on here.

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  13. These cupcakes look amazing!! Lovin this recipe! Thanks for being a part of our "Strut Your Stuff Saturday." Hope to see you again real soon!! -The Sisters

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  14. Beautiful Work! They look so yummy.

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    Replies
    1. They were a little too yummy :) I wish we hadn't eaten them so fast!

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  15. Thanks for linking up this great recipe @CountryMommaCooks link and great party. Hope to see you again tomorrow:)

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  16. Wow! These look fantastic! Featuring you this weekend! XO, Aimee

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  17. Oooh, I love using almond extract - these sound delicious! We have a birthday coming up, so I'll have to try these. Thanks for linking up.

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    Replies
    1. I promise they'll be a hit. They're by far my favorite cupcakes I've made!

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  18. Hi Blondie,

    These look great! I would really like to make these for my daughter's first birthday this Sunday. Do you think the recipe will double or triple okay? I need about 36 cupcakes and another smallish cake for my daughter to smash. Think doubling is enough or should I go triple?

    Thanks!

    Marisa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These will be a total hit - I promise. And congrats on your little one turning one!

      Alright, frosting: For one batch, I doubled the frosting recipe (then again, there was as much recipe per cupcake as you see in the picture above. So if you want less, maybe one batch is fine, but the frosting is A-MAZING, so probably double it.)

      Cupcakes: You'll get about 24ish cupcakes for one batch, so you'll probably have a few cupcakes left over if you double it (I'm sure your guests won't mind :) So I would definitely double it.

      Good luck! And let me know if you have any other questions! :)

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  19. hello my friend! I'm a pinterest contributor for Better Homes & Gardens & I've pinned this cherry almond cupcake recipe as a new fav!! Check out the pin here: http://pinterest.com/pin/56787645271769457/ on this board: http://pinterest.com/bhg/blogger-recipes-we-love/

    You seriously had me at cherry but then the almond threw me over the edge and that FROSTING...oohhh that frosting!
    xo

    http://www.NorthernCottage.net (blog)
    http://pinterest.com/northernc/ (pinterest)

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  20. I'm so excited to try these tonight. Thanks for the recipe!

    iheartfoodandsocanyou.blogspot.com

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  21. made these and i'm kindof obsessed. so delish.

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  22. I made these last night and brought them to work today. Everyone loves them. These came out perfect. I highly recommend this recipe. It is probably the best cupcake I've made from search.

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  23. Okay so I'm wantign to make these for my sister-in-laws babyshower. She's allergic to red food dye and I want to make pink polka-dot cupcakes. How bright of a pink are these? I have a can of all natural pitted tart cherries, I was wondering if I used all the juice if it would be a brighter pink or not.

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    Replies
    1. How wonderful!! These are a pretty soft pink - but it completely depended on how much maraschino juice I added to the frosting. With that stuff, the more you add, the pinker it gets. But seeing as how she's allergic, smart move using the other stuff. I've never worked with all natural pitted ones from the can, but I promise if you puree and strain those beautiful fresh cherries (in season right now here in Utah anyways), you'll be able to get the color you're looking for.

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  24. Just made these - they are pretty much what I thought heaven would taste like!! Thanks for the recipe!

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