I’ve been teasing you with pictures of this recipe all week long, so I figured I’d better just post it already or we might have a riot on our hands.

When I saw Annalise from Completely Delicious post her recipe for Cherry Chip Cake I knew that I had to make it. I just couldn’t get it out of my head! Her pictures are gorgeous and everything she makes is top notch (her quick and easy croissants are one of my favorites!). Pop over to her post and check it our yourself. She’s amazing, and this recipe did not disappoint. I made a few minor changes to the recipe and turned them into cupcakes but you can thank Annalise for the goodness because the recipe is hers.

I swapped out the cake flour for all-purpose so that the cupcakes would have a slightly more dense and sturdy crumb. When you want a hand-held treat it is nice when it sticks together. And the cherry flavoring is so delicious. It’s way better than a box of cherry chip cake and it’s not quiet as bold as just plain maraschino cherries. My husband, who doesn’t enjoy fake cherry flavoring, really did like these. I, who quite likes a boxed cherry chip cake, was completely sold. They were excellent! And this frosting… oh wow. It’s light and fluffy and has rich depth of flavor thanks to some vanilla, almond, and coconut flavoring. It still tastes like vanilla though; I promise you can’t taste the coconut.

So do yourself a little favor and keep track of this recipe for the next time you need a dessert. Not only are they absolutely delicious but they are just gorgeous to look at too.

MY OTHER RECIPES

And now I want to make another batch… peril of food blogging indeed!

Cherry Chip Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Icing

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

1 10-ounce jar maraschino cherries
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice

For the vanilla frosting:

1 cup (unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon coconut extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two muffin tins with 24 cupcake liners.
Drain the marachino cherries and reserve the juice. Chop the cherries with a sharp knife.
In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (stand mixer or hand mixer work great here), this should take 3-5 minutes. Add the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each ones. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and stir to combine.
In a medium bowl add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together.
In a small bowl combine the buttermilk and 2 tablespoons of the reserved maraschino cherry juice.
Add 1/3 of the flour to the sugar mixture and stir to combine. Add 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture to the sugar mixture and stir to combine. Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour, and then the rest of the buttermilk mixture, and finish with the last 1/3 of the flour, mixing after each addition. Stir in the chopped cherries.
Put 1/3 of a cup of the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cake is done. You’ll know that they are done when you press lightly on the top and the cake springs back (no indent is left) or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
When they are done let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove them onto a wire rack and let them cool completely before frosting.

For the icing:

Add all of the icing ingredient to the bowl of your stand mixer (with the whisk attachment on). Mix on low until the ingredients start to come together and then increase the speed to high. Mix on high for 4 to 5 minutes until the icing is light and fluffy. Place the icing in a pastry bag with an 2A tip and pipe onto cooled cupcakes.
Enjoy now or store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Notes

The icing consistency is important… you can find some tips on what you are looking for and how to achieve that texture/consistency here.

If you liked these homemade cherry chip cupcakes you might also like these recipes:
Classic Chocolate Butter Cream Icing for Cupcakes
Lemon Pomegranate Cupcakes from Taste and Tell
Coconut Cupcakes from Completely Delicious
Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

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Cherry Chip Cupcakes