Cherry vanilla cupcakes
I whipped up a batch of cherry vanilla cupcakes yesterday for Valentine’s Day. Mac and I spent a super romantic evening wandering around Lowe’s shopping for lamps and rugs. I originally found the recipe via Pinterest and made it into cupcakes instead of a round cake. I did use pasteurized egg whites which aren’t supposed to whip up, but I possess a greater will than said egg whites.
The cupcakes are really moist and tender. I love the balance of the chopped cherries, cherry juice, and the vanilla extract. The vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream is a bit time-consuming but is totally worth the effort. It’s light and creamy and perfectly delicious with the cake.
Cherry vanilla cupcakes
- Yield: 18 1x
Ingredients
Maraschino Cake
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup milk (I used skim)
- 1/2 cup maraschino cherry juice
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 2 tablespoons flour for sprinkling over diced cherries
- 10 oz bottle maraschino cherries, finely chopped
- 4 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks
Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
- 5 egg whites
- 1 cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
- 3 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract (my delicious addition)
Instructions
Maraschino cake
- Preheat oven to 340 degrees. Line muffin tins (I wound up with about 18).
- Beat the butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. Combine milk, cherry juice, and almond extract and add alternately to the butter and sugar with the flour mixture.
- In a small bowl, sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of flour over the diced cherries and stir until the flour has been completely absorbed. Note: It’s okay if the cherries still have a little juice on them after this.
- Stir cherries into the batter.
- Fold stiffly beaten egg whites into the batter. Pour into lined tins and bake 15-18 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
- Set a saucepan filled one-third full of water over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.
- Whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and salt in a large heatproof bowl. Set over the simmering water and whisk until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar has dissolved.
- Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Increase to medium-high until stiff peaks are formed.
- Continue beating at medium-high speed until the mixture is fluffy and has cooled (the mixing bowl should feel cool to the touch).
- Turn the mixer off and switch from the whisk attachment to the paddle. Turn the mixer on medium-low and add the butter, a few cubes at a time, beating until well incorporated before the next addition.
- Add the vanilla extract. Beat until the frosting is thick and completely smooth.
- Store in an airtight container until ready for use. Enjoy these with a nice cold glass of water in order to prevent a sugar coma.
Notes
Make sure your butter isn’t too soft. If it is, your buttercream won’t come together, and you will wind up adding a lot of powdered sugar to tighten it up.
