Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

Desserts

It’s been a couple months since we’ve had a lab birthday to celebrate, but I finally got the chance to whip up some cupcakes for our lab manager’s big day this week! I’m usually up pretty late when I undertake a baking project in the middle of the week, but this time I somehow managed to have the cupcakes completely decorated AND the entire kitchen cleaned by 11pm. Usually the kitchen is a complete disaster the next day and I have huge bags under my eyes, so I was pretty proud of my efficiency! Anyway, one of Christina’s favorite treats is black forest cake, so I decided to make chocolate cherry cupcakes.

I brushed the top of my chocolate cupcakes with a generous layer of cherry puree. Since cherries aren’t in season right now, I used frozen pitted sweet cherries from Dole, and they worked just beautifully. I also folded some of the cherry puree into whipped cream that I piped on top of the cupcakes. Of course, they weren’t complete without a sprinkle of dark chocolate shavings and a maraschino cherry on top too!

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cherry Puree:
12 ounces frozen dark sweet cherries, thawed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Cherry Whipped Cream:
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnishes:
1/2 ounce shaved dark chocolate
16 maraschino cherries

Directions:
To make the chocolate cupcakes, heat oven to 350˚F. Fill 16 cups of 2 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners. Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt together into the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until well combined. Add whisked liquids to dry ingredients and mix for 1 minute or until combined on medium speed. Scrape down sides of the bowl and mix again briefly. Evenly distribute cake batter into the 16 prepared cupcake liners, filling each about 3/4 full, and bake at 350˚F for 20 to 24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cupcake comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes in the pans, then remove cupcakes and place on a wire rack.

To make the cherry puree, place thawed cherries in a food processor and pulse until smooth, about one minute. Place puree in a small stockpot and stir in sugar and lemon juice; bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 2 minutes, stirring frequently, or until sugar is dissolved. Cool 1/2 cup of the puree to room temperature (I stuck mine in the freezer for 15 minutes) and set aside to use in the cherry whipped cream. Pierce each cupcake with a fork 5 times and use a pastry brush to evenly cover the cupcakes with the remaining cherry puree; evenly cover with one layer, allow to dry, and then add another layer, as needed.

To make the cherry whipped cream, place heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract in a well chilled bowl and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 1 1/2 minutes. Fold 1/2 cup cooled cherry puree into the whipped cream until smooth.

To assemble the cupcakes, place cherry whipped cream in a decorating bag with a 1M decorating tip. Quickly frost cupcakes evenly and top with shaved chocolate and the maraschino cherries. Store in the refrigerator until serving. Makes 16 cupcakes.

Nutrition: 368 calories, 22.9g fat, 2.1g fiber, 4.3g protein per cupcake
Cost: $0.56 per cupcake

Coconut & Lime Cheesecake Dessert Sushi

I’ve been wanting to develop another dessert sushi recipe for awhile now since I know it’s something people are very interested in (my Fruit-Filled Coconut & Chocolate Dessert Sushi recipe gets more google hits than any other recipe by far on my blog). I finally...

My Mom’s Culinary Arts Program and Chocolate Cake

I’ve been meaning to tell you about the very cool Culinary Arts High School Program my mom runs at Central Campus in Des Moines, Iowa for awhile now, and I figured this would be the perfect opportunity since I won’t be cooking up any recipes to share while we’re on...

Peanut Butter Chocolate Tart

We’ve started a fun tradition in lab this year where I try to bake something for each person’s birthday. You know I love having the excuse to try new dessert recipes! My only request when I started was that each person make a list of their favorite treats so that I...

Mini Brownie Cheesecakes with Caramel Peanuts

A few weekends ago, I completed the Buzzard’s Bay Sprint Triathlon! This tri consisted of a 1/3 mile swim, 14.7 mile bike ride, and 3.1 mile run. My official time was 1:34:08, so my splits were almost exactly the same as the ones from the tri I did last year, but...

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Truffles

You didn’t think I could resist dreaming up a treat for Valentine’s Day did you? I’ve always enjoyed the holiday and have fond memories of pouring through all the cartoon cards in my heart decorated box in grade school and placing small boxes of chocolate outside the...

Video: Sugar Cookie Dough Decorations

Who else looooves the Olympics?! I’ve been doing my best to avoid the web and twitter during the day so I don’t accidently read any spoilers before the broadcasts at night. I just love tuning in and watching all the events, and I want to cheer along and be surprised...

Chocolate Dulce De Leche Bars

Every month when the dining hall menu was released during college, my roommates and I circled one day on the calendar. This was a day that was not to be forgotten. This was a day that we quickly scurried to lunch giddy with anticipation. This was a day that was simply...

Pomegranate Blueberry Crumble

My favorite part of Trader Joe’s is the cereal aisle. They have so many unique choices! I normally have one of the high fiber/protein super nutritious ones for breakfast, but always enjoy a cup of the less healthy ones for dessert after dinner. They have one with...