Cherry almond cupcakes are pretty in pink! Moist and fluffy cherry almond cake studded with maraschino cherries and swirled with cherry almond buttercream frosting! This cupcake recipe is the perfect dessert for cherry lovers!
Ingredients for Cherry Almond Cupcakes
Cherry Almond Cupcakes
- All-purpose flour – Fluff the flour before measuring and level the measuring cups.
- Granulated sugar – For sweetness.
- Baking powder – Leavening agent to help the cupcakes rise.
- Salt – Enhances flavor and balances the sweetness.
- Milk – Room temperature.
- Egg whites – Room temperature. Save the egg yolks for vanilla crème brûlée!
- Sour cream – Room temperature. Sour cream adds moisture to the cake and compensates for the lack of egg yolks.
- Vegetable oil – Enhances flavor and balances the sweetness.
- Almond extract – Almond extract gives the cupcakes a delicious almond flavor.
- Maraschino cherry juice – The bright red juice from a jar of maraschino cherries. This adds flavor and color to the cupcake batter.
- Maraschino cherries – Chop the cherries into fine pieces so there are bits of cherry throughout the cupcakes.
Cherry Almond Buttercream Frosting
- Unsalted butter – Room temperature for easy creaming.
- Powdered sugar – Also known as confectioners’ sugar or icing sugar. You do not need to sift the powdered sugar unless it is lumpy.
- Salt – A bit of salt adds some contrast to the sweetness of the frosting and enhances the flavors.
- Almond extract – Almond extract gives the frosting amazing almond flavor.
- Maraschino cherry juice – For cherry flavor and beautiful pale pink color.
- Heavy cream – Heavy cream helps the buttercream whip up to be smooth and creamy.
Tools & Supplies for Making Cherry Almond Cupcakes
How to Make Cherry Almond Cupcakes
Cherry almond cupcakes are easy to make and only requires a mixing bowl and a whisk! The batter comes together in less than 5 minutes!
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F & line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Whisk together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Add in milk, egg whites, vegetable oil, sour cream, almond extract, and maraschino cherry juice.
- Whisk the flour mixture and wet ingredients together until combined and smooth. Add in the chopped maraschino cherries and mix until the cherries are dispersed throughout the batter.
- Portion the cupcake batter into cupcake liners using a large cookie scoop, 3/4 full. Be sure to get cherry bits in eat scoopful.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes until the cupcakes bounce back when gently touched.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
How to Make Cherry Almond Buttercream Frosting
To make the cherry almond buttercream frosting, I recommend using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or an electric hand mixer with a large bowl.
- Whip the butter on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add half of the powdered sugar and mix on low. Then add the remaining half and continue to mix on low speed.
- Add in the salt and almond extract and continue to mix on low. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is well mixed.
- Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream and maraschino cherry juice while mixing on low speed.
- Turn the mixer to medium-high and whip for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Switch to a paddle attachment and mix on the lowest speed for 2-3 minutes to remove air bubbles for a smooth buttercream.
Cherry Almond Cupcakes Recipe Tips
Bake perfect cupcakes
Check out my baking tips blog post on 10 Tips for Baking Perfect Cupcakes. In this post, I provide you with 10 easy tips and tricks to achieve perfect cupcakes every time!
Maraschino cherries
Be sure to cut the maraschino cherries into very small pieces to add to the cupcake batter. The smaller the pieces, the higher the likelihood you will get cherry bits in each bite of cupcake! Add a whole cherry to the top of each cupcake after frosting. Drain the cherries on a paper towel before adding to the cupcake to soak up any additional juice.
Ruffle buttercream swirl
To create the ruffle buttercream swirl, use a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip. Start in the center of the cupcake and create a swirl moving to the edges of the cupcake. The key to getting the ruffle appearance is to wiggle the piping tip a little bit as you are creating the swirl. When you reach the edge, pull the piping tip up and continue to swirl with little wiggles to create a ruffly “ice cream cone” swirl. Check out this video to see how it’s done!
Storing and serving
Cherry almond cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Remove the cupcakes from the refrigerator about an hour before serving to bring to room temperature.
Click here to see a quick video on how to make cherry almond cupcakes! Follow Cake Me Home Tonight on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for more recipe videos and baking tutorials!
Cherry Almond Cupcakes
Equipment
- Stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or electric hand mixer
Ingredients
Cherry Almond Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup milk room temperature
- 2 egg whites room temperature
- 2 tbsp sour cream room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp maraschino cherry juice
- 1 tsp almond extract
- ¼ cup maraschino cherries chopped
Cherry Almond Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 2 tbsp maraschino cherry juice
Instructions
Cherry Almond Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Add in milk, egg whites, sour cream, vegetable oil, maraschino cherry juice, and almond extract. Whisk the dry and wet ingredients together until well combined.
- Fold in chopped maraschino cherries until they are dispersed throughout the batter.
- Portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners with a large cookie scoop (3 tbsp) about ⅔ full.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes bounce back slightly when touched or an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cherry Almond Buttercream Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add room temperature unsalted butter. Whip the butter for 5 minutes on medium-high speed, scraping down the sides occasionally. The butter will be light, fluffy, and pale in color.
- Add one half of the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed setting until fully combined. Add remaining powdered sugar and continue to mix on low until incorporated.
- Add almond extract and salt and mix on low until combined.
- Drizzle in heavy cream and maraschino cherry juice while continuing to mix on low speed.
- Once the heavy cream and cherry juice are added, turn the speed on the mixer to medium-high and whip for an additional 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally to ensure the frosting is well mixed.
- If desired, switch to a paddle attachment on the stand mixer and mix buttercream on low speed for 2 additional minutes to remove air bubbles to create smooth frosting.
- Use a piping bag and a Wilton 1M piping tip to swirl the cherry almond buttercream frosting onto the cherry almond cupcakes in a ruffle swirl.
Notes
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Comments & Reviews
Could I put in some chopped almonds in the batter ? 😊
Hi Fatima! Absolutely! That sounds delicious.
These look delicious! Would this recipe work as a layer cake?
My second recipe I’ve tried from your website and these are absolutely amazing as well! Love all the almond flavor coming through and your instructions are always spot on. Always the exact amount of batter needed and perfect timing of 20 min. Thank you!
I am so happy to heart that you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for exploring my blog and trying out these treats! And I appreciate your kind words and positive review!! 🙂
As I’ve told you on your IG, I made these and they were amazing!! Everyone loved them!! Your recipes are seriously dangerous to my waistline, but you won’t hear complaints from the people I bake them for!! 🤗🤗
Thanks so much for trying out the recipe! I hear you with the waistline! It’s hard testing out all of these desserts but someone has to do it! Glad you enjoyed!
This recipe was easy to follow. The flavor from both, the cupcake and frosting was the perfect amount of sweet and cherry. The cupcakes were ridiculously moist….probably one if the best I’ve made. I love all the content and the bloggers interaction with me. Pleas keep posting, I love your content!
Thank you for trying the recipe! I’m thrilled that your enjoyed it and even happier that you enjoy my content! Welcome to CMHT community!