I don’t know about you, but I sometimes get into a rut when it comes to cooking. We all have our favorites and I don’t often vary from mine. When it comes to creating art, home décor pieces, mixed media, scrapbooking, etc., I am extremely daring, but not so much in the kitchen. I discovered this amazing cupcake recipe on one of my go-to blogs Baking With Blondie. I highly recommend stopping by for a nice long visit; you’ll be glad you did.
This oh-so-sweet and yummy recipe yields approx 30 cupcakes. One of the things I love about these cupcakes is that not only do they look amazing, but they taste even better and when you follow Mandy’s recipe you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy they are to make.
Ingredients
cupcakes
1 box french vanilla cake mix
3 eggs
1 can cherry pie filling
2 t almond extract
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 C buttermilk
white chocolate ganache
1/4 C white chocolate chips
2 T heavy cream
cocoa buttercream frosting *BwB recipe
6 T unsalted butter, melted
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 C milk
2 1/4 C powdered sugar
1/2 t vanilla extract
1 t light corn syrup
pinch of salt
whole cherries
To make cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. Puree cherry pie filling in a blender or food processor until a fine, almost sauce forms. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add almond and vanilla extracts, and buttermilk.
4. Sift cake mix into egg mixture and add cherry pie filling. Stir only until incorporated.
5. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full, and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Let sit in pan for about 5 minutes, then finish cooling on a cooling rack.
To make frosting
1. With your stand mixer, beat the melted butter and cocoa powder until smooth.
2. Mix in milk, vanilla extract, salt, and light corn syrup on medium speed until thoroughly combined. It should be stiff, but you can add a teeny bit of milk here and there if it’s not coming together right.
3. Slowly, by 1/2 cup at a time, add in powdered sugar. Beat well between additions, and keep the speed low to keep the powdered sugar cloud to a minimum (unless you have a mixer cover, then you can go crazy mixing on medium).
To make ganache
1. In a glass bowl, add white chocolate and melt in the microwave (carefully, it burns very easily) about 15 minutes at a time. Stir between each heating, repeating until smooth and melted.
To assemble cupcakes
1. With about a teaspoon of the ganache, spread on a small circle on the top of the unfrosted cupcakes the size of about a silver dollar. Don’t cover the entire surface, but make the circle big enough for a later twist of frosting. Let dry until hardened.
2. Fill piping bag with a 1M star tip and plenty of frosting. Pipe a small swirl over the top of the cooled ganache. Immediately top with a washed and dried fresh cherry (it won’t stick if the frosting has hardened).
So whether you’re looking for perfectly healthy, scrumptiously savory, or something sinfully sweet you are going to love Mandy’s blog
Baking With Blondie, she really is the queen of all that is delicious. Say goodbye to boring meals!
Thanks for stopping in for a nice visit and I hope you’ve been inspired to create some yummy today.
