It's Cherry Season!

Cherries may be the prettiest fruit there is. Lucky for us we've got orchards full of them and they are ripe for the picking. When I think of summer, I think of sitting on the back porch sipping a cool, sweet drink. With that in mind, I wanted to make a cupcake that captured the flavor of summer but also showcased the beauty of our Bing and Rainier cherries. What better than cherry lemondade?

I could not find a recipe for cherry frosting that actually incorporated real, fresh cherries. They all called for maraschino cherry juice. Why would I ever use that when I have tons of fresh cherries at my disposal? I wound up having to kind of wing it and adapted the strawberry frosting recipe from Sprinkles using cherry puree. Cherries are extremely sweet all on their own so rather than using vanilla, I mixed in lemon juice to take a bit of the sweetness away. I piped the cherry frosting onto a lemon cupcake with a lemon curd filling and voila! The sweet and sour combination is awesome. Neither flavor is overpowering and they are so cute!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Malt Cupcakes

Saw these online and thought they were so stinking cute that I had to give them a try. Not only were they fun to look at, but they turned out pretty too! The recipe is posted at the end of the pictures. I dropped a Whopper into each cupcake before I baked them for an extra littl surprise:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the cupcakes:
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder
½ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1½ cups malted milk powder
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the buttercream:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
½ cup malted milk powder
4 tablespoons unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder
5 cups confectioner sugar, sifted
*Chocolate Covered Malt Balls and Straws to garnish (Optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa, both sugars, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together milk and malted milk powder until powder is dissolved.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat flour mixture, milk mixture and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add sour cream and vanilla, and beat just until combined.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each halfway. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.

While cupcakes are cooling, prepare frosting. In a large mixer bowl, whip the butter and shorting for several minutes until very light and fluffy. Sprinkle in malted milk powder and cocoa powder. Whip for 1 minute. Slowly add the powdered sugar a few spoonful at a time, letting it incorporate until the frosting becomes thick and stiff.


Fill bag with the frosting and pipe large swirls on top of cupcakes. Top with candies and straw garnish. Enjoy!