Friday, May 20, 2011

Cherries and Cupcakes


Cherry Cupcakes

Cherry Cupcakes 1

It's cherry season and boy do I love cherries. Every year, at this time, I buy more than I can eat safely, and Alex and I gorge ourselves.

My mother-in-law tells me "Cherries make you cheerful". And they do. Did I mention I love cherries. Happy Dance!

This all leads me to Tuesday and a co-worker of mine bringing in a large crate of cherries. Her husband is an organic fruit buyer. Of course I take more than my share. Not that anyone was complaining since I seem to bring then lots of goodies that I make. But, what to do with all of these cherries.

cherry2

Lets start with some cherry cupcakes adapted from One Perfect Bite. This recipe is great, it incorporates a couple of the random flours that I have been accumulating over the past six months and it's chocolaty. However, this might be the last sweet thing I make for a while, hubby is determined that we go on a diet. We'll see how long that lasts. The next cherry recipe will be savory.

Cherry Cupcakes 2

Ingredients:

Cake
  • 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
  • 3/4 cup cake flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
  • 1-1/2 cups chopped pitted cherries
Frosting
  • 6 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1 /2 cup fat-free sour cream
  • 1 cup packed confectioners’ sugar
Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Line 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups with paper liners.
  • Whisk whole-wheat flour, cake flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
  • Beat granulated sugar and oil in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined.
  • Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined.
  • With mixer on low, alternately mix in dry ingredients and buttermilk, starting and ending with dry ingredients and scraping sides of the bowl as needed, until just combined.
  • Fold in chopped cherries until just combined.
  • Divide batter among prepared cups (they will be full).
  • Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 22 to 26 minutes.
  • Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
  • Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, sour cream and confectioners’ sugar with an electric mixer until smooth.
  • Refrigerate frosting until very cold, about 2 hours.
  • Garnish with a cherry on top.
  • Yield: 12 cupcakes.

cherry1

Please share with me some of your ideas about what to do with the rest of the cherries. I'd hate for them to go bad because I couldn't eat them fast enough.

Bon Appétit
D

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3 comments:

  1. I hope you made these while wearing your cherry apron! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cherries are best served in a moving vehicle, so one can dispose of the cherry pit quickly, while aiming at other cars.

    Could you chop them up and put them in round 3# of the chocolate mouse? Or shmush them and make Cherry Whipped Cream from scratch?

    I'm trying to find a good muffin recipe for my cherries...

    ReplyDelete
  3. YUM! These look great! I am your newest follower and would love it if you would check out my blog and follow me too! THanks!
    -Nikki
    http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete

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