A decadent cupcake version of a holiday candy favorite – cherry cordials! Rich chocolate cupcakes are topped with a sweet cherry frosting, bringing in all the flavors of a cherry cordial that no one will be able to resist with these Cherry Cordial Cupcakes.
One of my favorite flavors is cherry cordials. It used to be that these candies were only readily available at Christmas time, and they were on the expensive side. I remember my grandmother would always get me a box when they started appearing on shelves, and would let me have one, if I had behaved myself.
Nowadays, they’re a whole lot more budget friendly, but still kind of hard to find. These Cherry Cordial Cupcakes capture the flavors and allows us to indulge in these sweet treats year round.
How to Make Cherry Cordial Cupcakes
These Chocolate Cupcakes topped with a sweet homemade Cherry Frosting taste just like a cherry cordial candy, but in an easy to eat, decadent dessert! They are a perfect party friendly option for Valentine’s Day!
Ingredients for Chocolate Cupcakes:
- 1 3/4 C Flour
- 2 C Sugar
- 1 C Cocoa
- 1 1/2 TSP Baking Soda
- 1 1/2 TSP Baking Powder
- 1 TSP Salt
- 2 Eggs
- 1 C Whole Milk
- 1/2 C Oil
- 2 TSP Vanilla
- 1 C Boiling Water
Ingredients for Cherry Frosting:
- 4 C powdered sugar
- 1/2 C unsalted butter
- 3 TBSP heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 C Maraschino Cherry Juice
Instructions for Chocolate Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl add the eggs, whole milk, oil, and vanilla.
- Add the bowl containing the wet ingredients to the bowl holding the dry ingredients. Mix all together until fully incorporated.
- Beat for 3 minutes on medium.
- Slowly add the boiling water. The batter may be a little runny when it’s all added.
- Fill paper cupcake liners about 3/4 full with cupcake batter.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Instructions for Cherry Frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on high speed until stiff and fluffy.
- Add in 3 cups of powdered sugar, 1 cup or so at a time. Mix to incorporate well, and be sure to scrape the sides to get all of the sugar mixed in.
- Add the cherry juice and the last cup of powdered sugar.
- Beat until smooth, adding the whipping cream about 1 tbsp at a time to get a good consistency.
- If you’re feeling extra fancy, you can also drizzle the tops of the Cherry Cordial Cupcakes with your favorite bottled chocolate sauce and top each cupcake with a maraschino cherry.
Enhance the Chocolate Covered Cherry Flavor Even More:
If you are a huge fan of chocolate covered cherries like I am, here’s a tip for adding in even more cherry flavor:
- After you have baked your chocolate cupcakes and allowed them to cool, use the point of a sharp knife or a small cookie cutter to cut a small well in the top center of the cupcakes – do not discard the cut-out pieces of cake. Fill the well of the cupcake with a small spoonful of cherry preserves. Replace the top portion of cake, covering the preserves and then frost.
Tips for Making the Best Chocolate Cupcakes:
Here are a few of my no fail cupcake baking tips. Hopefully these will help make you a better baker as well!
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients: you’ll see many baking recipes call for ingredients like eggs or butter to be at room temperature and a lot of people ignore this step. If you use cold butter or eggs instead, the recipe isn’t going to taste the way it should.
- Mixing Ingredients: make sure you’re mixing the batter for the cupcakes together just until the wet and dry ingredients are combined. You don’t want to overmix, that tends to make for a denser cupcake.
- Let them Cool Completely: I know this step requires a lot of patience and plenty of time, but if you don’t allow them to cool down completely then the frosting will melt, and your decorations will end up being a waste of time.
More Cherry Recipes to Love:
- Quick and easy Three Ingredient Black Cherry Dessert Minis
- Cherry Limeade Cupcakes
- Cherry Sage Smash Cocktail
Cherry Cordial Cupcakes
A decadent cupcake version of a holiday candy favorite – cherry cordials! Rich chocolate cupcakes are topped with a sweet cherry frosting, bringing in all the flavors of a cherry cordial that no one will be able to resist.
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cupcakes:
- 1 3/4 C Flour
- 2 C Sugar
- 1 C Cocoa
- 1 1/2 TSP Baking Soda
- 1 1/2 TSP Baking Powder
- 1 TSP Salt
- 2 Eggs
- 1 C Whole Milk
- 1/2 C Oil
- 2 TSP Vanilla
- 1 C Boiling Water
For the Cherry Frosting:
- 4 C powdered sugar
- 1/2 C unsalted butter
- 3 TBSP heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 C Maraschino Cherry Juice
Instructions
For the Chocolate Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl add the eggs, whole milk, oil, and vanilla.
- Add the bowl containing the wet ingredients to the bowl holding the dry ingredients. Mix all together until fully incorporated.
- Beat for 3 minutes on medium.
- Slowly add the boiling water. The batter may be a little runny when it’s all added.
- Fill paper cupcake liners about 3/4 full with cupcake batter.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
For the Cherry Frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on high speed until stiff and fluffy.
- Add in 3 cups of powdered sugar, 1 cup or so at a time. Mix to incorporate well, and be sure to scrape the sides to get all of the sugar mixed in.
- Add the cherry juice and the last cup of powdered sugar.
- Beat until smooth, adding the whipping cream about 1 tbsp at a time to get a good consistency.
- Frost cooled cupcakes
Notes
If you’re feeling extra fancy, you can also drizzle the tops of the Cherry Cordial Cupcakes with your favorite bottled chocolate sauce and top each cupcake with a maraschino cherry.
