Recipe: Boozy Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes
A cupcake with explosive, rich and decadent flavors of chocolate, vanilla, orange, bourbon and juicy cherries. This Bourbon Cherry Vanilla Cupcake is a flavorful, textural delight and will have you coming back for more. It’s a dessert to impress — perfect for Mom!
Bourbon Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Buttercream
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 24 cupcakes (2 dozen)
Cherry Bourbon Compote
12 oz pitted fresh (or frozen & thawed) cherries (about 2 ¼ cups)
½ cup bourbon whiskey (or orange juice for non-alcoholic)
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest, optional
Pinch of salt
Whipped Chocolate Buttercream
1 cup Videri 55% Dark Milk chocolate, chopped (or Baking Chocolate)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
Vanilla Cupcakes
2 ½ cups (265g) cake flour, sifted before measuring (or gluten free*)
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ (350g) cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
½ cup (120g) sour cream, room temperature
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup (240ml) whole milk, room temperature
Make your Compote
In a medium saucepan, bring all the ingredients to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until cherries are softened and start to release juices, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cherries to a heatproof bowl and set aside.
Simmer the remaining juices until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 10-12 minutes. Pour reduced syrup over the cherries and let cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to assemble cupcakes. Prep up to 1 week in advance and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Optional: Use an immersion blender or pulse in a food processor for a few seconds to break up the whole cherries in the compote.
Make your Chocolate Buttercream
In a medium-sized glass bowl, melt the chopped chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until smooth and fully melted. Remove from the microwave and let cool almost to room temperature, about 15 minutes - don’t skip this step. (If you don’t have access to a microwave, you can melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over low, simmering water on the stove until smooth and melted, while stirring continuously.)
In a large mixing bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer), combine the butter with 1 cup of the powdered sugar using a paddle attachment. Beat until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the remaining powdered sugar and beat again. Whip on medium speed for 3-4 minutes until light, smooth, and creamy.
Add the vanilla, salt and melted, cooled chocolate to the buttercream and mix on high for 2 minutes, scraping sides of the bowl to incorporate all of the chocolate. Add the buttercream to a piping bag or ziplock bag with a large star tip for piping on the cupcakes.
Make & Assemble your Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
Sift the cake flour first, then measure it out by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. (If making cupcakes gluten free - add 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum to your flour blend, if it does not already contain it.)
In the bowl of your stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter on high for two minutes until light and fluffy. Add in sugar and continue to mix on high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla and sour cream and mix for one minute on high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more.
With the mixer on low speed, add in ⅓ dry ingredients and ½ milk and mix until just combined. Add another ⅓ dry ingredients and rest of the milk. Add the remaining ⅓ of dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs until no streaks of flour remain (without over-mixing). The batter will be slightly thick. (*See notes below for gluten free cupcake tips.)
Scoop batter into the cupcake tin until each liner is about ⅔ full, and bake for 17-18 minutes. The cupcakes are done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing them from the pan and continuing to cool them for at least an hour.
Once completely cool, pipe a swirl of whipped chocolate buttercream on each cupcake and top with a spoonful of bourbon cherry compote. Enjoy!
Notes:
* For a gluten free cupcake, simply swap the cake flour for your favorite gluten free flour blend. If your blend does not contain xanthan gum, add 1 ½ teaspoon. Let gluten free batter sit for 5-10 minutes before scooping and baking - this allows the starches and flours to hydrate and helps keep the cupcake from being grainy.
Cherry compote recipe adapted from Bon Appetit & buttercream recipe adapted from Rosemary Whisk
Recipe & Photos Courtesy Of: Hannah Councilman at RosemaryWhisk.com (@RosemaryWhisk)
