Almond Cupcakes with Fresh Cherry Frosting – Moist almond cupcakes made from scratch are topped with a light and fluffy cherry frosting, made from fresh cherries.
We are definitely cupcake fans! If you’re looking to make even more cupcakes, try these Carrot Cake Cupcakes or these Circus Animal Cookie Cupcakes.
I’m not a live-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl. I like a schedule, and for the most part, I like predictability. Boring, right? Sometimes I wish I was more carefree, but I’m not one of those people that wake up in the morning saying “what am I going to do today?” I already know. Sometimes – or most of the time – the day doesn’t go exactly as planned, but there is almost always a plan.
As a blogger, I have a schedule, and I stick to it. I like to keep things organized, and I have an editorial calendar that I refer to often. At any given time, I probably have at the very least 2 weeks worth of recipes that are already made and photographed, just waiting to get posted.
Which is why it sometimes gives me anxiety to see other bloggers who are busy cooking something up in their kitchen, then Instagramming it, saying how it is going on their blog the next morning. It is extremely rare for me to make something and then post it the next day. I’m just weird like that!!
But I’m stepping out of my comfort zone today, because I just made these cupcakes yesterday. And as I took a bite, I knew that I couldn’t wait to share them. Especially since cherry season is so short and you need to make these before cherries disappear from store shelves.
I actually spent a good part of my day of my day yesterday perfecting these cupcakes. I don’t usually try multiple versions of something in the same day, but I was determined. I had purchased a big bag of cherries on sale, and I needed to use them quickly before they went bad. As I thought about what to do with them, the idea of a fresh cherry frosting came to mind. And I love the almond/cherry pairing, so it was only natural that I paired the fresh cherry frosting with almond cupcakes.
The almond cupcakes are simple and perfect. Tender and moist, with just the perfect amount of almond flavor. Then the cupcakes are topped with a creamy, light, and fresh cherry frosting. I was a little afraid that the cherry flavor wouldn’t really come through, so I added a whole cup of cherries – which ended up being the perfect amount of cherries. The cherries are pitted and then chopped before they are added to the buttercream. Just make sure you use a piping tip that is open enough for the cherry chunks to come through. This frosting is so good that I wanted to just eat it with a spoon!
Combine the almond cupcakes with the fresh cherry frosting and you have the perfect summertime cupcake recipe. Just make sure you have someone to share with, because you’ll want to eat them all yourself!
More Fruity Cupcakes:
Peach Cupcakes
Caramel Banana Cupcakes
Key Lime Cupcakes
Lemon Sunshine Cupcakes
Coconut Cherry Cupcakes
Raspberry Coconut Cupcakes
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Almond Cupcakes with Fresh Cherry Frosting
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
Fresh Cherry Frosting:
- 1 cup butter at room temperature
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup fresh cherries pitted and finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 18- muffin cups with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and mix to combine.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl in between additions. Beat in the almond extract. Add one-third of the flour mixture, beat to combine, then half of the buttermilk. Add another one-third of the flour, the remaining buttermilk, then the remaining flour. Beat just until combined.
- Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full of the batter. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool completely.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until completely combined. Beat in the salt and the almond extract, then turn the mixer to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the cherries and any juices that may have accumulated. Beat on low until combined, then turn to medium-high and beat an additional 2-3 minutes. The frosting should be light and creamy and smooth.
- Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes. Top with an additional cherry, if desired.
Miriam Campbell says
Recipe looks good, but I replaced the flour with almond flour for a better flavor
Jeannie says
Do you weigh your cherries before or after you put and stem them? Thanks. Planning on using this for filling in almond macarons.
Deborah says
For these, I measured before I pit the cherries.
Lily says
Amazing and incredibly delicious. So fresh and summery with the fresh sweet cherries. I can’t get over how good this was. My guests RAVED about it. I did add more almond extract but that was the only modification. Thank you for this terrific recipe!
Angela wheeler says
These are so easy to make and taste great.
H. Dennis says
I made only the frosting, used vegan margarine and didnt have almond extract, so substituted vanilla.
This frosting is easy to make, pretty and absolutely delicious!
I recommend it and will keep it in my recipe ‘stash’ to make again,especially when cherries are in season.
Kudos on this one!
Ash says
I made these following the recipe exactly. But my frosting turned out thick, chunky, and buttery tasting instead of fluffy and light like your beautiful pictures. Taste is ok but not amazing. I’m thinking I must have done something wrong somehow. I used unsalted butter and I’m pretty certain I got ingredients right. Could I have beat the butter too high at the beginning? I used medium speed since it didn’t say. I’m really excited abt these and want to try them again! Any tips?
Deborah says
I don’t think you beat the buttercream too high – it gets beat quite a bit to get air mixed in to make it light and fluffy. Maybe try beating it even longer if yours was thick. This frosting might separate a bit after you add in the cherries, but if it does, just keep beating until it comes together and it’s light and fluffy. It is a buttercream, so it should taste somewhat buttery. I have seen some people use part butter and part shortening if they want less of a butter flavor.
Catherine says
Dear Deborah, your cupcakes look beautiful. I love the combination of almonds and cherries…perfect! xo, Catherine
Bee says
I’ve made these cupcakes twice now (two nights in a row actually). The first time I baked these, I followed the recipe to the T. The almond flavor was wonderfully aromatic, but the cake was a little too dense and it did not rise like a typical cupcake. On my second try, I replaced 1/4 tsp of baking powder with baking soda and extended the baking time to 21 minutes (depends on the oven I suppose). The second batch was perfection. Because this recipe uses buttermilk instead of whole milk, I thought that using a little baking soda would be the best way to make these cakes a bit fluffier (since baking soda reacts with the acidic buttermilk and aerates the batter). Even though I tweaked the recipe, I don’t mean to take any of the thunder away from the original recipe. If the great flavor was not there to begin with, I would not have given this recipe a second look. Thanks for sharing!! =]
Deborah says
I’m so glad they worked out well for you!! And I’m always a fan of changing up recipes to make them perfect for your tastes – I love that you did that!!
naushin says
Hi! I love any fruit in buttercream. However mine always separates when I add the fruit. Any tips on how to prevent that? Gorgeous cupcakes btw..will make them for a dinner party I am hosting
Deborah says
I didn’t have that problem with these cupcakes, but I did when I made my Cranberry Orange Cupcakes (https://www.tasteandtellblog.com/cranberry-orange-cupcakes/). I talk about it on that post a little bit, but the only way I was able to save the frosting was to wrap a towel that I had run under hot water around the base of the mixing bowl and beat it like crazy. The heat brought the buttercream back together. It was a little softer than I usually make my buttercream, but after piping it onto my cupcakes I refrigerated them and it set up just fine.
Jackie says
Hi Deborah
I made these cupcakes, but once I added the chopped cherries the frosting broke and it was running, what do you think went wrong.
Meghan says
I bake regularly, but rarely make cupcakes and I have never ever pinned a cupcake recipe until I saw these two days ago on Pinterest. I made them last night and they were perfection! We loved them so much. I am going to make them every year during cherry season from now on. Thank you for sharing!
Deborah says
Thank you so much, Meghan! This was the best comment to wake up to!
Jackie says
Hi
When you made thesr cupcakes did you fill the empty muffin tins with water or did you leave them empty.
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life says
These are gorgeous girl!!! And I am with you on making stuff way ahead and posting later. I have photos on my computer from a month ago that haven’t been posted. Shoot! I think there are even some from January that I still need to share. It has be an amazing recipe for me to post it right away. LOL that sounds kind of bad because really I think all of them are amazing. But you know what I mean…right? I am loving the almond and cherry flavors in these. And that pink frosting…I just want a bowl and a spoon!
Deborah says
Haha – I totally know what you mean! xoxo!
donna knight says
l made the almond cupcakes but because l had fresh raspberries l used them for the frosting instead of cherries because raspberries are a little juicier l used just a little more icing sugar turned out great my family gobbled them up pretty fast
Deborah says
I’m so glad your family loved them – and I love the sound of a raspberry version!
Chels R. says
Oh, Deborah! These photos are gorgeous-I love that you took it outside, because the greenery in the back is very pretty. These sound amazing and I’m so impressed with your schedule. I am lucky if I have all of my recipes ready to go, but I certainly don’t have two weeks worth. I have a hard time finding the time with the kids to get it all done.