Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup Cherry 7-Up, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 tablespoon maraschino cherry juice
- Red food coloring (2-3 teaspoons, more if desired)
- Yield: 1 dozen (12) or 2 mini dozen (24)
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350F and line cupcake pan with liners (I would suggest using white liners if you’re planning on making the bottom layer of batter pink/red).
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour (1 1/2 cups), baking powder and sea salt.
In a standing bowl mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar and butter and cream until light and fluffy at least 2-3 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
Reduce speed to low, alternate adding half of flour mixture and half of the Cherry 7-Up, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until combined.
Add the vanilla & almond extract and mix until combined.
Reserve 3/4 cup of batter in small bowl and combine with 1 tablespoon of flour, maraschino cherry juice and red food coloring.
Evenly distribute pink/red batter in each cupcake liner and smooth out before adding the regular batter to each liner.
Try not to mix the 2 batters.
Bake for 15-20 minutes (for regular sized cupcakes) and 8-1o minutes (in my oven, for mini sized cupcakes) or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pinch salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
12-24 maraschino cherries with stem, for garnish
In a standing bowl mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy at least 2-3 minutes.
With the mixer on low, add the pinch of salt, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract and lemon juice and mix until combined.
Whip the buttercream until smooth and add the maraschino cherry juice to the buttercream and mix until combined. The maraschino cherry juice gives it a nice subtle flavor and the prettiest light pink color.
Pipe with a star tip and garnish each cupcake with a cherry.