Cherry Chocolate Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
This Cherry Chocolate Cupcakes recipe with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting is decadent, fluffy and perfectly moist. Treat yourself!
This Cherry Chocolate Cupcakes recipe with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting is decadent, fluffy and perfectly moist. Treat yourself!
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 pinch of salt
- 4 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (softened)
- 1/2 cup cherries (chopped)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar
- Carbohydrate 37.3553947766014 g
- Cholesterol 106.081178051134 mg
- Fat 26.4409989377956 g
- Fiber 1.46180113055513 g
- Protein 5.07675525135018 g
- Saturated Fat 15.7752130855011 g
- Serving Size 1 1 cupcake (136g)
- Sodium 106.489382511942 mg
- Sugar 35.8935936460463 g
- Trans Fat 2.58273610676951 g
- Calories 398 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 6 muffin cups with paper liners and set aside. (You can use either a 6-cup muffin tin or a 12-cup muffin tin. Both work!)
- In a large bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt. Mix together with a fork or whisk and set aside.
- In another large bowl, beat the butter on high until smooth using a handheld or stand mixer. Add in the sugar and mix for 1-2 minutes, until the butter and sugar have fully come together. Add in the egg, milk and vanilla extract. Mix for 30 seconds until combined.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients by adding a little, mixing it in and then adding some more until the wet and dry ingredients have been combined.
- Add in the chopped cherries and gently fold in until fully incorporated.
- Evenly pour the batter into the liners up to about 2/3 full and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Important: Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.
- In a large bowl, add the butter and cream cheese. Mix together until completely smooth using a handheld or stand mixer.
- Add in the vanilla extract, ground cinnamon and pinch of salt. Mix together for about 30 seconds, until combined.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add in the powdered sugar by adding a little, mixing it in and then adding some more until the wet and dry ingredients have been combined.
- Frost the cupcakes and garnish with some more ground cinnamon if desired.
Allowing cupcakes to cool completely before applying the frosting is the single most critical step in preventing a melted, greasy topping. Butter and cream cheese soften rapidly when exposed to residual heat from the crumb, breaking the emulsion of the fat and sugar. Whisking the dry ingredients thoroughly beforehand distributes the baking powder and cinnamon evenly through the flour and cocoa, ensuring uniform rise and flavor without pockets of spice. When creaming the butter and sugar, running the mixer for the full two minutes incorporates microscopic air cells that expand in the 350-degree oven. Bakers without a standard six-cup muffin tin can successfully adapt a twelve-cup pan by filling the unused wells with a few tablespoons of water to insulate the surrounding metal and prevent hot spots. Folding the chopped cherries gently into the batter at the very end limits gluten development, keeping the crumb tender rather than tough. Softening both the butter and the cream cheese to room temperature prior to mixing prevents lumps from forming in the finished confectioners' sugar base.
