When I was a kid, I hated cherries, except when they were in a Shirley Temple because I was and still am, addicted to those. I never ate the cherry Starbursts or sucked on cherry cough drops, if it was cherry, it wasn’t going near my mouth. Now, however, is a different story, I actually love cherries, whether it’s the real thing or it’s artificially flavored… I love them! I happened to have a dozen cupcakes left over a couple of weeks ago and was trying to come up with a good flavor to make them… Black Forest Cupcakes just seemed like a natural choice!
Black Forest Cake originated in Germany and is a chocolate cake with cherries and whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Sounds pretty amazing, right? The name is actually derived from a regional liqueur that is commonly found in the recipe… unfortunately there’s no alcohol in this recipe… but there’s lots of sugar! Hopefully that helps make up for it! If you want a cupcake made with liqueur, you can swing by and grab the recipe for my Island Daiquiri Cupcakes!
There’s just something about the sweet combination of black cherries and dark chocolate. It’s sophisticated, yet still fun, almost like an evening cupcake! Yup, I think that’s right, these would be the perfect cupcakes to serve at a cocktail party, they’re just so pretty and they’re filled giving them just a tad of mystery. These cupcakes are starting to sound like a bond girl aren’t they… if only I’d worked that liqueur in there, huh?
Though these cupcakes might look difficult to make, they’re far from it. I used a store bought cherry ice cream topping (I like Breyers) to fill the cupcakes. This meant a minimal amount of work without sacrificing great flavor and texture! Pair that with the extremely moist and rich adapted box mix cake and we’re looking pretty good without breaking the bank. But we’re not done there, finish these off with a simple vanilla whipped cream frosting, some chocolate shavings, and a fresh Black Cherry and we’re in business. And when I say in business, I mean heaven.
Black Forest Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1 Box Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
- 3.9 oz. Package Jell-O Instant Chocolate Fudge Pudding
- 4 Eggs
- 1 cup Sour Cream
- 1 cup Vegetable Oil
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
Frosting:
- 2 cups heavy Cream
- 1/3 cup Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix dry
- 1/2 cup Confectioners' Sugar
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- Breyers Cherry Topping or cherry filling of your choice
- Chocolate Shavings or Curls
- Fresh Black Cherries or Maraschino Cherries will work too.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Line cupcake pan.
- Combine all cupcake ingredients in a large stand mixer or bowl and beat until smooth.
- Add about 2 tbsp of batter to each liner, filling to about 1/2 - 3/4 full.
- Reduce heat to 350 F.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until fork comes clean.
- Remove and let cool, cook other batch.
- Clean your mixing bowl and add frosting ingredients to it, beat on medium speed until frosting becomes light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Core out cooled cupcakes and add about a tbsp of cherry topping to each cupcakes.
- Pipe on vanilla frosting over the filling hole and around the rest of the cupcake.
- Top with chocolate shavings and a fresh black cherry.
I thought I’d share a little behind the scenes with you guys today. Shoester is always at my baking side, whether it’s waiting something sweet to drop in the kitchen or guarding the photo shoot, he’s there. I hope you enjoy these cupcakes as much as I’ve enjoyed having you here and as much as Shoester enjoys when a dollop of whipped cream hits the floor.
Colleen says
I just had a question about the instant pudding. In the cupcakes do you make the pudding first then add it into the batter or is it just the dry mix you add in?
Rebecca Hubbell says
Just the dry mix 🙂
Shaima says
Would you mind telling me what tip of tip you used for the frosting please I liked the effect it gave to the cupcakes it made them look even more delicious =-)
Thanks
Rebecca says
Hi Shaima, it was a large star tip like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-W418-2110-Tips-Star-2110/dp/B002PNZKA0/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1456158203&sr=1-2&keywords=wilton+star+tip
Crystelle says
Pinning! These look delicious. Great fro my chocolate addiction… haha….!! 🙂
xox, Crystelle
CrystelleBoutique
fickrj5@gmail.com says
Thank you, Crystelle! They were so good!
Platter Talk says
These little beauties are masterfully done! Very nice job.
fickrj5@gmail.com says
Thank you, Dan! They were quite delicious!
dina says
love chocolate and cherry. they look great!
fickrj5@gmail.com says
Thank you so much, Dina! It’s a great combination isn’t it?
Julie says
These are so beautiful, Rebecca! Pinned and stumbled! 🙂
fickrj5@gmail.com says
Thanks, Julie! You’re the best!
Jodee Weiland says
This looks decadent but delicious! I love chocolate and cherries and the vanilla icing is perfect…thanks for sharing!
fickrj5@gmail.com says
Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you get the chance to try them soon!