Spring is (finally) in the air.
I think.
Maybe.
For this week, anyway.
After hearing so much about the famous Washington, D.C. cherry blossoms, it’s exciting to finally get to actually see them. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy for Spring and the end of waking up to snow every other morning for 5 months straight.
These cherry blossom cupcakes were quite fun to bake, to design, to photograph, to eat… The crazy thing is that there’s actually no chocolate in the cupcakes; they get their deep color (and, surprisingly, a somewhat-chocolatey flavor) purely from the cherries. You can easily leave them unfrosted and serve them for breakfast as muffins. But do try the hot pink frosting if you get a chance—It comes together in under a minute, and no food coloring is needed!
Cherry Blossom Cupcakes
Adapted from Hummingbird Cupcakes
- 2 cups cherries, pitted (240g) (I used frozen)
- 2 tbsp milk of choice (30g)
- 2 1/2 tsp white or apple cider vinegar (12g)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract (8g)
- 3 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil (30g)
- 1 cup spelt or all-purpose or Bob’s gf flour (130g)
- only if using the gf flour, add 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 cup sugar of choice or xylitol (90g) (Can reduce to 1/3 cup if a slightly-sweet muffin is preferred)
- 1/16 tsp pure stevia, or 2 additional tbsp sugar of choice
- 1/2 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, optional
Cherry Blossom Cupcakes Recipe: Preheat the oven to 350 F, and line a muffin tin with liners. Blend together first 5 ingredients until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine all remaining ingredients and stir well. Pour wet into dry, and stir until just evenly mixed. Pour into 10-11 muffin tins and bake 19-20 minutes or until cupcakes have domed and a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Allow to sit 10 minutes before removing from the tins. Frost with your favorite frosting, and add real or fake cherry blossoms if desired for garnish. For the frosting in the photos, I scraped the cream off a can of full-fat coconut milk and mixed it with beet juice (2 tsp per every 1/2 cup cream) and a little stevia to taste. No food coloring needed! (If you go this route, it’s best to frost right before serving, due to the lack of preservatives in this all-natural frosting.)
View Cherry Blossom Cupcakes Nutrition Facts
Question of the Day: What’s your favorite way to eat cherries?
My absolute favorite way to eat cherries is frozen, straight from the bag. They have an almost ice-cream-like richness, and you don’t have to worry about taking out the annoying pits. I can go through a bag of frozen cherries pretty quickly.
![mocha cookies_thumb[3]](https://lett-trim.today/wp-content/uploads/Cherry-Blossom-Cupcakes_7541/mocha-cookies_thumb3.jpg "mocha cookies_thumb[3]")
Link of the Day: Mocha Coconut Chocolate Dipped Macaroons
These look amazing! It’s been many years since I have been able to see the Cherry Blossoms. I grew up in Northern VA and miss them so much now that I am down here in KY. Truly a treasure here on earth ♥
Would a liquid sweetener also be okay in this?
I just made these cupcakes and it seems the recipe isn’t updated with the fix mentioned above 🙁 My cupcakes look *nothing* like the photo! So, blend the cherries? Like in a blender?
Thanks!!
There is no “fix” needed to the recipe. It specifically says in the directions to blend until smooth, not to stir or mix until smooth.
Yes, thank you. I still think it would be helpful to specify “in a blender.”
OH. MY. GOSH. This is literally my first time ever commenting on any blog at all ever, but I was compelled because of how delicious these cupcakes were. I am on the Candida Diet (later stages), and the spelt in this recipe (and your spectacular hummingbird cupcakes) has been my first experimentation with gluten 🙂 To reduce the sugar content I subbed the 1/2 cup sugar for 1/2 teaspoon liquid stevia. Also, I am just starting to reintroduce cocoa but haven’t moved onto chocolate chips yet, so instead of the chips I just added 1/4 cup cocoa powder. I have made many of your other recipes and adore them, but this one absolutely knocked my socks off! Thank you so much for your blog, it has helped me so much since I started this Candida Diet journey a year and a half ago!
My husband and I picked several pounds of cherries last weekend, and I decided to use a bunch to try out this recipe. He is a HUGE cherry lover and his exact words when he tried one of these: “These are frickin’ dynamite!” So thanks Katie! Great recipe!
Delicious! One question though, which is really a more general question. Could these (or any other cupcake recipe) be made into a regular (i.e. birthday) cake?
You can always experiment! Be sure to report back if you do!
PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE This is pure delight for your taste buds.
CHERRY-MINT CHOCOLATE a burst of cherry zest
Both are great flavour
CHERRY-MINT CHOCOLATE
Come try our flavorful invention that resembles a before or after dinner mint with a burst of cherry zest. This is pure delight for your taste bud.
how many cupcakes does this recipe yield?