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BLACK FOREST CUPCAKES

Black Forest Cupcakes with homemade chocolate cake, sensational cherry filling & topped with fresh sweet cream! Our from-scratch cherry cupcakes are guaranteed to be a delight!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Cupcakes, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Black Forest Cupcakes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 669kcal

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes

  • 8 TBSP unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1 Cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ Cup hot water mixed with 1 teaspoon instant coffee
  • ½ Cup full fat sour cream
  • 6 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 Cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt

Cherry filling

  • 2 Cups cherries pitted and washed
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 TBSP lemon juice
  • 1 TBSP cornstarch
  • ¼ tsp salt

Sweet Cream Topping

  • 1 Pint cold heavy cream
  • ¼ Cup powdered sugar
  • 2 TBSP water
  • 2 TBSP unflavored powdered gelatin
  • 1 Pinch of salt
  • 1 Bar chocolate milk or semi-sweet
  • Fresh cherries optional

Instructions

  • Prep: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Then, line an 8 cup cupcake pan with jumbo sizes liners.
  • Batter: Use a stand mixer or a hand mixer to cream together the butter and the sugar for a few minutes until well incorporated. Then, beat in the vanilla extract, egg, and sour cream. Cream together until well mixed.
  • After that, add in the hot water and instant coffee to the mixture and stir to combine.
  • In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. Next, add your dry ingredients to the wet batter and stir together until just combined. Be careful not overmix.
  • Bake: Proceed to fill each cupcake liner with batter so that they are ¾ of the way full. An ice cream scoop will yield exactly 8 jumbo cupcakes.
  • Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before filling and topping.
  • Cherry Filling: Start by cleaning and pitting your cherries if you are using fresh cherries.
  • In a medium size pot, add the granulated sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and salt and bring the mixture to a simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Then, add in the pitted cherries and stir to coat. Lower the heat and let them simmer for about 10 minutes. After that, remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool and thicken.
  • Sweet whipped cream: Add 2 tablespoons of water to a small bowl and then sprinkle the gelatin on top. Let it rest for a few minutes and then microwave the bowl for 10 seconds to help it fully dissolve. Stir and then set aside.
  • Then, add your heavy cream and powdered sugar to a stand mixer bowl and use a whisk attachment to whip together until thickened. You can also use a handheld electric mixer to accomplish this.
  • While on low speed, slowly pour in the gelatin mixture. Increase the speed and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
  • Assemble: Use a sharp paring knife to cut a hole into the center of each cupcake. The hole should go about ¾ of the way down so it does not pierce the bottom of each cupcake. Reserve these pieces of cake, you will be using them.
  • Then, spoon some of the cooled cherry compotes into each cupcake cavity. Trim off the bottom pieces of the cake that you had removed and place the top pieces back onto the filling. The cupcakes should be pretty flush on top, so trim as needed.
  • Fit a frosting piping bag with a large tip (I like the Wilton 2A) and fill it with whipped cream. Pipe a generous amount of whipped cream on top of each cupcake and then add a fresh cherry or a maraschino cherry on top.
  • Run a vegetable peeler along the side of your bar of chocolate to create little curls and shavings to use as a garnish for your cupcakes. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

This recipe yields 8 jumbo cupcakes. To make "normal" sized cupcakes, fill a 12-cupcakes pan 2/3 full with batter & bake 20-22 minutes. Proceed with recipe, reducing the amount of cherry filling in each cupcake. 

Nutrition

Calories: 669kcal | Carbohydrates: 77g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 401mg | Potassium: 788mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 49g | Vitamin A: 1362IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 3mg