Last Updated on March 27, 2022
Buttercream is the most delicious treat and I love to decorate all my cupcakes and cakes with it. It holds its shape, it makes my baking look incredible and its taste is just an added bonus. A lot of the time, because of convenience, I tend to use vanilla essence as my go-to buttercream flavoring. But, with time, and a lot of baking, it gets kind of boring. I tried cherry frosting.
I use to switch it up with almond flavoring, but my kids do not enjoy it as much. And in my attempt to make our diets a bit healthier, albeit not by much, I had an idea. For my next batch of cupcakes, I decided to incorporate some fresh fruit into my recipe. In the buttercream, in particular, it would give flavor without having to resort to an essence. So today we are making fresh cherry buttercream frosting.
Cherries are one of my favorite fruits. I love all berries -blueberries, strawberries, raspberries- but cherries are incredible. I think it might be their chewier texture or the fun I have eating around the seed. Maybe it’s their tartness. In any case, cherry flavor is amazing!
You can most certainly try out this recipe with any other type of fruit, but we chose cherries because of how sour they are, which will balance out the sweet buttercream. Any other berry would work. You can also try it with pineapple, for example. It is sure to be a hit!
How to Make Fresh Cherry Frosting Buttercream
This recipe is inspired by Taste and Tell’s blog. Over there, they paired it with almond cupcakes, which we think is an incredible idea! But you can use this buttercream with any flavor cupcake you want. We also think this could go very well with an angel food cake, because of how light it is. Try different combinations and see what your family prefers.
Although it generally does not take long to whip up some buttercream, you need to bear in mind the amount of time it will take to pit and chop all the cherries. I would say this takes from 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how much buttercream you are making.
These quantities will yield enough frosting to cover 18 small cupcakes. You can definitely double it if you are making a cake.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of room temperature butter
- 3 ½ cups of powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp of salt
- 1 cup of pitted and chopped fresh cherries
Cherry Frosting: Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Place the butter in a large bowl. Using a stand mixer or a handheld mixer on low, cream tit until it is fluffy and lighter in color. This will take around 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 2
Add in the powdered sugar. Be careful, only add it ½ cup at a time, unless you want powdered sugar all over you and your kitchen. Continue mixing until everything is combined.
Step 3
Incorporate the salt as well. Turn up the speed to medium-high and continue beating until you get a light and fluffy mix. This will take around 2 more minutes.
Step 4
Add in the cherries and their juices. Turn the power back to low and continue mixing until they are combined.
Step 5
Now, on medium to high speed, beat it for another 3 minutes until the frosting looks smooth and creamy.
Extra Tips for Cherry Frosting
As a side note, this buttercream is not going to crust, because it is made solely out of butter. If you need a frosting that will crust, we recommend using half butter, half shortening in your recipe.
It is also important to remember that, if you are living in a very hot area (or it is really hot in your kitchen) the frosting can be runnier than you would like. This is also the fresh fruit’s fault.
You see, when you add fresh fruit you are adding moisture. This can change the balance of wet to dry ingredients in the recipe and make it unusable.
If this happens to you, you should add more powdered sugar until you get the desired texture. It all depends on how juicy the fruit you are using is.
Why Fresh Fruit?
Well, for one, it is healthier than using extracts, for sure. But are there any other benefits?
Incorporating fruit such as cherries will certainly give the frosting a bit of texture. It will not be as smooth as regular buttercream and this can put off some people. I, in particular, love it!
Fresh fruit in any recipe is amazing but you can also end up using fruit that simply does not have much flavor. If this happens, then you can certainly add some extract. I would say it defeats the purpose but sometimes it cannot be helped.
To avoid this, you have the alternative of using freeze-dried cherries. It does not have the water content of fresh fruit, so it will not mess up your ratios, and its taste is always incredible. It also does not have any added sugar, so it brings the tartness of fruit without any drawbacks.
Of course, it is also very convenient as you can use it to flavor even if you do not have access to the fresh fruit, may it be because it is not in season or it is just not available.
When using freeze-dried fruit, remember to process it into a powder before adding it into your buttercream. Another benefit is that it will not be chunky in any way.
You should add it as we did with the fresh cherries, right at the end, once you have finished preparing the buttercream. You can use them in other types as well. We love this flavoring method on swiss meringue buttercream.
How to Make the Easiest Fresh Cherry Buttercream
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup of room temperature butter
- 3 ½ cups of powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp of salt
- 1 cup of pitted and chopped fresh cherries
Instructions
- Step 1
- Place the butter in a large bowl. Using a stand mixer or a handheld mixer on low, cream tit until it is fluffy and lighter in color. This will take around 2 to 3 minutes.
- Step 2
- Add in the powdered sugar. Be careful, only add it ½ cup at a time, unless you want powdered sugar all over you and your kitchen. Continue mixing until everything is combined.
- Step 3
- Incorporate the salt as well. Turn up the speed to medium-high and continue beating until you get a light and fluffy mix. This will take around 2 more minutes.
- Step 4
- Add in the cherries and their juices. Turn the power back to low and continue mixing until they are combined.
- Step 5
- Now, on medium to high speed, beat it for another 3 minutes until the frosting looks smooth and creamy.
Notes
- As a side note, this buttercream is not going to crust, because it is made solely out of butter. If you need a frosting that will crust, we recommend using half butter, half shortening in your recipe.
- It is also important to remember that, if you are living in a very hot area (or it is really hot in your kitchen) the frosting can be runnier than you would like. This is also the fresh fruit’s fault.
- You see, when you add fresh fruit you are adding moisture. This can change the balance of wet to dry ingredients in the recipe and make it unusable.
- If this happens to you, you should add more powdered sugar until you get the desired texture. It all depends on how juicy the fruit you are using is.
Have you ever tried using fresh fruit in your frostings? Or freeze-dried fruit? What is your favorite fruit for baking? Tell us about it below! In any case, you should definitely try making this cherry buttercream. It turned out delicious.
Karen is a passionate pastry chef who loves to create delicious baked goods. She has been in the culinary arts for over 10 years, honing her skills and perfecting her craft. Karen is known for her creativity and attention to detail, creating unique desserts that bring a smile to everyone’s face. She is always looking for ways to challenge herself and come up with new recipes that are both tasty and visually appealing. Karen loves to experiment with different flavors and textures, and she is committed to providing the highest quality of products to her customers.
