Amaretto Cupcakes
Rich chocolate cupcakes filled and topped with an Amaretto and cherry buttercream frosting.
Equipment
- electric mixer
- 2 mixing bowls
- 1 cupcake tin
- 12 cupcake liners
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 7 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup hot water
Amaretto Frosting
- 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp Amaretto*
- 1 tbsp cherry juice
- 1/8 cup chopped maraschino cherries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 °F. Line cupcake tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate, large mixing bowl, mix together the buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Add the hot water last and mix. Batter will be thin.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, place 2 scoops of the batter in each cupcake tin (or 3/4 of the way full). Bake for 22 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
For the frosting
- Beat the butter until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add the powdered sugar and beat another 3-4 minutes. Add the Amaretto, cherry juice, and chopped cherries at the very end and mix until combined.
Assembly
- Using a knife, cut a cone shape out the of the top of the cupcake. Cut off the excess cake so you have a flat disc. Fill the cupcake with the Amaretto frosting. Place the disco on top and press down to secure. Then frost the cupcake.
Notes
Alcohol-free version: Use 1-2 tsp of almond extract in place of the Amaretto.
Buttercream & Amaretto. Adding alcohol to frosting can make it very tricky to work with, often splitting the buttercream. Be sure your frosting is not too warm before adding the Amaretto. If you have to stick it in the fridge for a bit after blending, that’s fine. It can be finnicky, but if you continue to beat it, it will fix itself.
Frosting tips. If piping the frosting, be sure to use a tip that is large enough for the cherry pieces to come through. You don’t want it blocking the end or you’ll have a huge mess on your hands.