I know I have mentioned my terrible addiction to you before. It’s one that I share with my spouse and we are a very bad influence on each other when it comes to this particular obsession.
Cherries are irresistible to both of us and I don’t think we are interested in rehab.
If one of us resolves that we have gone over the top, the other says “No! We haven’t gone far enough!” – and runs to the store, to buy more cherries. For about 6 glorious weeks, we gorge ourselves on them. It would be nothing for the two of us to down an entire pound at a sitting, and don’t tell Larry, but I also eat them for breakfast and lunch, when he’s not here.
For how much we love them, and the insane amount of money we spend on them, there are surprisingly few recipes on any of my blogs for them. Probably because we eat them up before I have a chance to actually make anything from them.
We are trying to grow our own cherries, but it’s not looking good for the tree we planted last year. We’ll no doubt try again, but in the meantime, for the most part we buy them at the supermarket. Not exactly local, I know, but since most of what we eat this time of year comes from just a few steps outside the back door, I guess it evens out.
These cupcakes are intensely lime, with a sweet cherry frosting, and they definitely remind me of a summer drink on the porch!
- ½ cup soft butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 packed tablespoons grated lime zest
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- ¾ cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 & ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup soft butter
- ¼ cup finely chopped, fresh sweet cherries
- 1 pound confectionary sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 -3 teaspoons heavy cream
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a 12 spot muffin tin with paper liners.
- Beat the butter and sugar together.
- Beat in eggs, one at a time.
- Mix the lime zest and juice into the yogurt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Beating well after each addition, add the flour and yogurt mixtures alternately, beginning and ending with the flour [in this order: ⅓ of the flour, ½ of the yogurt, ⅓ flour, 2nd half of the yogurt, final 3rd of the flour]
- Divide evenly among the 12 liners, and bake for about 16 to 18 minutes. An inserted toothpick should come out clean.
- Remove cupcakes from tin and cool on a rack.
- Beat the butter and cherries together, until well combined.
- Gradually beat in the sugar.
- Add the vanilla, and then, if needed enough cream to get a nice spreadable consistency. [if the cherries are very juicy, you may not need the cream.]
- Pipe or spread on completely cooled cupcakes.
- They can be stored at room temperature for 24 hours, in the fridge after that.
Just so ridiculously good – now we are addicted to these!
Maybe life really IS a bowl of cherries…
