Cherry Cupcakes - Pink Saturday

Photo courtesy of Photobucket - Creative Commons Attribution

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...A bit of chocolate is good for the soul and mine is happy right now. These cupcakes go together quickly and are better for you than most. That's not to say they're better for you than an apple might be, but the folks at Eating Well have managed to reduced the fat and calories and still deliver something you'll enjoy. If you need to take the edge off a sweet tooth, give these a try. I'm happy to report that despite what's been taken from them, enough remains to make these a really nice snack. If you object to the use of food coloring, by all means omit it. It adds nothing but a lovely pink hue to the cupcakes. It is Pink Saturday, so I decided to use it. Here's the recipe.

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Eating Well

Ingredients:
Cake
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (see Note)
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk
1-1/2 cups chopped pitted cherries, fresh or frozen (thawed and drained), plus 12 fresh cherries with stems for garnish
Frosting
6 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel), at room temperature
1 /2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 cup packed confectioners’ sugar
Red Food coloring
Milk for thinning

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups with paper liners.
2) Whisk whole-wheat flour, cake flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
3) Beat granulated sugar and oil in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined. With mixer on low, alternately mix in dry ingredients and buttermilk, starting and ending with dry ingredients and scraping sides of the bowl as needed, until just combined. Fold in chopped cherries until just combined. Divide batter among prepared cups (they will be full).
4) Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 22 to 26 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
5) Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, sour cream and confectioners’ sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add a drop or two of red food color to tint icing. Refrigerate frosting until very cold, about 2 hours. Thin with milk if necessary to spread on cooled cupcakes. Garnish with a cherry on top. Yield: 12 cupcakes.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Frosting - One Perfect Bite
Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes - Sugar Plum
Raspberry Cup Cakes - My Kitchen Treasures
Red Velvet Cupcakes - What's for Dinner Across State Lines
Carrot Cupcakes - Christine's Cuisine
Owl Cupcakes - Sinfully Southern Sweets
German Chocolate Cupcakes - Barbara Bakes

This post is being linked to:
Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.