Difficulty – Moderate.
Dairy Free – A recipe that is dairy free and gluten free.
These cherry and almond cupcakes are a great valentines gift to make for a loved one. They have an almond flavoured sponge that has a delicious cherry compote centre made with dark sweet cherries, and topped with a cherry buttercream and a marzipan heart.
Cooks Notes
For this recipe you will need to make the compote the day before to allow it too cool and set overnight. The cherry compote recipe below will make enough to fill the 12 cupcakes, with a little left over.
I have rated this recipe as moderate as the compote is a little tricky. So if you are new to baking, then use a good shop bought compote/jam instead.
Cherry and Almond Cupcakes
A cupcake with an almond sponge, cherry filling and cherry buttercream, topped with a sprinkle of almonds and a marzipan heart.
Equipment
- 1 Piping Bag
- 2J Piping Nozzle
- 1.8cm heart cutter
- 12 Cupcake cases
- 1 cupcake baking tray
Ingredients
Cherry Compote
- 100 grams Dark sweet cherries Frozen or Fresh
- 100 grams Caster sugar
- 1/2 Lemon
- 250 ml Water
Cupcakes
- 100 grams Gluten free self-raising flour
- 80 grams Ground almonds
- 170 grams Caster sugar
- 120 grams Dairy free butter (Block not margarine)
- 25 ml water
- 2 Eggs
- 3/4 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Almond extract
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
Cherry Buttercream
- 100 grams Dairy free butter (block not margarine)
- 500 grams Icing sugar
- 62 grams Dark sweet cherries 8 – 10 cherries frozen or fresh
- 15 ml Gluten free oat drink/milk
- 1½ tsp Vanilla extract
Marzipan Hearts
- 100 grams White marzipan
- Red food colouring
Instructions
Cherry Compote
- You need to make the compote the day before to allow it to fully cool and set.
- Place 100 grams of dark sweet cherries, 100 grams of caster sugar, the juice of half a lemon and 250 ml water in to a pan.
- Simmer on a medium heat for 35 – 45 minutes, until the liquid begins to thicken. (See picture)
- You can test if the compote has thickened, by taking a little compote out with a spoon and placing it on a plate. The compote should coat the back of the spoon, and appear thicker when you push it with the spoon.
- Poor into a small bowl and set aside until it cools, then cover and place in the fridge.
Cupcakes
- Pre-heat the oven to 150℃ (fan), gas mark 2, 300℉.
- Place 12 cupcake cases into a cupcake baking tray.
- Put 120 grams of dairy free butter and 170 grams of caster sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk until light and fluffy.
- In a separate bowl mix together 80 grams of ground almonds, 100 grams of gluten free self-raising flour, 3/4 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg .
- Add 1/2 tsp of almond extract to the butter and sugar.
- Add 1 egg to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Then add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until it is well incorporated.
- Add the 2nd egg then mix.
- Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix one final time before adding the 25ml of water to loosen the batter a little.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the 12 prepared cupcake cases and place in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes, or until lightly golden.
- When you take the cupcakes out of the oven leave to cool for 10 minutes in the baking tray, then place the individual cupcakes onto a cooling rack.
- Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, either using a cupcake corer or knife make a hole in the centre of the cupcakes, then place approximately 1/2 a tsp of the cherry compote into the hole.
- Take some of the cake you removed from the centre of the cupcake and place on top of the jam.
- Repeat until you have filled all 12 cupcakes.
Marzipan Hearts
- Divide the 100 grams of white marzipan into two equal size pieces. Take 1 of the pieces and add a little of the red food colouring and need add a little more if needed until it becomes a deep pink colour.
- Sprinkle some icing sugar onto a surface and roll out both marzipan pieces until they are about 3mm thick. Using a 1.8cm heart cutter cut out 6 white marzipan hearts and 6 pink marzipan hearts and set aside
Cherry Buttercream
- Cube 100 grams of dairy free butter and place in a mixing bowl, add the 1½tsp of vanilla extract, 500 grams of icing sugar.
- Then chop 8 – 10 cherries into fine pieces and add to the mixing bowl. Whisk the buttercream for 5 minutes, this will add air to the buttercream and lighten the mix. If the buttercream is a little stiff, add up to 15ml of gluten free oat drink/milk.
- Next take a piping bag and place a N°2J Nozzle into it. Then fill the piping bag up to two thirds with the buttercream.
- Pipe one large star onto the centre of a cupcake then a smaller one on top.
- Then place a marzipan heart on top of the buttercream.
- Repeat for all 12 cupcakes.
Notes
Place the cupcakes in the fridge immediately after you have piped the buttercream on and placed the heart on top. This is to set the buttercream.
Storage: Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.