Make Ahead

Blue Velvet Cheerwine Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream

by:
February  7, 2016
0
0 Ratings
Blue Velvet Cheerwine Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
Photo by Fresh Beats, Fresh Eats
  • Prep time 1 hour
  • Cook time 30 minutes
  • Makes 14
Author Notes

It’s Super Bowl 50, which means you’re gonna see roughly a million and a half posts with cutesy-colored football cakes, “bro” snacks, and other assorted Super Bowl recipes to slowly engorge yourself with while Coldplay lip-synchs something during the halftime show.

With all of that action, how could I not get a slice?

Look, you all know I’m not the biggest fan of America’s favorite non-stock-car-related pasttime, but I’m willing to get on board with any snack-related activity, particularly when it involves my current home state. So go make a vine of you doing the dab so people can see how terrible of a dancer you are, go make some blue velvet Cheerwine cupcakes, and go Panthers. —Fresh Beats, Fresh Eats

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Cupcakes
  • 1 1/2 cups AP flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temp)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 ounce blue food coloring
  • 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 3/4 cup Cheerwine (cherry coke works if you can't get any)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon cherry oil or flavoring
  • fleur de sel (for garnish)
  • blue sprinkles (for garnish)
  • Frosting
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temp)
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup (+2 tbsp) heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
Directions
  1. First, preheat your oven to 350.
  2. Whisk the dry stuff: flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt. Make sure you sift the cocoa powder first to get the chunks out of there.
  3. Cream together the butter and sugar in a stand mixer on medium for 2-3 minutes, until they're light and fluffy.
  4. Mix in the eggs one at a time.
  5. Mix in the vinegar, food coloring, vanilla, and cherry flavoring. Make sure you go REAL easy on the cherry stuff; it's a lot stronger than your everyday vanilla extract. Add a bit too much and it's gonna taste like you're eating cherry rubbing alcohol.
  6. Mix together the cheerwine and buttermilk in a seperate bowl. Yes, it will look disgusting, don't worry about it.
  7. Add in the dry stuff and the cheerwine/buttermilk mix, alternating between the two until both are fully mixed in.
  8. Pour the batter into a cupcake tin with cupcake liners, and bake for about 25 minutes.
  9. Take the cupcakes out, cool for 5 minutes, then cool completely on the cooling rack while you make the frosting.
  10. First, melt the chocolate over a double boiler, then move it to a seperate bowl to cool. You can also microwave it in 10 second intervals in a glass bowl if you want, stirring between intervals.
  11. Stir in the cocoa powder as the chocolate cools.
  12. Cream your butter for 2-3 minutes on medium.
  13. Mix in the heavy cream, followed by the vanilla. Don't worry if it isn't fully mixed, it'll come together in the end, I promise.
  14. Mix in the chocolate, then the powdered sugar, both on low. Once the sugar is fully mixed in, crank up the mixer to high for 15 seconds to get a nice, whipped texture.
  15. Once the cupcakes are completely cool, frost those bad boys and top with some blue sprinkles and a couple flakes of fleur de sel.
  16. Eat.
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2 Reviews

plotto
plotto September 15, 2018
1/4 cup of salt sounds like A LOT! Is this right?!
 
plotto
plotto September 16, 2018
Thank you, Joanna, for responding so quickly and correcting the recipe!