Is it swirled soft serve? Maybe frozen yogurt with sprinkles? All are great guesses but nope – they are cupcakes! These Patriotic Cherry Cupcakes with Almond Buttercream are inspired by soft serve vanilla ice cream that is rolled in sprinkles and served in a white cup with a spoon tucked on the side. A summer treat reminiscent of trips to the beach, the local fair, or your favorite ice cream shoppe!

Apart from being perfectly festive, these cupcakes are equally delicious. They have a soft cherry almond cake base with bits of fresh maraschino cherries scattered throughout. An almond buttercream icing spiraled on top that is both light and fluffy. Ultimately they are rolled in red, white, and blue sprinkles adding texture and a colorful, patriotic flair!

These cherry almond cupcakes are the most adorably unique sweet treat to bring to a 4th of July barbecue, a Memorial Day celebration, or to enjoy with friends and family any time the craving hits!

Recipes used for the Cherry Cupcakes with Almond Buttercream:

• Cherry Almond Cupcakes by Cake Me Home Tonight
• Almond Buttercream by Cake Me Home Tonight

I had a solid vision of soft serve inspired cupcakes, but didn’t want to go with a simple flavor just to execute the look. I’ve been following Courtney, of Cake Me Home Tonight, for some time now and adore her beautifully swirled buttercream she features on her instagram. I had extra maraschino cherries on hand from making Baileys Colada Crumbl Cookies, and thought now was the time to test out her Cherry Almond Cupcake recipe!

The recipe incorporates real bits of fresh maraschino cherries in the batter. Yes – you truly can taste them and it is absolutely incredible! There is also maraschino juice which gives the cupcakes a beautiful pink hue.

To keep the buttercream as white as can be (to imitate vanilla soft serve ice cream) I used her Almond Buttercream recipe rather than the Cherry Almond Buttercream she tops the cherry cupcakes with. This buttercream, I must add, is absolutely drool worthy. It is extremely light and fluffy with the perfect almond flavor!

Tips for making the Patriotic Cherry Cupcakes with Almond Buttercream:

If you have a nut allergy, don’t fret! You can still safely make these cupcakes.

• If a nut allergy is a concern for you, this product may already be a staple in your kitchen. For those that don’t know, imitation almond flavor exists and tastes just like almond extract! It does not contain natural almond or any other tree nut – it is manufactured with synthetic flavoring. I use this in all of my bakes that call for almond extract.

Follow the recipe’s advice of using a whisk attachment to initially whip the buttercream.

• This was my first time using a whisk attachment to whip up buttercream and I am so glad I tried it! The almond frosting ended up being so much lighter and fluffier than other buttercreams I have made in the past, and I chalk this up largely to using the whisk!
• After whipping the buttercream with the whisk, you can use a paddle attachment on low speed to smooth it out further and help remove and air bubbles.

Supplies needed to make the soft serve inspired cherry cupcakes:

White baking cups:

• For the biggest visual cue to portray these cupcakes as ice cream, the white baking cups look just like its soft serve counter part! I couldn’t locate any baking cups of this style in stores, so I took the leap and ordered some online (linking the ones I used here). After baking the cupcakes and crossing my fingers the liners would remove easily, I can confirm they did not stick ONE bit! Phew!
• These liners were absolutely amazing. They removed better than any other liners I have used and stayed white with only a hint of the pink cake showing through.

Mini tasting spoons:

• The next element needed to simulate the ice cream appearance is a mini spoon. You can go with a classic wooden spoon, a mini tasting spoon pictured here, or even a waffle cone piece! If going that route, I recommend using mini stroopwafels for an easy and delicious cone effect.

Red, white, and blue sprinkles:

• Rolling the cupcakes in patriotic sprinkles seals the ice cream effect while adding a beautiful visual interest and texture. I used red, white, and blue sprinkles by Betty Crocker that I found at Safeway, but there are a lot of options online if you don’t have any available nearby.

An open-star piping tip:

• The Wilton 1M piping tip is the style I reach for most often. It creates such a beautiful buttercream swirl! If you haven’t picked up a few piping tips and bags, I can’t recommend enough that you add them to your baking tool arsenal asap! They add an extra oomph to your baking that is so easy to create once you have the equipment on hand. I started by buying this set, which includes 4 piping tips and 8 disposable piping bags for under $10!

How to decorate the Patriotic Cherry Cupcakes with Almond Buttercream:

• First, bake the cupcakes and allow them to fully cool.
  • If the cupcakes are warm, the frosting will melt after you pipe it on, which is a terrible sight!
  • Filling the cupcake liners a little over half-full gave me room to pipe the frosting without the cake showing or baking over the edge.

• Next, whip up the almond buttercream.
  • The single serving amount of this frosting recipe gave me enough buttercream to pipe on all cupcakes which as such a breath of fresh air! Often I will have to increase the amount to pipe high swirls on all of the cupcakes.

• Pipe a swirl of almond buttercream onto each cooled cherry cupcake.
  • To achieve this swirl, I used a Wilton 1M piping tip.
  • Pipe a small dollop of frosting in the center of the cupcake, and then create a swirl ascending to the top (see demo video here or scroll down for reference).

• Roll the edge of each cupcake in red, white, and blue sprinkles.
  • You can get creative here! Any festive sprinkles would look lovely. I think jimmies give the best illusion of the sprinkles we are so accustomed to seeing on ice cream.

• Add a mini tasting spoon to the side of each decorated cupcake.
  • This step really seals the deal in giving the illusion of soft serve ice cream!

If you like this recipe, I think you’ll also love:

• Patriotic Thumbprint Cookies with Vanilla Icing
• Patriotic M&M Cookies
• Boozy Black Forest Hi-Hat Cupcakes
• Black Cocoa Neapolitan Sundae Cupcakes

Patriotic Cherry Cupcakes with Almond Buttercream

Recipe by AshleyCourse: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

12

cupcakes

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Decorating time

10

minutes

Total time

50

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 batch cherry almond cupcakes

• 1 batch almond buttercream

• Additional Items Needed

• Red white and blue sprinkles

• White baking cups

• Mini plastic taster spoons

• Open Star Piping Tip (Wilton 1M) and a piping bag

Directions

• Make the cherry almond cupcake batter and fill baking cups a little over half full. I filled all 12 cups and then went back over each adding a bit more batter.
• Bake the cherry cupcakes and allow to fully cool.
• While the cupcakes cool, prepare the almond buttercream. I highly recommend using the whisk attachment to first whip up the buttercream to make it fluffy, and then switch to a paddle as recommended to smooth the frosting and remove air bubbles.
• Using an open star piping tip (Wilton 1M) pipe a swirl of almond buttercream frosting onto the cooled cherry cupcakes.
• Pour the red, white, and blue sprinkles into a shallow bowl.
• Gently pick up the cupcake by the base and roll the bottom edge into the sprinkles (see video above for reference).
• Add a mini plastic taster spoon to the side of the cupcake to emulate a real soft serve ice cream cup effect!

Notes

• If concerned about a nut allergy, substitute imitation almond flavor for almond extract. It tastes just as delicious!
• White baking cups help emulate the look of soft serve ice cream. The liners didn’t stick to the cupcake at all! I was happily surprised with how well they performed.
• Fill the cupcake liners a little over half full with the batter. I filled all of the liners with a medium size scoop of batter, then went over each and added a bit more.

Pin for later!

If you make this dessert or have any questions, please leave a comment below! I absolutely love hearing when others are inspired to step into their kitchen and try out something new.

Happy Baking!

XOXO,