Description
These Cherry Surprise Honey Cupcakes are a delightful treat featuring a tender crumb infused with honey and a sweet cherry pie filling surprise. Perfect for gatherings or as a special dessert, these cupcakes combine the subtle flavors of light olive oil, vanilla, and honey to create moist, flavorful cupcakes topped with a fruity burst of cherry goodness.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
- 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 3/4 cup extra light olive oil (do not use extra virgin!)
- 4 eggs
- 3/4 cup 2% or whole milk (or 1 cup milk if using sugar instead of honey)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup honey (or 1 1/2 cups sugar)
Filling
- 2 cups Cherry Pie Filling (or fresh berries as an alternative)
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Pans: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line or grease cupcake pans to prepare for batter.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: In another bowl, beat the extra light olive oil and eggs together until smooth. Add the milk, vanilla extract, and honey (or sugar) and mix well until evenly incorporated.
- Form Batter: Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients mixture, folding gently to combine until just smooth without overmixing to maintain a tender crumb.
- Fill Cupcake Liners: Spoon a layer of batter into each cupcake liner, about one-third full. Add a spoonful of cherry pie filling or fresh berries into the center, then cover with more batter until the liners are about two-thirds full.
- Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcake (avoiding the cherry center) comes out clean.
- Cool and Serve: Remove from oven and allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm for best flavor.
Notes
- Use extra light olive oil for a neutral flavor; avoid extra virgin olive oil as it can be too strong.
- If substituting sugar for honey, increase milk to 1 cup to balance moisture.
- Fresh berries can replace cherry pie filling but may alter moisture content slightly.
- Do not overmix batter to prevent dense cupcakes.
- These cupcakes keep well stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
