Cherry Almond Cupcakes

These yummy cupcakes are made with cake mix which is something I hardly do but I spruced up the batter and it makes them taste homemade.  No one will ever know any better.

Ingredients

Almond Cherry Cupcakes:

 1 box white cake mix

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs 

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 tsp almond extract

1 cup maraschino cherries, chopped

Almond Buttercream:

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)

2 tsp almond extract

4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 heavy cream, use as needed*

1 jar maraschino cherries with stems

Directions for cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350° 
2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk, oil, sour cream and almond extract until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, sift cake mix. (You don't want any lumps) Then stir cake mix into wet ingredients.
4. Fold in chopped cherries
5. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 20-23 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
6. Completely cool cupcakes before frosting.

 Directions for frosting

1. Beat butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Add almond extract and slowly add powdered sugar.
3. Add cream until you reach desired consistency.
4. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes ( 1 used a 1M tip)
5. Make your cupcakes personal by adding stemmed cherries, red sprinkles, etc.

* makes 24 cupcakes
* you can use milk instead of heavy cream but it won't have the same thick consistency.
* store in refrigerator and bring to room temp before serving.