Think pink! These delightful maraschino cherry chocolate chip cupcakes are topped with a fluffy pink chocolate buttercream, and were baked (and eaten!) for a great cause!
Have you ever wanted to get involved in something?
And no, I don’t mean a relationship or an argument – I’m talking about a cause.
My day job company is involved with charities all through the year, everything from United Way to March of Dimes, so I’m very familiar with working for a good cause. Usually it involves asking for donations, building homes, and getting people to sponsor you on a walk – all very effective ways to raise money to help those in need, but this year, I’ve found my very favorite way to participate!
Baking cupcakes!!!
KitchenAid (makers of my very favorite baking appliance) put out the call to Cook for The Cure, and I answered with these very pink (and tasty) Cherry Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Pink Chocolate Buttercream, complete with pink maraschinos! You can be a part of #10000cupcakes, too! Read on!
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, 4 and as a woman, this is a topic that is very important to me. Did you know that almost 300,000+ new cases of breast cancer (both invasive and non) will be diagnosed in 2015? And one out of every eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.
After melanoma, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women, and over 40,000 women in the U.S. are expected to die from it this year.
Scary, scary facts, folks.
But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks to organizations like the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and contributions from companies like KitchenAid, research has helped to raise awareness, which has resulted in earlier detection through screening – and death rates have been decreasing steadily since 1989.
So, how does baking cupcakes help treat breast cancer?
Aside from making a patient smile, it has no practical treatment – but the awesome folks at KitchenAid launched a new social media-based program called 10,000 Cupcakes this month, to support Cook for the Cure.
The 10,000 Cupcakes campaign encourages cooks to bake up a cupcake recipe, snap a picture of the finished product and share it on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtags #10000cupcakes and #donate.
For of the entire month of October, KitchenAid will donate $1 for each and every cupcake photo that’s shared up to $10,000!
You could Tweet or Insta a cupcake a day and be a huge part of the campaign, but even one post helps! (You might wanna share the actual cupcakes though!)
Who would have ever thought you could make such a difference by baking cupcakes?
If you’re not the baking type, there are other ways you can help! Host a Cook for the Cure party, and encourage your friends to bring cupcakes (or other delicious yummies) to support the cause.
More pink recipes perfect for Breast Cancer Awareneness Month!
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Cherry Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Pink Chocolate Buttercream
Ingredients
Cherry Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup maraschino cherry juice from jar
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2 egg whites
- 1 cup miniature chocolate chips
- 1 cup maraschino cherries chopped
Pink Chocolate Buttercream
- 8 ounces white chocolate chopped
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 1/2-3 cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Pinch of salt
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- Pink food coloring or cherry juice
- Pink maraschino cherries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with 18 standard liners. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Combine buttermilk and cherry juice in a measuring cup and set aside.
- In a KitchenAid stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 2 minutes until combined. Blend in vanilla extract. Add egg and whites 1 at a time, beating between each until combined.
- Alternately add flour mixture and cherry-buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, until just combined.
- Gently fold in chocolate chips and chopped cherries. Using an ice cream scoop, fill prepared cupcake liners ⅔ of the way full with batter.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Remove from oven to cool in pans for 5 minutes, then bring to room temperature on cooling racks before icing.
Pink Chocolate Buttercream
- In a microwave-safe bowl (or double boiler), melt white chocolate in 30-second bursts until consistently liquidy. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- In a KitchenAid stand mixer fitted with a whip attachment, add butter and sift 2 cups of powdered sugar over it. Beat on low to combine, then increase speed to high for 3-4 minutes to blend.
- Add melted chocolate, vanilla and almond extracts, and salt, and blend on low until incorporated.
- With mixer on low speed, add in whipping cream. Once incorporated, increase speed to high and whip for 3-4 minutes, adding dye or juice in the last minute or so.
- Pipe or spread icing onto cooled cupcakes, top with a pink maraschino cherry, share, enjoy, and tag!!
Nutrition
Will you join me in the #10000 Cupcakes campaign?!
Jessica @ Stuck On Sweet says
These are beautiful – love the pink cherry! What a great campaign to be a part of – so glad we are helping raise awareness!
Emma @ Supper in the Suburbs says
Fantastic recipe for a fantastic cause! We will be able to fight cancer much stronger if we all get behind causes like this!
These cupcakes look fantastic too. I LOVE the pink cherries where did you get them from?!
Wendi says
These look fabulous AND yummy! I agree – nothing is better than baking for a cause! Thanks for a great recipe!
Starla says
Those look so pretty and delicious! Also, of course such a wonderful cause! I will have to keep these in mind.. 🙂