Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

5 from 2 votes
4 Comments

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These Cherry Limeade Cupcakes are brushed with a zesty fresh lime syrup and then topped with a sweet cherry frosting. A bright, tangy, summer dessert!

Close up of Cherry Limeade Cupcakes.

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

These Cherry Limeade Cupcakes are a vibrant and tasty twist on an ordinary vanilla cake. The fresh lime juice, lime zest and bright cherry frosting taste like a refreshing summertime cherry limeade drink. They’re delicious to serve at a backyard picnic, campout, summertime bridal shower or family reunion. These cupcakes take a little extra time to make and have a couple more steps than your run-of-the-mill store-bought cake mix However, they are so worth it. The batter is mixed in three stages to get the consistency just right. We adapted this recipe from cookingclassy.com and we love it!

Ingredients for Cherry Limeade Cupcakes.


Ingredients in Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

Take the extra time to ditch the boxed white cake mix and make this from scratch. It’s so light, moist, and yummy it’s worth the extra effort. Here’s all you need for the cake:

  • All-purpose flour
  • Cake flour – this is a finer flour that makes the cake’s texture just perfect. You can find it at the grocery store in the baking aisle.
  • Bakepowder and baking soda
  • Salt
  • Sugar
  • Lime zest
  • Unsalted butter – make sure it’s at room temperature 
  • Large eggs
  • Vanilla extract 
  • Buttermilk
  • Fresh lime juice

Follow the directions below on how to mix the ingredients together using a stand mixer. Bake in cupcake pans, then cool on a wire rack.

Lime Glaze

Another delicious layer to these cupcakes is this glorious lime simple syrup. It’s so easy to make: just whisk the lime juice liquid and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved. With a pastry brush, brush syrup over warm cupcakes. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Cherry Frosting

The cherry on top of these cupcakes is the bright and flavorful cherry frosting. And it comes together with four ingredients:

  • Butter – make sure it’s room temperature so it mixes well with the other ingredients.
  • Powdered sugar – generally about five cups, but you may need a little more or less, depending on your desired consistency.
  • ​Maraschino cherry juice – you can buy a jar of Maraschino cherries and use the cherries as garnish.
  • Red food coloring – use a couple of drops if you want a brighter color for the frosting.

How to Decorate these Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

We made these scrumptious pink cupcakes for my daughter’s graduation party. They were a hit! She loves birds, so we found these cute picks and used them to decorate the cupcakes. However, there are lots of decorative options with these cherry limeade cupcakes. Top them with maraschino cherries, lime slices, or sugar crystal sprinkles.

Single Cherry Limeade Cupcake.
How do you serve cherry limeade cupcakes?

Try serving these cupcakes cold. It will taste refreshing with the flavors of lime and cherry.

Are cherry limeade cupcakes sour?

These cupcakes aren’t sour, they have the wonderful flavor of lime without the sourness. The cake flavors cut through any sour taste.

How to get perfect cupcakes?

One secret I like to reveal is to not overmix. This beats all the air out of the cupcakes. Mix until just combined.

More Delicious Cupcake Recipes

How to Make Cherry Limeade Pink Cupcakes

Multiple Cherry Limeade Cupcakes displayed on a cake stand.

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

5 from 2 votes
These Cherry Limeade Pink Cupcakes are brushed with a zesty fresh lime syrup and then topped with a sweet cherry frosting. A bright, tangy, summer dessert!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 28 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 24

Equipment

Ingredients

Simple Syrup

  • 2 Tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar

Frosting

  • 1 1/2 cups butter
  • 5 cups powdered sugar
  • Few drops of red food coloring optional
  • 1/3 cup maraschino cherry juice

Topping options

  • Decorative picks maraschino cherries, lime slices, sprinkles

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift all-purpose flour and cake flour into a large bowl. Whisk in baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
    Dry ingredients blended to make Cherry Limeade Cupcakes.
  • In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk and lime juice. Set aside.
    Buttermilk and lime juice whisked together for Cherry Limeade Cupcakes.
  • In a food processor, pulse together the sugar and lime zest until finely ground. In an electric mixer (or with electric beaters in a large bowl), whip the sugar/lime zest mixture with butter until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl while mixing to ensure it is all blended. Gradually add eggs and egg whites one at a time and then vanilla. Mix well.
    Sugar and lime zest blended for Cherry Limeade Cupcakes.
  • Add ⅓ of flour mixture to the batter and mix just until combined, then add ½ of buttermilk mixture to the batter and mix. Repeat ending with last ⅓ of flour mixture.
    Batter for Cherry Limeade Cupcakes.
  • Divide batter among 24 muffin cups lined with cupcake liners.
    Unbaked Cherry Limeade Cupcakes in cupcake liners.
  • Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in muffin tin, then transfer to a wire cooling rack and add simple syrup.
    Cherry Limeade Cupcakes baked with syrup glaze.

Simple syrup

  • Whisk lime juice and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. With a pastry brush, brush syrup over warm cupcakes.
    Cherry Limeade Cupcakes baked with syrup glaze.

Frosting

  • Whip butter in a mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in ½ cup powdered sugar, then maraschino cherry juice and red food coloring. Slowly add remaining 4 ½ powdered sugar and whip until well blended. If necessary, add more powdered sugar to reach desired consistency.
    Frosting to make Cherry Limeade Cupcakes.
  • Spread or pipe frosting on completely cooled cupcakes.
    Three Cherry Limeade Cupcakes.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 401kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 3gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 66mgSodium: 190mgPotassium: 96mgFiber: 1gSugar: 41gVitamin A: 627IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 1mg

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About the author

Echo Blickenstaff

Echo lives in Spanish Fork, Utah with her husband, Todd, who works in advertising. She has four kids: two girls and two boys. She deploys her accounting degree as the blog’s resident problem solver. In her time outside the kitchen, Echo loves to get away from the phones and busy schedules and spend quality time with the family. Anywhere’s great – but getting out into nature in the mountains or on the beach – is the best kind of getaway.

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5 from 2 votes

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I agree these are a wonderful Summer treat but I can also see these making an appearance at a Valentine’s Day meal or even Christmas! Fabulous!

    1. Thank you for letting us know! The recipe is now showing on the post. You can view it here:
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