fbpx
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Coriander & Lace logo
  • Home
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact
  • en_USEnglish
    • ja日本語
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Contact
  • en_USEnglish
  • ja日本語
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About
    • Recipes
    • Contact
    • en_USEnglish
    • ja日本語
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Dessert Recipes

    Fresh Cherry Frosting

    Jul 27, 2019 · Modified: Nov 15, 2022 by Asha · This post may contain affiliate links · 44 Comments

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    This luscious cherry frosting is made with real, fresh cherries whipped into a dreamy, fluffy buttercream frosting. The cherry flavour is rich from reducing the berries. I love the little flecks of berry reduction visible throughout the frosting, bursting with tastiness.

    A cherry on top of a bowl of cherry buttercream frosting. this recipe

    This frosting is easy to make and so versatile! It is simply heavenly when paired with desserts, such as chocolate cake or almond cookies. I used it on this loaf cake marbled with vanilla and chocolate swirls and the resulting flavour was divine.

    Overhead of a marble loaf cake decorated with cherry frosting and fresh cherries.

    I love that this frosting features natural colours. You should also see this matcha cream cheese frosting for another beautiful, naturally coloured icing option.

    A close up of fresh cherry frosting.

    I was inspired to make this recipe after a visit to my friends who live in the Okanagan valley, which is full of fruit orchards. At a local farmers' market I picked up some amazing, deep red cherries. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them.

    Cherries in a silver bowl.

    Ingredients

    • Cherries - The deeper the red of the cherries, the more vibrant the colour of the frosting will be. I used these amazing, dark red cherries from an orchard in the Okanagan Valley. They had a rich, almost plum-like colour.
    • Unsalted butter
    • Pure vanilla extract
    • Confectioner's sugar
    • Salt

    See the recipe card below for quantities.

    Instructions

    Prepare the cherries by rinsing, de-stemming, halving, and pitting them.

    Halved and pitted cherries on a cutting board.

    Use a blender or food processor to purée the cherries.

    Cherry purée in a blender.

    Reduce the purée in a small saucepan over medium heat.

    Cherry purée reducing in a saucepan.

    Stir frequently and cook it down until you have just a few tablespoons of jammy reduction remaining. It took me about 15 minutes. Be very careful to not let it burn. Remove the reduction from the pan and allow it to cool.

    Cherry reduction in a bowl.

    Whip the butter and half of the powdered sugar together for 5 minutes in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. This is to get the perfect fluffy texture and structure in the frosting. 

    Butter being whipped with confectioner's sugar in a stand mixer.

    Add in the vanilla and half of the cherry reduction. Mix until just blended. Add the remaining half of the powdered sugar and mix. Finally, add remaining reduction and salt and mix to combine.

    A hand holding a bowl of cherry frosting.

    The end result is about a cup of luscious, fresh cherry frosting. You can use this on an endless variety of desserts.

    Substitutions

    Cherries - I prefer to use fresh berries in this recipe for a more vibrant flavour, however, you can use frozen in a pinch. Make sure to thaw before puréeing.

    Other berries - feel free to swap out the cherries in this recipe for another kind of berry. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries..

    A cherry-topped bowl of cherry frosting.

    Equipment

    To make this recipe, you will need a blender or food processor to purée the cherries. You will also need either a stand mixer or hand mixer to whip the buttercream.

    Image of blender

    blender

    Buy Now →
    Image of stand mixer

    stand mixer

    Buy Now →
    Close up image of cherry frosting with a cherry on top.

    Tips for success

    For the fluffiest buttercream, make sure that you don't skimp on time when whipping the butter and sugar together.

    If you are unable to get cherries with highly pigmented colour, you could supplement the colour of your frosting with a little bit of red gel food colour.

    FAQ

    How long does cherry frosting keep?

    Fresh cherry frosting can be kept at room temperature for a day or in the refrigerator for up to 5 day. To store in the fridge, store in an airtight container with minimal extra air space.

    Print

    📖 Recipe

    clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
    A cherry on top of a bowl of cherry buttercream frosting.

    Fresh Cherry Frosting

    5 from 19 reviews
    • Author: Asha
    • Prep Time: 10 minutes
    • Cook Time: 15 minutes
    • Total Time: 25 minutes
    • Yield: 1 cup 1x
    • Category: Frosting
    • Cuisine: American
    Save Recipe Recipe Saved
    Print Recipe

    Description

    This luscious cherry frosting is made with real, fresh cherries whipped into a dreamy, fluffy buttercream frosting.


    Ingredients

    Scale

    1 cup (154g) cherries

    ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened

    ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

    1 cup (130g) confectioner's sugar (sifted & divided)

    ⅛ tsp salt


    Instructions

    Prepare the cherries by rinsing, de-stemming, halving, and pitting them.

    Use a blender or food processor to purée the cherries.

    Reduce the purée in a small saucepan over medium heat.

    Stir frequently and cook it down until you have just a few tablespoons of jammy reduction remaining. It took me about 15 minutes. Be very careful to not let it burn. Remove the reduction from the pan and allow it to cool.

    Whip the butter and half of the powdered sugar together for 5 minutes in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. This is to get the perfect fluffy texture and structure in the frosting. 

    Add in the vanilla and half of the cherry reduction. Mix until just blended. Add the remaining half of the powdered sugar and mix. Finally, add remaining reduction and salt and mix to combine. 


    Equipment

    Image of blender

    blender

    Buy Now →
    Image of stand mixer

    stand mixer

    Buy Now →

    Notes

    This recipe yields about a cup of frosting. Double it if you think you will need more.

    The deepness of the red colour may vary depending on the cherries that you use.

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 2 tbsp
    • Calories: 162
    • Sugar: 14.5 g
    • Sodium: 38.2 mg
    • Fat: 11.5 g
    • Carbohydrates: 15.3 g
    • Protein: 0.3 g
    • Cholesterol: 30.5 mg

    Keywords: fresh cherry frosting

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @corianderandlace on Instagram and hashtag it #corianderandlace

    Recipe Card powered byTasty Recipes

    More Dessert Recipes

    • Cranberry brownies drizzled in cranberry glaze.
      Cranberry Brownies
    • Strawberries coated with tempered dark and ruby chocolate.
      A Complete Guide on How to Temper Chocolate
    • A cake decorated with white chocolate leaves and golden berries.
      Easy Chocolate Leaves
    • An apple dipped in tempered gold chocolate.
      How to Temper Gold Chocolate

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe rating ★ 5 Stars ☆ ★ 4 Stars ☆ ★ 3 Stars ☆ ★ 2 Stars ☆ ★ 1 Star ☆

      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Saki says

      October 25, 2019 at 10:59 pm

      So so good. This was perfect on chocolate cupcakes.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        October 28, 2019 at 1:02 am

        Thanks! I love it on chocolate cake as well

        Reply
    2. Viki says

      June 13, 2020 at 5:07 pm

      Amazing flavour.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        June 16, 2020 at 12:07 am

        Thanks!

        Reply
    3. Pam says

      June 24, 2020 at 1:35 pm

      It's the best I've ever had.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        June 24, 2020 at 4:44 pm

        Thanks so much!

        Reply
    4. Bernice says

      June 29, 2020 at 12:54 am

      Anything cherry I love. This frosting is exceptional.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        June 29, 2020 at 12:07 pm

        Thank you ❤️

        Reply
    5. Meghan says

      July 23, 2020 at 8:37 pm

      I made a double batch for a chocolate layer cake. Perfection.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        July 24, 2020 at 10:55 pm

        Amazing. Thank you 🙂

        Reply
        • Rachael says

          February 23, 2021 at 3:15 am

          Hi Asha, this recipe looks delicious! I’m planning on making an almond cake with cherry frosting, but I only have frozen cherries - do you think they’d still work if I pat them dry once sliced? Thank you!






          Reply
          • Asha says

            February 23, 2021 at 10:15 am

            Hi Rachael, thanks so much 🙂 That sounds great. I haven't tried making this recipe with frozen cherries myself, but I think it would work fine since any extra moisture inside the cherries should evaporate while reducing the purée on the stove stop. Would love to hear how it turns out.

            Reply
    6. Emilie says

      August 07, 2020 at 5:40 pm

      I am in love with this and it went perfect with your marble cake. Thank you.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        August 08, 2020 at 6:47 pm

        Thank you!

        Reply
    7. Rebecca says

      August 14, 2020 at 5:13 pm

      So, so good. Used with your marble cake recipe. I'm in love.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        August 17, 2020 at 5:33 pm

        Thanks! I love it too 🙂

        Reply
    8. Rhonda says

      August 19, 2020 at 1:06 pm

      Loved it with your marble cake. Divine.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        August 21, 2020 at 9:33 pm

        Thank you 🙂

        Reply
    9. Felicity says

      August 30, 2020 at 7:26 pm

      This was the 'icing on the cake'. 🙂 Pardon the pun. Everybody loved your marble cake recipe with this icing.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        August 31, 2020 at 10:15 pm

        ❤️

        Reply
    10. Robyn says

      September 16, 2020 at 1:06 am

      I could eat a dish of this frosting all by itself.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        September 16, 2020 at 8:57 pm

        Thanks, me too! haha

        Reply
    11. Harriet says

      November 25, 2020 at 2:11 pm

      Divine. Used on your marble cake recipe. Going to use this on sugar cookies too.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        November 26, 2020 at 10:29 am

        Thank you, I think it would be delicious on sugar cookies.

        Reply
    12. Evelyn says

      January 26, 2021 at 6:03 pm

      Delicious frosting. I love, love, love cherries.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        January 29, 2021 at 10:25 am

        Thanks! Me too 🙂

        Reply
    13. Rebecca says

      February 08, 2021 at 3:32 pm

      So thankful for finding this recipe. Went perfect on your marble cake which I made husband's birthday.
      He loves cherries and this was so very good.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        February 10, 2021 at 7:15 pm

        So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the review 🙂

        Reply
    14. Vanessa says

      February 19, 2021 at 10:57 pm

      Oh my goodness I am loving this cherry frosting.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        February 20, 2021 at 12:09 am

        Thanks so much

        Reply
    15. Candice says

      March 18, 2021 at 10:27 pm

      YES!!! So delicious.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        March 20, 2021 at 11:40 am

        ❤️ Thanks!

        Reply
    16. Nicole says

      March 27, 2021 at 5:26 pm

      So good. Cherries have to be one of my favourite things. I can picture putting this frosting on sugar cookies too.






      Reply
      • Asha says

        March 29, 2021 at 10:31 pm

        Thanks Nicole. That sounds delicious 🙂

        Reply
    17. David says

      June 12, 2021 at 9:04 pm

      This looks SOOO good, but I just have one question... should the cherries be "stemmed, halved & pitted" -before- measuring them to 1 cup? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Asha says

        June 12, 2021 at 9:12 pm

        Hi David, thank you! Yes that's right, it's a cup of halved and pitted cherries. Enjoy 🙂

        Reply
        • David says

          June 12, 2021 at 9:46 pm

          Thank you very much! I really appreciate such a quick reply, especially since I'm just about to make it!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

          Reply
          • Asha says

            June 12, 2021 at 10:56 pm

            Awesome! Hope it turned out great for you.

            Reply
    18. Michelle says

      November 02, 2021 at 9:37 pm

      Hi there! This frosting looks absolutely divine!! Can I make this ahead of time and store in the fridge overnight prior to use?

      Reply
      • Asha says

        November 02, 2021 at 10:17 pm

        Hi Michelle, thanks so much! Yes you can store this frosting in an airtight container in the fridge overnight no problem.

        Reply
    19. Pamala Erickson says

      January 02, 2023 at 9:51 pm

      Love Absolute Love♥🍀😍🌟🥀. Thank You So Much? Finally I Found Found A Cherry Icing That Works Together Easily and So Quick To Prepare? Thanks Kindly?






      Reply
      • Asha says

        January 04, 2023 at 6:07 pm

        Hi Pamela, thanks so much! I’m so glad that you like it 🥰

        Reply
    20. Kristen says

      May 12, 2023 at 12:24 am

      I used frozen black cherries and just boiled for longer, mixing pretty continuously. The frosting was delicious thank you so so much!






      Reply
      • Asha says

        May 17, 2023 at 11:01 am

        Thank you Kristen, I'm so happy to hear that. Glad you liked it!

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    A headshot of Asha, the author of Coriander and Lace. this recipe

    Hi, I'm Asha - a food and travel enthusiast based in Toronto. Join me in my kitchen adventures for beautiful, delicious recipes.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • A bowl of Greek lemon chicken orzo soup (avgolemono soup) on a striped napkin.
      Greek Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup (Kotosoupa Avgolemono)
    • A lotus decorated bowl of prik nam pla beside lime wedges and sliced chilis.
      Traditional Thai Sauce (Prik Nam Pla)
    • A plate of Thai basil beef stir fry (pad gra prow) with jasmine rice and a Thai-style fried egg.
      Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry (Pad Gra Prow)
    • A Japanese candied strawberry on a flowered plate.
      Japanese Candied Strawberries

    Fall Recipes

    • An apple and an apple whisky sour cocktail on a countertop with white flowers.
      Apple Whisky Sour
    • Brown butter apples blondies stacked on a serving plate.
      Brown Butter Apple Blondies
    • Close up of a soft pumpkin cookie with a bite missing.
      Soft Pumpkin Cookies
    • A glass of fall sangria surrounded by flowers and spices.
      Fall Sangria

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Accessibility Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright ©2018-2023 Coriander & Lace

    A cherry on top of a bowl of cherry buttercream frosting.
    en_US English
    en_US English
    ja 日本語
    Manage Cookie Consent
    To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
    Functional Always active
    The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
    Preferences
    The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
    Statistics
    The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
    View preferences
    {title} {title} {title}
    Manage Cookie Consent
    To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
    Functional Always active
    The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
    Preferences
    The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
    Statistics
    The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
    View preferences
    {title} {title} {title}