Easy white chocolate and cherry muffins studded with chunky white chocolate chips and delicately flavoured with almond extract! Use fresh or frozen cherries in these tasty tea-time treats.
They are the perfect quick and easy bake for Afternoon tea, birthday parties, or summer picnics.
Juicy fresh cherries complement the sweet white chocolate chips deliciously in this light and fluffy muffin recipe.
As with nearly all of my muffin recipes, I start with my trusty (never-fail) basic muffin mix and simply add in white chocolate chips and cherries! It's as easy as that!
👩🍳 Love muffins? Try my easy blackcurrant muffins next!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
Here's why this is the best cherry muffin recipe!
- Quick and easy to make.
- Simple pantry ingredients.
- Great for picnics and tea parties.
- Use fresh or frozen cherries.
- A great recipe for cherry season.
- Produces moist muffins with a light and fluffy texture.
- Freezer-friendly.
🛒 Ingredient notes
- Cherries - use fresh or frozen pitted cherries. If frozen there is no need to defrost them first. I usually cut the cherries in half with a sharp knife.
- Chocolate Chips - good quality white chocolate chips complement the fruity cherries.
- Flour - plain white flour is best for this recipe.
- Bicarbonate of Soda - the raising agent.
- Caster Sugar - or swap for golden caster sugar, brown sugar, or granulated sugar.
- Eggs - 2 large free-range eggs at room temperature.
- Butter - melted and cooled. Unsalted is best.
- Natural Yogurt - or use creme fraiche.
- Almond Extract - or swap for vanilla extract.
🔪 How to make cherry muffins
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Place the dry ingredients (plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, caster sugar) in a large mixing bowl.
Two: Whisk together the wet ingredients (eggs, melted butter, natural yogurt, almond extract) in a jug then gently mix into the dry ingredients, being careful not to overmix.
Three: Stir in the cherries and chocolate chips then divide the muffin batter equally between 12 muffin cases (or silicone muffin cups) placed in a 12-hole muffin tin.
Four: Bake for 16-18 minutes until golden. Place on a wire rack to cool.
💭 Expert tips
- Make sure the ingredients are at room temperature before starting the recipe. The melted butter needs to be allowed to cool, before adding it to the wet ingredients.
- Don't over mix the muffin batter, as that will result in tough muffins. Gently mix the dry and wet ingredients together, just long enough to combine them.
- For a high domed muffin, preheat the oven to 20 degrees ABOVE the specified temperature in the recipe card. As soon as you put the muffins in the oven, turn it back down. The high heat will help the raising agent to start working.
- Don’t overfill the muffin cups; they should only be about ¾ full.
- If you are using fresh cherries, make sure they are pitted. If not, use a cherry pitting tool to pit the cherries before starting the recipe.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Serve the white chocolate and cherry muffins as an after-school snack for kids with a glass of almond milk (or cup of tea for the adults)!
They're also great for a quick and easy dessert with creamy custard or honeycomb ice cream.
Pack them on picnics alongside these mini sausage rolls and biscoff flapjacks.
📖 Variations
A few ideas on how to vary these homemade cherry muffins.
- Use sour cherries, glace cherries, or maraschino cherries instead of fresh cherries.
- Swap half of the cherries for fresh blueberries.
- Use vanilla extract instead of almond extract.
- Add the grated zest of a lemon or orange for a citrus flavoured muffin.
- Replace the natural yogurt with fresh cherry yogurt.
- Make 24 mini muffins instead of 12 regular muffins. Reduce the cooking time accordingly. Or, why not try making 6 jumbo muffins. You'll need a jumbo muffin pan though.
- Add a streusel topping. You could use the recipe for my streusel-topped strawberry muffins.
🥡 Storage
Store: The muffins will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Muffins always taste best on the day they are made though!
Freeze: Allow the muffins to cool then place them in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature before serving.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature before using them, particularly the eggs. Then make sure your raising agent is evenly distributed through the dry ingredients before adding the wet ingredients to it. It's also worth noting that it's important to allow the melted butter to cool slightly before adding it to the other wet ingredients.
Tough muffins result from over mixing of the muffin batter. Mix the dry and wet ingredients separately first before mixing them together. Be gentle and it doesn't matter if the batter is a bit lumpy. Gently fold in additional ingredients like fruit, chocolate chips and nuts.
Yes! Frozen cherries can be substituted for fresh cherries in this cherry muffin recipe. There is no need to defrost them first.
😋 More muffin recipes!
- Cinnamon Apple Muffins
- Chocolate and Banana Muffins
- Carrot Cake Muffins
- Chocolate Orange Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Biscoff Muffins
- Blueberry and White Chocolate Muffins
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Recipe
Easy White Chocolate and Cherry Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 140 g Caster Sugar
- 200 g Plain Flour
- 1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
- 100 ml Natural Yogurt
- 2 Eggs large
- 140 g Butter melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
- 150 g Fresh Cherries pitted and halved (you can also use frozen cherries)
- 100 g White Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°c (170 fan/Gas 5/ 375F) and line a 12 hole muffin tin with 12 paper muffin cases.
- Place the dry ingredients (plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, caster sugar) in a large mixing bowl.140 g Caster Sugar, 200 g Plain Flour, 1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
- Whisk together the wet ingredients (eggs, melted butter, natural yogurt, almond extract) in a jug then gently mix into the dry ingredients, being careful not to overmix.100 ml Natural Yogurt, 2 Eggs, 140 g Butter, 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
- Stir in the cherries and chocolate chips then divide the muffin batter equally between the 12 muffin cases.150 g Fresh Cherries, 100 g White Chocolate Chips
- Bake for 16-18 minutes until golden. Place on a wire rack to cool.
Notes
- Make sure the ingredients are at room temperature before starting the recipe. The melted butter needs to be allowed to cool, before adding it to the wet ingredients.
- Don't over mix the muffin batter, as that will result in tough muffins. Gently mix the dry and wet ingredients together, just long enough to combine them.
- For a high domed muffin, preheat the oven to 20 degrees ABOVE the specified temperature in the recipe card. As soon as you put the muffins in the oven, turn it back down. The high heat will help the raising agent to start working.
- Don’t overfill the muffin cups; they should only be about ¾ full.
- If you are using fresh cherries, make sure they are pitted. If not, use a cherry pitting tool to pit the cherries before starting the recipe.
- Use sour cherries, glace cherries, or maraschino cherries instead of fresh cherries.
- Swap half of the cherries for fresh blueberries.
- Use vanilla extract instead of almond extract.
- Add the grated zest of a lemon or orange for a citrus flavoured muffin.
- Replace the natural yogurt with fresh cherry yogurt.
- Make 24 mini muffins instead of 12 regular muffins. Reduce the cooking time accordingly. Or, why not try making 6 jumbo muffins. You'll need a jumbo muffin pan though.
- Add a streusel topping. You could use the recipe for my streusel-topped strawberry muffins.
Tayler Ross
White chocolate and cherry is such an amazing flavor combination! I can't wait to make a batch of these this week!
Beth
Oh, yes. All I need now is a nice mug of coffee, and I'm all set. I can't wait to make these.
Shashi
I simply adore the combo of white chocolate and cherries - I am going to make a big batch of this tonight!
Claudia Lamascolo
So light and fluffy truly delicious and I just loved the flavors will make this often it's so easy!
Sharon
The combination of the sweet cherries and white chocolate chips in these muffins is so good!