Last weekend we visited my Grandpa, or as I have called him my entire life (and still do to this day) “Papa”. He lives a few hours away from us, so we don’t see him as much as we would like. This year, my Mom made sure we planned a trip to visit him so that our families could spend some quality time with him. I am so glad she did!

Of course Father’s Day is coming up, but my Grandpa will also be turning 75 this month! My Mom brought him a few of his favorite things to celebrate these two big occasions! One item was per my Grandpa’s request, Wisconsin Kringle from the best bakery in Wisconsin, O&H Bakery. If you are not from Wisconsin, you may not have heard of this wonderful oval shaped flaky pastry. Seriously, if you haven’t had kringle…you have to try it! But this post is not actually about kringle, it is about cupcakes!

What makes Wisconsin Kringle so great, is that it takes into account so many of the great foods that Wisconsin produces. I decided to incorporate those same great flavors into this cupcake….cream cheese, cranberries and cherries!

Although there is cream cheese in the frosting, it is also mixed right into the cake batter. This will make your cake batter thick, and extra creamy!

There are also real cranberries used in this recipe. I recommend using fresh cranberries, but if you cannot get your hands on fresh cranberries, go ahead and use frozen. You will just want to let them thaw out a bit beforehand, so they do not add any unwanted moisture to your batter.

I recommend that you break the cranberries up a little bit, with a few quick bursts of a food processor. This will help ensure that you have cranberry flavor throughout your entire cupcake, and not just in a couple of bites.

These cupcakes come out so tasty you may want to try one before frosting them, I did!

I use my favorite frosting cream cheese for this frosting. It is light and fluffy, but still sturdy enough for piping. And of course, a cherry for garnish!

Cranberry Cream Cheese Cupcakes

• 1 cup of butter (2 sticks), softened
• 8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 t almond extract
• 1 t pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 cups cranberries, chopped and tossed in 1 T of flour
• Fresh cherries for garnish

Yields 24 cupcakes

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees
2. With a hand or stand mixer, whip together butter and cream cheese. It will become thick and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, combining well after each addition. Mix in the almond and vanilla extract.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Alternately add flour mixture and heavy cream to the large bowl, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix well after each addition. Fold in cranberries. Line a muffin pan with paper lining cups and spoon batter into the paper liners.
4. Bake for  20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcakes comes out clean. Cool.

Inspired by Krissy’s Creations & O&H Bakery

Whipped Cream-Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 t pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 t almond extract
• 2 cups heavy cream

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and extracts using an electric mixer. After ensuring these ingredients are well combined, begin pouring in the heavy cream. Continue whipping the mixture until it has the appearance of whipped cream and can hold a stiff peak.

Adapted from All Recipes