i wanted to make some old school cherry nut cupcakes people on a local facebook page i belong to were reminicing about there wedding cakes and how they were dense and cherry nut. 

i find this great recipe for the cupcakes and i made  a test batch and let me tell you it was amazing 

now as far as the frosting goes i used Georgetown cupcakes buttercream recipe two sticks of plugra butter 4 cups powder sugar and then it calls for a teaspoon or two of vanilla and a few tablespoons of milk 

so instead of the milk i added in a 4 tablespoons of maraschino cherry juice two teaspoons of madagascar burbon vanilla omited the milk but my buttercream still had that vanilla flavor so i added in a tad bit more juice and still more on the vanilla side

i am looking for something that has both the vanilla notes and the cherry notes think ( cherry vanilla ice cream as the inspiration)

a few websites said use almond extract and the juice but i am not a huge fan of almond extrat and it really overpowers the frosting

another recipe said do a cooked buttercream and add in some reduced and thinkend cherry juice form a jar of cherry juice

  but i dont like cooked buttercream 

finall recipe i found calls for cherry perserves and mix in with the buttercream 

anyone ever make a cherry vanilla buttercream and how did it come out 

maybe i should have used only one teaspoon of vanilla 

I am not sure if I can help answer your question but I am sure salivating at the thought of your cupcakes - YUMMY!  I would only have used 1/2 tsp. of the vanilla because of it being the good madagasgar bourbon kind; full flavor and stronger.  What if you used just a 1/4 tsp. of the almond or made a thick reduction with the cherry juice to make it thicker to add to the buttercream.  I would stay clear of cherry flavorings, then you get cough syrup tasting flavor. YUCK!

yeah i want to stay away from any cherry oils and extracts i have never had cherry preserves are they good or do they taste like cough syrup 

yeah i want to stay away from any cherry oils and extracts i have never had cherry preserves are they good or do they taste like cough syrup 

It depends on where the preserves come from; i.e.  Washington State, Michigan, etc.  I love cherries so I tend to migrate towards product that comes from Washington State, they seem to have the best crop.  Depends if the cherry is a dark cherry or a lighter one.  Dark cherries have a deeper flavor and most of the time are sweeter.  You could use preserves but you would have chunks of cherry in your icing (bonus if you are like me!)  But I think the preserves would be too thick.  I think the reduced/thickened juice would be the best option but that is only my opinion.

Would you mind sharing the recipe for your cupcakes?  I totally understand if not - they sound so good.