Cheerwine Cherry Cupcakes with Cherry-Swirl Frosting
Cheerwine is a cherry-flavored soda invented in North Carolina in 1917. Whether you combine the bubbly drink with a recipe for homemade white cake or pound cake or a packaged cake mix, the result is a pale pink crumb that tastes of almond extract and mild cherry. This regional drink is so popular that the Apple Baking Company of Salisbury, North Carolina, (known for its packaged pound cake slices and "Ugly" glazed pastries) experimented with a cake flavored with Cheerwine syrup and soda, which it sold in 2009. The following year, doughnuts filled with Cheerwine-flavored cream debuted at Krispy Kreme in North Carolina. —Toni Tipton-Martin