Cherry Sunshine Cupcakes & Chicken N'Cheddar Biscuits...Ready for a Road Trip??

Hello, foodies…

Happy June! We’re leaving on our annual In the Kitchen with Davidvirtual road trip…today! We’re honoring college-town eateries this year and asked you all, several months back, where folks in your college town go for the BEST food. Lucky for us, we got some amazing suggestions and we’ll share the winner later this month. Meanwhile, every recipe we’re making throughout the month of June on ITKWD is based on a dish at the restaurants nine of you submitted.

Wednesday’s featured recipe is Cherry Sunshine Cupcakes!

Cherry Sunshine Cupcakes
Makes 20 Cupcakes

This recipe is prepared with the KitchenAid 4.5-qt 300-Watt Tilt Head Stand Mixer with Flex Edge (K41789).

Go to David's Recipe Item Page for the full list of items that David has used in his recipes.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

• 1 (16.25-oz) box super-moist white cake mix
• 1 (12-oz) can lemon-lime soda
• Zest of 2 lemons

Frosting:

• 1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 6 oz cream cheese, softened
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup cherry jam or preserves
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cherries, pitted

Preparation:

1. To prepare the cupcakes, position an oven rack in the middle-lower level and preheat to 350°F. Line a 24-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
2. Fit a stand mixer with the wire whip attachment. Beat the cake mix, soda, and zest until creamy and the mixture has no lumps. Spoon the cake mixture into the muffin cups, filling no more than 2/3 of the way. Bake for 17–19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool completely before icing.
3. To prepare the frosting, fit a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and mix until evenly combined and the mixture has no lumps. Add the preserves and mix until just incorporated. Fold in the cherries until evenly distributed. Pipe or spread a thin layer of frosting on top of each cupcake, dividing evenly among the cupcakes. If desired, garnish each cupcake with a fresh cherry and a lemon twist.

This recipe was inspired by the Cherry Lemon Sundrops they make at College Barbecue Drive-In down in Salisbury, North Carolina.

Sharon nominated the restaurant, which is right near Catawba College, and said they’ve got the best foot-long hot dogs, French fries, and hush puppies…not to mention barbecue!!! But the Cherry Lemon Sundrops really brought back memories for me, which is why we made these light, airy cupcakes with a lemon-lime soda you can find everywhere…North, South, East and West.

I also want to give a shout-out to Allyson, another North Carolina gal, who echoes my love for the Chicken N’Cheddar Biscuits at Time Out, right around the corner from UNC Chapel Hill. We didn’t make Time-Out a finalist in the contest (now THAT wouldn’t be fair, would it??) but we did give the classic sandwich an Honorable Mention. Here’s our version of the famous Chicken N’Cheddar Biscuit:

Chicken N’Cheddar Biscuit

This recipe is prepared with the KitchenAid 9-Cup Exact Slice Food Processor with French Fry & Dough Attachment (K41122).

Go to David's Recipe Item Page for the full list of items that David has used in his recipes.

Ingredients:

• 1-3/4 cups self-rising flour
• 1-1/2 tsp course ground black pepper
• 4 oz (1 stick) butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cups milk
• 1-1/2 tsp course ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten with a dash of water
• About 13 oz of warm pulled fried chicken (we used store-bought chicken and pulled the meat from 2 breasts, 2 thighs, and 2 legs)
• 8 slices cheddar cheese

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Add the flour and black pepper into the bowl of a food processor and pulse 2-3 times. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a course meal. Add the milk, while pulsing, and mix until JUST combined.
3. Turn out the dough on a floured work surface and kneed until it comes together. Be careful to not over-kneed (otherwise your biscuits will be tough). Form the dough into a 6'' x 7'' square. Cut the dough into 4 squares, and keeping the cut edges touching, place the dough on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top of each square with the egg wash. Bake on the center rack in the oven for 20 minutes.
4. Remove the biscuits from the oven and reduce the temperature to 350°F. When the biscuits are cool enough to handle, carefully slice each one in half (horizontally) with a serrated knife. Leave the bottoms on the baking sheet and divide the chicken among them. Top the chicken with two slices of cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Put the biscuit-tops on each sandwich. Serve warm.

Foodies, I’ll see you this Wednesday night on In the Kitchen with David at 8pm ET. Check out our Road Trip map on QVC.com to see where we’re headed this month!

Keep it flavorful!
—David