This Soft Drink Syrup Adds A Hint Of Cherry To Your Baked Goods

Cherry flavoring is the obvious choice when you need to whip up something with the fruit's tart and sweet flavor, but it's not exactly a staple in everyone's pantry. Fortunately, people have found that adding a splash of cherry-flavored soda, like a Cherry Coke or Dr. Pepper can work just as well. If you live in the South, however, these other brands pale in comparison to Cheerwine.

It's not without a reason that this drink was nicknamed the "Nectar of North Carolina". It starts with a mild sweetness on the first sip, then quickly blossoms into a bold black cherry punch as it fizzes on the tongue. Cheerwine is awesome as a party drink (enough that the National Barbecue Association picked it as its official drink), but it slaps as a cooking ingredient, too.

After the soda came out in 1917, crafty home chefs figured out that it could add a fruity flavor to whatever you add it to, from cherry-flavored cakes to cookies. It even made its way to mixed drinks, like the Cheerwine Negroni. But no matter what it is that you're cooking, instead of buying the soda itself, you'll get much better results using Cheerwine syrup, which is available in stores and online.

Basically, the syrup is the main flavoring ingredient for the soda. The canned or bottled soda you can get in cases at most grocery stores today is a mixture of syrup, plus carbonated water. It's not just Cheerwine — other soda brands like Coca-Cola use the same "formula." By cooking with the syrup, you're guaranteed the strongest Cheerwine flavor, all without having to deal with the risks of the carbonated water ruining your dough or batter's consistency.

Let's say you're whipping up a batch of cherry-flavored pound cake, just stir a few tablespoons (because it's a flavor concentrate, the taste is very strong) of the syrup into the mix for flavor. If you add a splash of it like you would with normal soda, the Cheerwine flavor will overwhelm every other ingredient in the cake. The same amount is called for when making Cherrywine donuts. The syrup can even be used in brownies and to make frosting.

In addition to baked goods, you can use the syrup as a flavor when making candies and ice creams. And of course, you can use it in savory dishes, too. You can use a brush to glaze your barbecued ribs or soak your choice of protein in it overnight as a marinade. The unique cherry flavor might take some getting used to, but Cheerwine hasn't been a decade-old legend without a reason. It really does pair well with anything.